Social Issues

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Book talk: David Lamp at CATO Lovers of free markets and individual liberty like to say that the GOP is a big tent. But to suggest that conservatism is more about building coalitions than adhering to first principles is to erase what makes being a Republican different from being anything else. First principles, when adhered to consistently, are what keep Americans and their markets free. Theoretically, this means that a change in the Republican platform has to undergo an intellectually rigorous test. In “A Fundamental Freedom: Why Republicans, Conservatives and Libertarians Should Support Gay Rights,Ó Cato's David Lampo makes the case that recognizing gay rights is consistent with the ideas of individual liberty and small government, and that grassroots Republicans are in favor of civil unions for same-sex partners, even if their leaders are not. Lampo, along with Michael Barone, speaks July 18 at the Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Phone: (202) 842-0200. Web: http://www.cato.org/

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, is flanked by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland (left) and House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn of South Carolina after the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The Democrats appeared with supporters of the law who talked about how it has helped them. (Associated Press)

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Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican, says GAO's letter proves the Obama administration is trying an illegal workaround. (Associated Press)

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Yemeni soldiers stand guard July 11, 2012, at the site of a suicide bomb attack at a police academy in Sanaa, Yemen. The bomber threw himself into a crowd of Yemeni police cadets leaving the academy and detonated his explosives, killing several people, a security official said. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Musician Courtney Love attends "An Evening With Women" in Los Angeles on May 19, 2012. (Jordan Strauss/Invision)

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**FILE** An illegal immigrant from El Salvador is searched June 26, 2012, on the tarmac at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz., as the sun rises prior to boarding an MD-80 aircraft for a repatriation flight of 80 immigrants to their home country. (Associated Press)