But at the same time, I have to respect that they’ve had some successes lately. First, that they’ve been able to recruit high profile moderate Republicans to their cause is important.

Second, according to The Advocate, the Log Cabin Republicans negotiated a deal with the state party in New York that could help clear the way for marriage equality in that state.

In 2007, when the New York legislature voted on marriage equality, the state GOP pressured lawmakers to vote the party line– against marriage equality.

This time, Republican lawmakers will be encouraged to vote their conscience on the issue, which could make all the difference, particularly in the state Senate, where the vote is expected to be very close. Democrats have a slim margin in the Senate– which is split 32-30– and four Democrats have already indicated that they will be voting against marriage equality. At least a few Republican Senators will need to vote for Governor Paterson’s bill in order for it to have a chance to pass.

Thanks to the Log Cabin Republicans, there might be a chance of that happening this time around. And I can hardly believe I just wrote that.

(h/t Joe My God)

This past weekend, Washington, DC welcomed the national convention of a group I haven’t had a lot of nice things to say about in the past. The Log Cabin Republicans took my fair city by storm, with a series of sessions and speeches that have had serious reverberations around the gay blogosphere.

What made this year’s conference interesting were the surprising faces that headlined the event. Could the strong show of support from more moderate parts of the Republican Party indicate a sea change? Is this the beginning of a new GOP?

I’m not willing to concede my long-held belief that the very existence of the Log Cabin Republicans validates the discriminatory and hateful positions of the GOP.

But I am impressed that the Log Cabin Republicans were able to draw such interesting, and diverse, allies from their party to speak to their conference. The top three appearances of the weekend, in order of surprise-factor and significance:

3. Meghan McCain

Meghan McCain’s appearance at the Log Cabin convention has certainly drawn the most headlines, but not because it was particularly surprising. Her relatively progressive stances on most social issues, including marriage equality, keep me from being shocked at her participation. I was, however, surprised at her exuberance. She tweeted about her nervousness and excitement in the days leading up to her appearance, and delivered a thoughtful speech to the crowd.

That her mother Cindy attended the convention with Meghan was, perhaps, more interesting.

2. Christy Todd Whitman

The former governor of my former home state also spoke this past weekend to the Log Cabin Republicans, and her speech was hard-hitting about specific policies. She made three specific demands to the Republican Party: that they remove the anti-marriage equality language from their party platform, that they work to reverse DOMA, and that they oppose DADT. Those are strong positions for any former Republican governor, and she followed it up with one of the best lines of the conference:

“I am not saying to Christian conservatives, ‘There is no place for you,’ I am saying, ‘Please stop saying there is no place for us.’”

(h/t JoeMyGod)

1. Steve Schmidt

Steve Schmidt is probably the least well-known name on this list, but his appearance definitely represents something important for the Republican Party. Former advisor to Governor Arnold Schwartzeneggar and Senator John McCain, Steve Schmidt is one of the top strategists in the Republican Party. He appeared at the convention, he indicated, because he loves and supports his gay sister and his relationship with her helped shape his view on equality issues.

While Meghan McCain and Christine Whitman might have higher profiles, they’re both progressive on most social issues. Both have been tagged RINOs (Republican In Name Only) by other members of their party. But Steve Schmidt is a little different. To me, Schmidt represents the change any of us can affect just by coming out to those around us. So kudos to Steve– and his sister– for thinking outside the box.

This is slightly old but who doesn’t love a gay Republican tale? Looks like many of you are going to have to dust off the “self-hating” epithet and throw it a new gay conservative organization.

Called GOProud, the new tax-exempt 527 will offer another home for gay and  lesbian conservatives outside of the Log Cabin Republicans (where are they?). The organization’s take-off will happen tomorrow and its focus will be elections and federal issues.

“There hasn’t been a voice for … gay conservatives for the last five months, really, in Washington,” said Jimmy LaSalvia, GoProud’s executive director and a former Log Cabin policy director. “And so as that time has lapsed, that was when we made the assessment and determined the need for an organization in Washington and put the pieces in place to make that happen.”

I’ve been writing here long enough (for some  that is a problem) to know the responses. A hardy few will say this is a good thing. They will point out that wanting to wake up next to a cute lad or gal (or both!) doesn’t have much to do with ideology. The majority though, will throw out the word traitor. Make some historical connection with Jews for Hitler and question the mental stability of any gay person who says the word Republican minus a curse.

