The National Journal this week polled Democratic and Republican insiders to gauge each parties' mood on marriage equality.
The results are interesting: 84% of Democratic insiders, defined as operatives, lobbyists and consultants, believe their party should support equality-minded legislation. Two years ago, only 59% agreed with that statement.
Over in the Republican field, meanwhile, only 14% believe the GOP should back marriage equality, while the majority of the group, 56%, think the Republicans should just avoid the issue.
But some in the party believe a change is simply inevitable: "We haven't come to a consensus on this issue but the country is changing so rapidly that it will a non issue in a few years. A confrontation now would just delay the inevitable," said one participant.
Adam Serwer at the Washington Post sees some hope in the Republican numbers:
Republicans in positions of influence just want the issue to go away. That's a sign that marriage equality opponents are losing the argument.
But more to the point, it's also evidence that the intensity of whatever opposition remains is rapidly dissipating.
Many recent national polls have shown that support for marriage equality is growing. But what's also interesting is that the opposition, while still present, may be growing less fervent.
That may be so, but opponents on Capitol Hill are still flexing their muscle, and winning.
