Karl Rove 'Could Imagine' Republican Nominee in 2016 Being Pro-Gay Marriage

Republican strategist Karl Rove told an ABC News panel that he "could imagine" that come 2016, the Republican nominee for president could openly endorse gay marriage. Rove made the comments in the context of a discussion about the upcoming Supreme Court cases surrounding gay marriage, which will be decided this week.

George Stephanopoulos asked Rove, "Can you imagine the next presidential campaign, a Republican candidate saying flat out, 'I am for gay marriage?'"

Rove responded this way:

"I could, but you know what? Let's stay here for a moment. One of the interesting things to me is gonna be, you've talked about Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy. I'm interested in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

Rove went on to cite Justice Ginsburg's quotation last year on Roe v. Wade, suggesting that the case had been too much of an overreach for the court.

"It's not that the judgment was wrong, but it moved too far too fast," Ginsburg said at the time. Rove suggested that this might mean Ginsburg could favor a more gradual approach in this case, so as to avoid similar backlash, which could lead to a 6-3, 7-2 or even 8-1 decision in favor of states' rights.

Watch the full ABC panel, along with Rove's speculation, below: