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Washington (CNN) - Steve Schmidt, a key architect of John McCain's presidential campaign, is making his first public return to Washington a bold one. Schmidt will use a speech Friday to Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, to urge conservative Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage, CNN has learned. "There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage," Schmidt will say, according to speech excerpts obtained by CNN. "I believe conservatives, more than liberals, insist that rights come with responsibilities. No other exercise of one's liberty comes with greater responsibilities than marriage."

(CNN) – Log Cabin Republicans are getting some support from the McCain family. Cindy and Meghan McCain will make an appearance at the gay rights organization's four day convention in Washington, which kicks off Thursday night. "Of all the causes I believe in and speak publicly about, this is one of the ones closest to my heart," Meghan McCain, a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage, wrote in the Daily Beast this week. "If the Republican Party has any hope of gaining substantial support from a wider, younger base, we need to get past our anti-gay rhetoric." Steve Schmidt, former senior...

Granted, it was skewed by Politico’s link, but not by that much. Meggie Mac, er, weighs in: I am a woman who despises labels and boxes and stereotypes. Recently, I seemed to have rocked a few individuals within my party by saying that I am a pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican. So if anyone is still confused, let me spell it out for you. I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone...

Meghan McCain: We Need More Gay Republicans! By David Knowles Apr 13th 2009 10:00AM Here's a question: Can Meghan McCain, the blog-a-lot daughter of Senator John McCain, help bring the Republican Party into the twenty-first century? Well, with her column at The Daily Beast, and during her many television interviews, she sure is giving it a go. Today's screed, for instance, attempts to light a fire under the Republican posterior on the matter of including gay rights in the party platform: If the Republican Party has any hope of gaining substantial support from a wider, younger base, we need to...

Meghan McCain on why supporting gay marriage is fundamentally in line with Republican values, and what the GOP stands to gain by doing so. This week, I will be speaking at the Log Cabin Republicans' national convention in support of the gay community and its role in the future of the Republican Party. Of all the causes I believe in and speak publicly about, this is one of the ones closest to my heart. The Log Cabin Republicans’ mission "is to work within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians." The group is...

A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana. A wildlife cameraman took pictures of the calf when he spotted it among a herd of about 80 elephants in the Okavango Delta. Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants. They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf. Mike Holding, who spotted the baby while filming for a BBC wildlife programme, said: "We only saw it for a couple of minutes as the herd crossed...

The amount of money that the Gill Action Fund has contributed to the Log Cabin Republicans — about one-third of its total budget in some years — is raising questions about Democratic influence over the GOP organization and its search for a new president. Tim Gill, founder and chair of Gill Action, is widely known for funding the campaigns of pro-gay politicians, many of them Democrats. He’s a wealthy entrepreneur and founder of Quark who has donated tens of thousands of dollars to various Democratic causes and candidates, including to the campaigns of Sens. John Kerry, John Edwards and Chris...

Log Cabin Republicans Proudly Endorses Sen. John McCain for President Log Cabin Republicans recently announced its endorsement of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for President of the United States. The decision was announced at Log Cabin's "Big Tent Event" at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, MN. Read Log Cabin's news release announcing the endorsement. At the event, McCain Campaign National Political Director Michael DuHaime spoke to Log Cabin Republicans and formally accepted the endorsement. Also, McCain Campaign Senior Adviser Steve Schmidt addressed gay Republicans gathered at the party's convention. Schmidt, who has served as tjhe day-to-day campaign manager since...

For Immediate Release Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon made the following statement about Sen. McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: "Alaska Governor Sarah Palin can help Sen. McCain win this election by appealing to independent and young voters. She's a mainstream Republican who will unite the Party and serve John McCain well as Vice President. Gov. Palin is an inclusive Republican who will help Sen. McCain appeal to gay and lesbian voters." ###

Item: A CBS News / New York Times poll finds that 48% of Republican delegates support either gay marriage or civil unions for gay people. Item: The Log Cabin Republicans, after some dawdling, formally endorses the McCain-Palin ticket. Said LCR president Patrick Sammon in a statement: "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. Sen. McCain is an inclusive Republican who is focusing the GOP on unifying core principles that appeal to independent voters."

The California Supreme Court says it plans to issue its long-awaited decision on whether to legalize same-sex marriage on Thursday. The high court announced the pending opinion on its Web site Wednesday morning. Justices heard oral arguments in a series of cases brought by gay and lesbian couples, the city of San Francisco and two gay rights advocacy groups in early March. The court has been asked to decide whether the state's one man-one woman marriage laws violate the civil rights of same-sex couples. If it rules in favor of the plaintiffs, California could become the second state after Massachusetts...

The Log Cabin Republicans of California, a gay GOP organization, has endorsed a number of Inland candidates in the June primary. The group said it didn't focus on "gay issues" in making its decisions because gays and lesbians already have many rights in California. Instead, the group looked at candidates' positions on issues such as lower taxes and public safety, said James Vaughn, the Log Cabin Republicans' state director. "The gay wars are over. We've moved on," Vaughn said. "We want to support Republicans who want to win elections, not fight losing battles." The group took neutral positions on some...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says if an initiative to ban gay marriage qualifies for the November ballot, he's prepared to fight it. California's governor was in San Diego Friday speaking at the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest gay Republican group. Schwarzenegger said he was confident that a ban would never pass in California but called the effort "a waste of time" - joking that he wished activists would focus on allowing naturalized citizens to run for president instead. A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman did not say what prompted the governor to shift his position. He has previously vetoed...

11/28/07 Republican Debate-Log Cabin Republicans James Vaughn of Log Cabin writes an interesting post on the Republican YouTube Debate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLois8cnf0Q We respect Gov. Huckabee and his clearly consistent policy opinion on marriage equality, even though we strongly disagree with that policy.

Keeping true to his strict federalist view, GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul told ABC's John Stossel gays should be allowed to marry. "They can do whatever they want and they can call it whatever they want; just so they don't expect to impose their relationship on someone else," Dr. Paul stated. The Texas Congressman added, "I would like to see all governments out of the marriage question. I don't think it is a state function; it is a religious function. There was a time when only churches dealt with marriage and they determined what it was. But 100 years or...

Doug Warner seems like a stereotypical Republican: Southern, white, male, he served in the military, drives an SUV and likes hunting and fishing. He is also openly gay. Warner's sexual orientation makes for an awkward fit in a party with a powerful evangelical Christian wing that regards homosexuality as a sin and same-sex marriage as a threat to the traditional family. "I believe that the approach of the social extremists eliminates our party's ability to grow in the future," he told Reuters by phone from his home in Charleston, South Carolina. For years, bashing the "homosexual agenda" worked well for...

In one of Mitt Romney’s early TV spots, an announcer described how, “In one of the most liberal states in the country, one Republican stood up” for various conservative issues, such as “traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life.” Not so fast, say the Log Cabin Republicans, the major gay Republican group. It has put out a new ad today featuring a very liberal sounding Mitt Romney. The spot comes off as pro-Romney, boasting of his “Massachusetts values,’’ which is a fairly brutal thing to say considering that the Log Cabin Republicans plan to run the spot not only...

New Right's on target as Republicans gather in Dallas Moderates lose custody of party's mainstream As a prelude to the Republican National Convention, two factions within the GOP are engaged in a fight for the right to claim they represent the mainstream of America . But when the cards are dealt to the New Right and self-dubbed moderates of the GOP, the New Right has control of the deck in 1984. And it has succeeded in drawing up the most conservative party platform of the last 20 years. In four years, the deck will be reshuffled, and moderates of the...

According to The Washington Post, there are 33 names on Rogers' list of Congressional charlatans - 30 of them Republicans. If only one-third of these scoundrels get outed in the next two years, the earthquake on Capitol Hill will be so large that it may cause a war between GOP moderates and social conservatives. About three years ago, I was lounging in a Montreal hotel room when I got a call from activist Mike Rogers. I was unaware of who he was, but this intense stranger began interrogating me for information about - well, I don't even remember what the...

Whenever I scan the lefty message boards about Obama, I always hear one of them saying something like "my diehard Republican neighbor who worships George Bush loves Obama and wants to vote for him so badly." My question is, do these mythical Republicans exist and have any of YOU seen or heard from them? Or do you think these alleged Republicans just exist in the dreams of DUmmies?