Would a positive SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality be a blessing for the GOP?

A lot of smart political writers are coming to the same conclusion that a ruling in favor of marriage equality by SCOTUS would actually be a favor to much of the Republican party. The thinking seems to be that many GOP pols are “trapped” in toeing the party line but would much rather move on from a subject whose future seems clear.

Note two recent but separate essays by Michelangelo Signorile and Josh Barro. Both smart guys, both know the subject and politics well.

First, from Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

“Are GOP leaders secretly hoping that the Supreme Court, after it hears arguments on marriage equality next week, rules in favor of equality? That’s certainly what a few were saying at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, though not for attribution. [snip]

“The remark this week from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that it is kind of ok now for Republicans to support marriage equality — or at least that they wouldn’t be thrown under the bus — combined with Scott Walker’s mixed messages on the issue, Rick Santorum’s continued belligerence, Marco Rubio’s defensiveness (opposing gay marriage “does not make me a bigot”) and Senator Inhofe’s sheer speechlessness underscore that the GOP is in turmoil on the issue.

“The GOP’s only hope, it seems, is for the Supreme Court to take the issue off the table entirely. It’s ironic (and grotesque) that the party that has been the most vociferously anti-gay, the party that brutally attacked LGBT people for decades and exploited homophobia for political gain, may be praying that the justices next week begin the process of giving gays full equality.”