Free Republic

President Obama’s address to the nation tonight provides a stark contrast to the reality that all Americans – not just gays and lesbians – are living,” comments Terry W. Hamilton. “The increasingly dominant role of government in the daily life of gays and lesbians under President Obama’s leadership has done nothing but put our community in jeopardy – from his support of the Estate Tax, instructing his Administration to defend the failed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy in court, to stifling small business development across the nation, all Americans should take heed to his overarching promises that are long on...

Taking a risk here, but politics makes for strange alliances, whether we know about the alliances or not. Credit should be given where it is due.

The founder of the website "Free Republic", Jim Robinson, has joined a growing boycott of the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) due to a homosexual activist group sponsoring the event. GOProud, a group that advocates same-sex "marriage," a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and "expanding access to domestic partner benefits" for homosexuals, is listed as a sponsor of the event at CPAC's website. Mr. Robinson has joined a number of conservative activists including Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver, and Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of...

SALT LAKE CITY -- A gay rights group says it is securing Republican support in the Utah state Legislature for anti-discrimination laws. The Deseret News reports members of the Utah Log Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian political group, say two bills granting gays extra rights in Utah will have GOP sponsors when they go before the Legislature in the 2010 session. The group is not saying who those sponsors are. One of the measures is similar to an ordinance approved in Salt Lake City that states gay workers can't be fired because of their sexuality. The Deseret News reports...

The Virginia Frontier Culture Museum's 1740s log cabin is displayed as a work in progress. The cabin is a typical peeled-log, saddle-notched settler's cabin of the kind favored by Scotch-Irish moving into the wilds of the Backcountry. The construction was simple and required few tools. The museum's replica is built with one door and no windows -- a common practice which led to laws requiring homesteader's cabins have at least one window.

Featuring log buildings presently under re-construction at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia. This provides a good look at how such buildings were made.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12 (UPI) -- Meghan McCain, the 24-year-old daughter of the 2008 Republican U.S. presidential nominee, could be the upcoming face of the GOP, political analysts say. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that the younger McCain has described herself as a pro-sex, "pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican." The newspaper said she appeals to younger Republicans, who could become known as the "Meghan McCain Republicans" -- interested in fiscal conservatism and less government involvement in peoples' private lives. "That's the kind of positioning it will take to appeal to more millennials," said Mike Hais, a fellow with NDN, the Washington...

According to an article in the New York Daily News of April 11, Mayor Mike Bloomberg has now secured the support of the county chair of the Bronx Borough Republican Party. New York election laws permit an independent (or a member of another party) to run in a party primary for Mayor of New York City, if that candidate gets permission to run from 3 of the 5 boroughs of the city. Bloomberg had already been endorsed for re-election this year by the leaders of the Brooklyn and Staten Island Republican Parties. Bloomberg has been a registered independent since late...

Republican in Name Only? Try the future of the GOP. The following is Meghan McCain's address to the Log Cabin Republicans Convention—a group that promotes gay issues within the GOP—on April 18, 2009. Thank you all for having me here tonight. I am thrilled to be able to speak to you this evening to share some of my experiences from the campaign and observations on where our party is today. And I’m proud to tell you there is a special role for the Log Cabin Republicans to play in our future. The last two years of my life have been...

The Log Cabin Republicans are holding a convention in Washington, D.C. this week and weekend to discuss the future of the Republican Party and how gay Republicans can feel at home within it. POLITICO caught up with Terry Hamilton, the group's chairman, and interviewed him about whether it's easier to be a gay Republican or a gay Democrat, if the Republican Party is becoming more accommodating of gay conservatives, and whether Meghan McCain — who speaks Saturday at the convention's closing dinner and who has passionately encouraged the GOP to support gay marriage — has become a hero for Log...

McCain Strategist Warns GOP Risks Becoming 'Religious Party' Steve Schmidt urges Republicans to begin voicing more support for civil unions and gay rights. FOXNews.com Friday, April 17, 2009 Steve Schmidt, former top adviser to John McCain during the presidential campaign, is urging Republicans to shift their views on gay marriage. (AP Photo) John McCain's top adviser from the presidential campaign urged fellow Republicans on Friday to warm up to gay rights and warned that the GOP risks becoming the "religious party" with its opposition to same-sex marriage. Steve Schmidt, in his first political appearance since the election, spoke at the...

McCain Strategist Warns GOP Risks Becoming 'Religious Party' Steve Schmidt urges Republicans to begin voicing more support for civil unions and gay rights. FOXNews.com Friday, April 17, 2009 John McCain's top adviser from the presidential campaign urged fellow Republicans on Friday to warm up to gay rights and warned that the GOP risks becoming the "religious party" with its opposition to same-sex marriage. Steve Schmidt, in his first political appearance since the election, spoke at the Washington, D.C., convention for the Log Cabin Republicans -- a grassroots group for gay and lesbian Republicans. He urged Republicans, in the near-term, to...

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...