Posted on 09/08/2004 3:56:08 PM PDT by granite
The board of the Log Cabin Republicans, the largest group for gay men and lesbians in the party, has voted overwhelmingly against endorsing President George Bush for re-election because of his support for a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
The decision ends six months of soul-searching as the group, which endorsed Mr Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996, has wrestled with its divided loyalties.
Although the group was immediately critical when the President announced his support for the amendment in February, it refrained from ruling out an endorsement. Its effort to balance loyalty to the party with opposition to a major item on the Republican agenda has made it the target of criticism from both supporters and opponents of the proposed amendment.
As delegates at the Republican national convention prepared to adopt a platform condemning gay parents, for example, a handful of gay rights activists protested outside a Log Cabin party on August 29 in New York. In a meeting on Tuesday night in Washington, the group's board voted 22-2 to withhold its endorsement, a spokesman said.
In a statement afterwards, Log Cabin Republicans executive director Patrick Guerriero cited exit polls showing that more than a million gay men and lesbians voted for Mr Bush in 2000. That included 45,000 in the pivotal state of Florida, which Mr Bush carried by about 500 votes.
"Some will accuse us of being disloyal," Mr Guerriero said. "It was actually the White House who was disloyal" to those gay voters.
However, he said the group "proudly supported the President's firm leadership in the war on terror."
The group also denounced what it called "flip-flops" by Democratic candidate John Kerry, referring to statements that he opposed same-sex marriage and favoured state constitutional amendments to ban it.
Log Cabin chairman William Brownson said the organisation planned to "shift our financial and political resources to defeating the radical right", partly by supporting sympathetic Republican candidates for Congress.
The group's first advertising campaign, which began last week, quoted former president Ronald Reagan's statement that he hoped he "appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears".
Well, here's another good reason to vote for W.
Darn.
Excuse my ignorance, but did the Log Cabin GOP have gay marriage as a part of their platform in previous elections?
And do they this year?
The Sun is bright.
Another pathetic cry for attention.
Oh, please. "Soul-searching" ... "divided loyalties" ... Perverts looking to gain as much political clout as possible, weighing their options. Who needs 'em?
Interesting timing. These idiots were supposed to decide over the weekend whether they were going to endorse Bush. However, they waited until the day after the AZ Primary election to announce it. Why? Could it be that once married, now openly gay Rep. Jim Kolbe (AZ), who serves on the Log Cabin Republicans National Advisory Board, called in a favor and told them to delay their announcement until a day after his election. Kolbe successfully fended off a strong primary challenger, conservative Randy Graf.
Good. All the more reason to vote for Bush.
Hell, why don't the Log Cabin "Republicans" make a real dash for irrelevance and just endorse Gavin Newsom? That pantywaist is the only politician depraved enough to openly embrace gay marriage.
Oh well, such is life for single organ voters.
It's All About The O.
Oh no! Now the GOP will never carry CA or NY.
The good news just keeps coming for Bush.
I don't think thats a biggie.
no more bush
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