GoProud  deserves a fair hearing. No matter how much we gnash our teeth, there are a number of our gay brothers and sisters who are right of center. Here are some numbers presented by LaSalvia. In last year’s election approximately 5 percent of voters identified as gay. Of those 27 percent gave their votes to John McCain. Don’t they deserve a political organization that represents and advocates their interests?

PS: RIP Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick.

Schmidt says in the interview that his views on gay rights were influenced by his knowledge of a gay person– his lesbian sister– and his understanding of the difficulties and discrimination she faces.

In a perverse moment, Schmidt quotes former Vice President Dick Cheney to make his argument.

“I think one of the most tragic things in the world [is] when people are closeted and are denied their sexuality and this incredibly important part of their lives and the destructive potential of that action,” he said. “And I’ve come to believe over time that, as Dick Cheney said, freedom for everybody means freedom for everybody.”

The interview is wide-ranging, and provides interesting insight into the man behind the McCain Presidential campaign.

Ensley made the remarks in a letter to Michael Steele, the new Chair of the Republican Party, urging him to ignore an AFTAH call to abandon his belief the GOP needs to be a “big tent” that includes gays.

After its trouncing at the polls in November, the party has been searching for a new beginning. Steele has said the GOP needs to have a broader base.

In a February 12 letter to Steele, AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera said the party needs to concentrate on its “grassroots pro-family conservative GOP base.”

AFTAH on its Web site said it “is encouraging Republicans and pro-family citizens nationwide to contact Steele and the RNC to urge them not to sell out the conservative GOP platform by courting an organization [Log Cabin Republicans] that works to undermine tradition marriage and supports anti-religious, pro-homosexual special-rights legislation.”

Ensley’s response to Steele drew more wrath from from LaBarbera.

“I would expect an apology from the Republican Party of Georgia,” LaBarbera said. “And actually I would hope that the Republican Party of Georgia would issue some [sort of] formal statement or take some formal action against Mr. Ensley.”

So far, Steele has not commented on either LaBarbera’s or Ensley’s remarks.

In addition to being the head of the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans, Ensley is the Chair of the 57th District of the Fulton County Republican Party and a board member of Georgia Equality.

My Log Cabin brothers and sisters are in deep doo-doo if I’m defending them; however, it is hard not to recognize the loony tunes in Peter LaBarbera’s screed against the group. The president (translation: professional bigot) of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (translation: homophobes who publish crappy scholarship) sent RNC chair Michael Steele a letter asking him to keep gay Republicans at arm’s length.

“If the Republican Party is to turn itself around, it must reach out aggressively to real, pro-family minorities like Steele himself — not homosexual activists whose agenda would restrict our precious religious and First Amendment freedoms by using the government to promote aberrant sexual lifestyles.”

Let’s leave aside the LaBarbera’s blatant plea to pit gays and lesbians against conservative people of color (a smart political move by the way); his description of his gay brothers and sisters as “homosexual activists” is the standard hyperventilation of a Republican who wants to remain in the political hinterland

LaBarbera and his ilk are not going to listen to me (unless to call me a dirty sodomite), but I’ve spoken to gay Republicans. Ate with them. Drank their booze. Don’t know if I slept with one but it is possible. In all of this interaction, the phrase “homosexual activist” has never come to mind. Not once, even when I imbibed a large quantity of  gay Republican purchased liquor. What activist extols  the greatness of Ronald Reagan and hates everything Kennedy? Name an activist who wishes for fiscal restraint and a smaller federal government?

At its heart, LaBarbera’s pitch shows why the Republicans are out of power. The GOP loves to snipe its own. Instead of recruiting soldiers to fight the three headed beast Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, Republicans now spend their time trying to decide who is GOP pure and who fails the test. Political purity is a fools game (ask the Democrats) and a big tent, even with serious disagreements, is the path to political power.

As a bigot though, this idea has too many syllables for the LaBarbera.

The group’s $100,000 debt comes at a time when the GOP is indebted more than ever to extremists.

Instead of learning from Election Day, the party is pandering to those who believe in the “End of Days,” which will only expedite the party’s political apocalypse.

Changing demographics have transformed America into a high definition flat screen, while Republicans resemble a bulky, black and mostly white television set. With twisted antennas, they can’t get clear reception, and they rotate the dilapidated dial in search of a meaningful message. Only two channels seem to break through: UHF reruns of “Leave It To Beaver” and the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club.

This may appeal to those stuck in the past or the party “faithful,” but it’s no way to tune into tomorrow.

