Posted on 04/18/2002 5:34:47 AM PDT by H8DEMS
Gay Republicans assemble for convention Wed Apr 17, 7:45 PM ET Tom Musbach, Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
SUMMARY: Gay Republican leaders began arriving in the nation's capital on for a convention that will celebrate the leadership of President Bush (news - web sites).
Gay Republican leaders began arriving in the nation's capital on Wednesday for a convention that will celebrate the achievements and leadership of President George W. Bush.
The annual convention is organized by Log Cabin Republicans (news - web sites) (LCR), the largest gay Republican group in the United States. Organizers expect more than 150 local, state and national leaders to participate in the meetings, which run through Saturday.
"It is time to speak out on behalf of over one million gay Americans who voted for President Bush and who strongly support his leadership today," said Rich Tafel, executive director of LCR. "One-third of gay Americans have consistently voted Republican in each general election over the decade, and we want the country to know that we are behind our president and administration."
The conference will take place amid anti-war demonstrations in Washington this weekend, and LCR expects that its events will also attract protests.
"Every year, our conventions are the targets of protestors from the far left and the far right, and both have sought to disrupt our events," LCR spokesman Kevin Ivers told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. "We've got a long history with such extremist attacks on us, and we're always prepared."
Ivers said the convention will also offer an opportunity to celebrate the government appointments of leaders like Scott Evertz, director of White House Office of National AIDS (news - web sites) Policy, and Mark Groombridge, who works on arms control in the State Department. Evertz will address the LCR members on Thursday at the White House.
LCR has supported many controversial moves by the Bush administration, including faith-based and community initiative legislation and the appointment of Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites), who announced last week the first-ever federal hate-crime indictment of a man suspected of killing two lesbian hikers.
The group's political rival, the National Stonewall Democrats (NSD), will hold its biennial convention the following weekend in Cleveland. According to John Marble, NSD media coordinator, the conference will equip attendees with electoral strategies, media training and persuasion techniques geared toward "getting gay-supportive Democrats elected in this cycle."
The irony here is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
There is no way to know whether a man likes to shag with another man. Why tell us? I really don't care. I really don't see the relevance.
"One-third of gay Americans have consistently voted Republican in each general election over the decade, and we want the country to know that we are behind our president and administration."
Ok, that's great. I prefer to have sex with women. I also support our President. Should I feel compelled to put out a press release announcing that 54% of men who sleep with women support Bush? Is that too easy? What if I prefer donkeys? This is really quite absurd.
And I really must object to this title "Log Cabin" Republicans, an obvious reference to Abe Lincoln, who these "activists" insist must have been gay. This is apparently based on "tender" grammar used in letters between the 16th President and a good friend. When one reads letter between the robustly hetro James Boswell and Dr. Johnson, the wording is remarkably similar ("My dearest Jophnson", etc). Are we to presume that they were lovers as well. How stupid is all this.
Surely you're joking. As if their going to comfortably fit in to the social groups of 90% of the people who post here. More than anyone else, they're likely to form their own.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.