Why is the country debating gay marriage right now?

The deficit is out of control. The economy is stuck in neutral. Incomes are flat. Unemployment is stubbornly high. Europe is on the brink of collapse. The Middle East is on the brink of war. So why are we talking about gay marriage?

The reason is simple: President Obama was facing a backlash from a core Democratic constituency, namely the gay rights community, and he had to respond because he desperately needs its campaign contributions. 

There is no great national emergency with the issue of gay marriage; in fact, President Obama is not even going to introduce legislation in Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Instead, there is only a partisan emergency: a Democratic interest group was reading President Obama the riot act, so he had to flip-flop.

That says a lot about the modern Democratic party. In fact, it says it all.

You, me, and almost everybody else in this country want to talk about jobs, the deficit, national security, but the Democratic party simply does not listen to us.