Obviously, I don’t agree with everything conservative Fox News contributor Margaret Hoover has to say in this piece on marriage equality, but her basic thrust is correct. She and I would disagree that the courts are full of “liberal activist judges,” for instance. But here is a conservative who, unlike many of her conservative counterparts, actually understands the role of the judiciary as a coequal branch of government, and also has her finger on the pulse of America’s attitudes toward gay rights. Watch how politely she explains that those most vehemently opposed to marriage equality are going to die soon anyhow:

The potential consequence that conservatives land on the wrong side of civil rights history again is the alienation of an entire generation of voters. With polling definitively indicating that Americans under age 30 overwhelmingly favor gay rights, with a majority supporting gay marriage according to the Pew Millennial Attitudes report published in February this year, there are multiple reasons for conservatives to think carefully before digging in their heels against gay marriage.

I bolded “again,” because it’s refreshing to encounter a conservative who is willing to admit that conservatism has been on the wrong side of pretty much every civil rights battle ever fought.

But the above quote is actually the LAST paragraph of her piece! You should go read the rest. Here’s another snippet from the middle of her piece:

The irony of this case is that Judge Walker is not a liberal activist judge but one whose career has proven him to be a tempered judge, true to the Reagan-Bush conservative jurisprudence that he was nominated to represent on the bench. Conservatives cannot deny that our Founders intended the judiciary as an equal and independent branch of government purposed to ensure the protection of every citizen’s rights. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that the right to marry is a fundamental constitutional right. When an unpopular minority is denied the right to marry, it is indeed the role of the courts to protect the rights of that minority, especially when a majority would deny them. This is why Judge Walker’s opinion reads, “That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”

A conservative just told the wingnuts that their votes on other peoples’ rights are “irrelevant.”

That’s going to leave a mark.