Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council is blasting the Republican Party for “gravitat[ing] toward moderates” instead of staying true “to the GOP’s core principles” — by which he means, supporting three Republican candidates who support same-sex marriage.

According to Perkins, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is betraying the ideals that have the party on the verge of being victorious in the midterm elections. “Some of the GOP want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!” he wrote. “[T]he NRCC is backing the liberal trio in a misguided move that could cost the party a lot more than three seats.”

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Those three seats could be won by Republicans Dan Innis, Carl DeMaio, and Richard Tisei, all of whom openly identify as gay. That would not be a problem, Perkins insisted, were it not for the fact that they are “anti-marriage activists, openly fighting their own party on an issue that most Republicans still strongly believe in.”

The larger problem, for Perkins, is that the issue of same-sex marriage is never solely about same-sex marriage. “Of course,” he wrote, “now we know that it’s not just about getting ‘married,’ it’s about radically changing the curriculum of our schools — regardless of what parents want. It’s about radically changing the culture — through genderless bathroom ordinances and businesses being strong-armed. It’s about the ability — not just to hold a viewpoint — but even a job.”

“Establishment Republicans like to fall back on Ronald Reagan’s famous quote that if you’re with us 80% of the time, you’re my friend,” Perkins continued. “Well, that’s true — unless the other 20% of the time you’re trying to undermine the core positions of your so-called allies.”

“The suggestion that conservatives should have to debate their own party on marriage — not the opposition — is a shockingly bad strategy,” he wrote. “If Republicans think all they need to do is field candidates to cash in on the Democrats’ follies in November, they’re going to be disappointed.”

“If the NRCC believes natural marriage is negotiable, what issues aren’t?” he concluded, rhetorically. “At what point does the Second Amendment become negotiable — or smaller government and lower taxes?”