GOP elders "worry that the social conservatism that helped seal Rove's majorities might create for them a deficit that lasts a generation, that the party's position on social issues like gay marriage may permanently alienate younger, more moderate voters."

Hmmm...maybe they should be more worried about the party of fiscal conservativism spending like drunken sailors when they were in control. Maybe they should worry about the law and order party dragging their feet on or actively abetting illegal immigration, Maybe they should worry about allowing Congressmen to put their positions up for sale. Rather than worry about its base pushing for self-evidently popular initiatives, they should worry about the way they screwed over their base when they ran things for 16 years.