The GOP has become the CEOs of prior behemoth companies that refused to accept and adapt to change and ultimately bankrupted their companies. Republican outrage over gay marriage is the most recent example as to why the GOP will become the equivalent of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party if they don’t change quickly.

In regard to gay marriage, in 1990 seven in eight Americans opposed homosexual relationships (not to even mention the gay marriage question). In 2004, only one in three Americans supported same-sex marriage. In 2008, the presidential nominees of both major parties publicly opposed gay marriage. Yet, today a strong majority of Americans support gay marriage, and nearly 70% openly embrace gay family members and friends.

Positive views towards homosexuality are rapidly changing, especially among the following groups: men and women ages 18-34; suburban women; women ages 18-49; independents; Midwestern whites; moderates; and Hispanics. Where the views are not changing is among the older generation Republicans, who simply cannot deal with or accept change.

Like the CEOs of the past who failed to change, and whose company logo is now a tombstone, the same will happen to the GOP if they don’t smarten up.

For more on this story, visit Public’s Shift on Same-Sex Marriage Was Swift, Broad by Ben Leubsdorf and Colleen Mccain Nelson.