A microcosm of GOP madness is the race to choose a Republican National Committee chairman. One candidate, Chip Saltsman, the Tennessee party leader, handed out a Christmas CD at a holiday party that featured the song, “Barack the Magic Negro.” Saltsman told the New York Times that he believes those voting for chairman have “gotten past it.” No doubt they have — and this is the problem.

Another candidate, Katon Dawson, head of the South Carolina GOP, had to quit his membership in an all-white country club, to run for chairman of a nearly all-white country club — the RNC.

Two African Americans (Michael Steele and Kenneth Blackwell) are also contending for the prize, hoping to change the party’s image. But, even if the GOP somehow manages to overcome its poor reputation on race, it is still hostage to the whims of social conservatives. For example, Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, may not get the job because he, while anti-choice, favors an exemption in cases of incest or when a woman’s life is in jeopardy.

In obsessing over such parochial issues, the Republican Party has chosen the Revival Tent over the Big Tent, at the very moment they need to appeal to moderate swing voters.

Those on the party’s delusional wing are flirting with former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a conservative African American, to chair the RNC. Blackwell once compared gay people to “arsonists and kleptomaniacs,” described their lives as a “transgression against God’s law,” and believes that they can “change.” In 2004, Blackwell led the campaign to amend Ohio’s constitution to prohibit recognition of same-sex marriage or civil unions.

Those who support Blackwell foolishly believe that public relations can repair race relations and give the party a modern facade. This cynical strategy will not work any better now than it did when the Republicans elevated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. It also seems self-destructive for a party to consider a man as its leader who lost his 2006 Ohio gubernatorial race by a 24-point margin. That is not exactly “a winner.”

Furthermore, as the first African American RNC chairman, Blackwell would be compared to the far more eloquent and historic Barack Obama. While Obama focused on issues such as healthcare and the economy, Blackwell — if the past is indicative — would fixate on homosexuality and abortion. For most Americans, Obama would provide inspiration, while Blackwell would be a cause of division and irritation.

If the GOP were trying to commit suicide, electing Blackwell would be the perfect poison pill to swallow.

In a sign of how lost Republicans truly are, the New York Times reported that several operatives said that the party should “seek to recover its standing among Hispanic voters.” I’m not sure how this will occur. The GOP base is virulently anti-immigration and mentions “The Wall” more often than Pink Floyd.

As if to confirm that the Republican Party is plunging to new depths, there are rumors (in jest for now) that “Joe the Plumber” may run for the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. And, speaking of raw sewage, Ann Coulter has a detestable new book, Guilty, which reminds the nation of why conservatives have fallen out of favor.

The gay and lesbian community is poised to make an enormous amount of progress. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told The New Yorker that he expects Congress to pass laws outlawing employment discrimination, addressing hate crimes and ending the military’s disastrous Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell policy.

I wish I could say that this will be a bipartisan effort — but it won’t be. It will be a majority of Democrats, with a few exceptions, overriding the objections of a Republican minority in lockstep with the Religious Right.

Even if we do achieve legal equality, we will still have to endure the continued verbal abuse, humiliation, and lies spewed by some Republican members of congress.

While gay Republicans were building a Log Cabin, social conservatives built a skyscraper that blots out the sun. Until this monstrosity implodes, Log Cabin will remain in the shadows.

Whether Log Cabin has money in the bank is irrelevant, as the Christian Coalition drove them out of business a long time ago.

I’m confused by Log Cabin Republicans.

I see their booths at gay events, I even became friends with one or two in law school, but still, the idea of voting for a party that works against your equal rights amazed me. So I looked them up.

According to their website, Log Cabin Republicans have a, “firm belief in the principles of limited government, individual liberty, individual responsibility, free markets and a strong national defense.” Moreover, they believe in working within the Republican Party to bring about equal treatment for gays and lesbians.

Perhaps a foolhardy effort, but then again, working within the United States government for equal rights for Black people or immigrants seemed pretty ridiculous at a time in history too.

So let’s take them at their word: they are fiscal conservatives who perhaps believe in a strict construction of the constitution and a cap on judicial activism. They also feel that the best way to achieve equal rights is to work with those who wish to oppose them.

I still have one problem. The next election may choose four years of economic and social policy, but it will also make one other important choice that will affect the rights of gays and lesbians for at least three generations to come: Supreme Court appointments.

Today, the Court has four liberal justices, Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter and Breyer. And four conservative appointments who tow the party line, Alito, Roberts, Scalia and Thomas. Kennedy, a conservative appointment who waffles, has often been the necessary vote to tip the balance in the liberals’ favor.

