REMEMBER THE VALUES VOTERS? Was it really only two years ago that Democrats were beating themselves up over “values voters,” those working class Americans who voted against their own economic interests because they were so grossed out by gay people and in love with fetuses? Back then, many progressives believed we could never again rise to the majority without making serious compromises on the key civil rights issues of choice and LGBT equality. But this week, in an article about Republicans’ lack of faith in their own presidential aspirants, The New York Times‘ Adam Nagourney and John M. Broder reported that it’s now Republicans, not Democrats, who fear the grip divisive social issues have on their party’s presidential prospects.

Alan K. Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, said the party’s presidential candidates were being whipsawed as they tried to appeal to conservative voters who have a history of strong views on issues like abortion and gay rights. “These tests are destroying the Republican Party,” Mr. Simpson said.

I love to say I told you so.

–Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.