Elephant dung shoes made in honor of Chris Ofili, the artist who famously smeared a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary with elephant dung. Ofili was named by Bernard Goldberg as #86 in 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America.

The Republican Party is blowing it big time.

From Talking Points Memo:

Rick Santorum pushed Mitt Romney to use the issue to his advantage. “I think what you see is his is a very potent weapon if you will for Gov. Romney if he is willing to step up and take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America,” the former presidential candidate said.

But the Republican establishment is singing a different tune, showing little interest in focusing on the issue, and instead fielding questions about it by pivoting to the economy. The result is a strategic divide over how to handle the issue of same sex marriage on the right, pitting politicians against the evangelical community as they negotiate their response to the president’s gay marriage position.

TPM offers some troubling reactions from John Cornyn, Marsha Blackburn, and John Thune.

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, from a socially conservative district in Tennessee, offered the same message during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” Should Romney take Santorum’s advice? “I think that what you’re going to see Mitt Romney do is put the focus on jobs and the economy,” Blackburn responded, before launching into a discussion of how the recession has affected women.

Sad. Real sad. I’ve made my decision and I tend to think others will do the same. It’s better for the Republican Party to fail this time around than to have it taken over by the “gay rights” mindset. Hearing from a Team Santorum member who attacked my Catholic Faith because I objected to Romney’s support for “gay adoption” was enough to set my decision  in stone. I’m done with the insanity. I hope Rick can talk some sense into these people. Thanks to Rand Paul for standing up.