He was in the most recent Roe v. Wade challenge and again in Lawrence v. Texas.

This is important to understand, Lawrence v. Texas is the same decision that allowed Log Cabin Republicans to have sex at all, legally, in many of their home states.

The problem is that these judges age, and two of them, Stevens and Ginsburg, are aching to retire (literally).

If Obama becomes president he would, at least, be able to maintain the status quo, maybe put a woman or two up there, and create a few more years of an even fight for those hoping for progressive judgments.

If McCain wins, two conservative appointments would shift the majority, leave us with six conservative votes, and little hope for the rights of gay men to engage in sexual intercourse legally.

It’s not just gay men who will suffer. The right of women to enforce the Violence Against Women Act will be in jeopardy. As well, habeas corpus, that age old right to know what crime you are charged with committing, is also at risk. Not to mention abortion. We would have a conservative majority in all the unforeseen legal challenges the Court may choose to adjudicate in the future.

This president can do whatever temporary decision making it wants and nothing will have such a lasting effect as the choice of the next two justices of the Supreme Court.

Log Cabin Republicans may advocate gradual legislative change, but when the very act of love that defines your personal identity (and membership in your group, I assume) is threatened, perhaps sacrificing a few years of small government is worth it.
 

“I want to pay my respects to your organization on behalf of the campaign.  Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party,” Schmidt told the organization at a lunch in Minneapolis hosted by Log Cabin to honor openly gay convention delegates.

Schmidt has served as day-to-day campaign manager since early July.

“Keep fighting for what you believe, because the day is going to come,” Schmidt told the group.

“The Campaign’s efforts to reach out to Log Cabin members are reflective of Sen. McCain’s inclusive record and indicative of the type of campaign he is running,” said Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon.  “Log Cabin is proud to support Senator McCain in this important election.”

Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter also spoke at the event.

Log Cabin’s endorsement of McCain was not unexpected, but prompted a rebuke from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT rights organization.

“[McCain] actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in his home state of Arizona,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

“He went so far as to appear in television commercials for that campaign, is now supporting an amendment to strip marriage equality from California couples and has said that he would vote for a federal marriage amendment if laws already banning marriage equality were to be struck down by federal courts,” Solmonese said.

Log Cabin Republicans endorsed then-Governor George W. Bush in 2000, but declined to endorse President Bush in 2004—largely over the president’s push for a federal anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and his decision to use gay people as a wedge issue in winning re-election.

“John McCain claims to be a maverick who breaks with his party, but on matters of LGBT equality, he’s shown that he’s anything but,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.

“He actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in his home state of Arizona. He went so far as to appear in television commercials for that campaign, is now supporting an amendment to strip marriage equality from California couples and has said that he would vote for a federal marriage amendment if laws already banning marriage equality were to be struck down by federal courts,” he said.

HRC is equally concerned about the Log Cabin endorsement of Vice Presidential candidate Palin:

“Sarah Palin has also supported bans on marriage and even domestic partner benefits in Alaska. The Republican Party, McCain and Palin’s party, has declared in its platform that they want to pass the federal marriage amendment. Their party’s platform also calls gay and lesbian Americans unfit for military service, supports policies that would allow faith-based organizations to deny us jobs and services using federal dollars, and attacks judges who acknowledge our equality under the law. The Human Rights Campaign endorses mavericks on both sides of the aisle— neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin is among them,” said Solmonese.

Log Cabin’s endorsement of the McCain/Palin ticket was not unexpected. The gay GOP group made its announcement Tuesday following a 12-2 vote of its national board of directors.

“On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade—the federal marriage amendment—Sen. John McCain stood with us.  Now we stand with him,” said Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon.

“Sen. McCain showed courage by bucking his own party’s leadership and the president – twice voting against the amendment.  He gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, calling the amendment ‘antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans.’  He paid a political price for his vote,” said Sammon.

Log Cabin noted, however, that it does have some disagreements with McCain on LGBT issues.

“We have honest disagreements with Sen. McCain on a number of gay rights issues.  Log Cabin will continue our conversation with him and other Republican leaders about issues affecting gay and lesbian Americans.  We will speak out when there’s disagreement—either during the upcoming campaign or when John McCain is President,” said Sammon.

Log Cabin Republicans endorsed then-Governor George W. Bush in 2000, but declined to endorse President Bush in 2004—largely over the president’s push for a federal anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and his decision to use gay people as a wedge issue in winning re-election.