Yeah... so get this. A guy named Bob Vander Plaats runs for governor in Iowa in 2010, making opposition to gay marriage his central issue. He loses the Republican primary. Get that? His strong social conservatism can't win in Iowa in a Republican primary. Todd Akin's strong social conservatism likewise is a loser in Iowa's neighboring state, Missouri. He's now down against McCaskill, 39% to her 48%. He was ahead prior to being all idiot on TV. This election is about one thing, and it ain't rape and it ain't abortion and it ain't birth control. It's about the economy, stupid. Nonetheless, as Allahpundit on HotAir has coined it, the Democrat convention is becoming Abortion-palooza. Democrats said that they will feature Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parent Action Fund, Nancy Keenan, president of the NARAL Pro-Choice America and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown University student whose plea for federal birth control funding drew the ire - and a subsequent apology - from Rush Limbaugh.What's more, the Democrats are expanding their list of women ready to assail the GOP on women's issue, adding Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski and actress Eva Longoria to the list that already includes Sen. John Kerry and Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. It didn't work for Vander Plaats in a Republican primary. It hasn't worked for Akin in general election.The reason it didn't work for those candidates is that social conservatism wasn't the burning issue in the election. The economy was. Ignoring the Big Issue to focus on something else only serves to make you look out of touch and distracted. What won't be front and center at the Democrat convention: the economy. Putting strident anti-social conservatism forward is a loser for the same reason that it lost for Vander Plaats and loses for Akin: it's not the central issue on the mind of everyone, not matter how fierce your marketing is. Romney came out today with his energy plan for America. I ask you - what's more imperative in your mind: abortion stemming from rape, or $4 gas at the pump? Social conservatism, whatever you think of it, is a sideshow to the main event: the economy. I'm okay if the Democrats want to make that the central theme of their convention and election - because it's a loser. What's more, social conservatives would be well-served to understand how Akin has hurt their cause more than any event I can think of in this short century. Meanwhile, the rest of us will focus on how to best provide for our families. That's what matters most. | 
