RSS Feed MenuClarke Cooper of the Log Cabin Republicans emailed FrumForum a statement on Ken Mehlman, former chair of the Republican National Committee:
Log Cabin Republicans is very supportive and appreciative of Ken’s coming out. Being gay and being conservative are not mutually exclusive. As a fellow Bush alumnus, I also look forward to Ken helping me and our colleagues build a stronger more inclusive Republican Party.
Follow Jeb on twitter: http://twitter.com/JGolinkin
TJ Parker // Aug 26, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Hairy Turdcastle:
And ignorance can be overcome with education.
brandon // Aug 27, 2010 at 12:15 am
I don’t quite understand how a gay person could not be a conservative. Obviously, they could be a fiscal conservative and believe in a limited, constitutional based government.
But why couldn’t they also be a social conservative. There is no doubt that the family is the most important institution in any civilization and that the most successful type of family for raising kids is a man married to one woman. Couldn’t a gay person believe that fact? I know straight couples who are conservative but don’t have or want kids. They don’t think they would make good parents, but they agree that the family is the bedrock of society. Couldn’t a gay couple have the same belief?
ktward // Aug 27, 2010 at 12:20 am
TJ Parker: And ignorance can be overcome with education.
Now who’s thinking wishfully?
Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public.
Further to your point on Mehlman:
You express some of the hard feelings that are spilling from much of the LGBT community. Can’t blame you, don’t blame you. He’s no idiot, he knows he’s got a PR s**tstorm on his hands that’s not likely to quell without some very public atonement.
To be fair, though, it does appear he’s already been working behind the scenes:
Chad Griffin, the California-based political strategist who organized opposition to Proposition 8, said that Mehlman’s quiet contributions to the American Foundation for Equal Rights are “tremendous,” adding that “when we achieve equal equality, he will be one of the people to thank for it.”
Bottom line, Mehlman speaks the language of Institutional GOP, as it were, which lends even more bi-partisan cred and a louder megaphone to the issue of equal LGBT rights. Momentum is building, and frankly, if Falwell himself rose from the dead to come out, I’d welcome his voice too. (Initially, I was going to use ‘the devil’ as my example, but Falwell’s actually a few decency notches below the red dude, imho.)
An interesting read:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/26/mehlman-s-coming-out-roils-gay-community.html
Kevin Nix, a spokesman for the Family Equality Council, a Boston-based advocacy group for LGBT families, says, “The community has a right to be angry with Mehlman—really angry. But being angry now is not going to get us policy reform we are seeking. Mehlman should put the same amount of time, energy, and money he spent working against LGBT equality into working for it. And then some.”
TJ Parker // Aug 27, 2010 at 1:53 am
“Mehlman should put the same amount of time, energy, and money he spent working against LGBT equality into working for it. And then some.”
Absolutely! The same goes for the entire GOP. Saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t mean anything unless you turn around and try to undo what you’ve done in the past, with at least as much zeal.
TJ Parker // Aug 27, 2010 at 1:55 am
I don’t quite understand how a gay person could not be a conservative.
Nothing’s more important to me than my (gay) family. And there has been no greater threat to my family than that mounted by social conservatives – evangelicals and Mormons – over the last decades. That is why we can not vote with social conservatives.
brandon // Aug 27, 2010 at 2:40 am
Then I understand TJ that is your number one issue.
But isn’t it possible that for many gay people, the fact that they happen to like the same sex might not be the defining thing in their life. Most straight people are interested in many issues other than the fact that they prefer the opposite sex.
Can’t gay people be interested in issues like back to basic education, the rights of the unborn, obscenity on tv or any other “evangelical issues.”
My guess would be that most gay people are like anybody else. They are trying to earn a living, wanting to own a home, hang out with friends etc. I would think that most gays are not represented by those who like to parade in San Francisco and flaunt their sexuality.
I would hope that for most gay people that their sexuality is just one part of their life and not the only thing that matters in their life.
bubba11 // Aug 27, 2010 at 2:59 am
It bothers me that he would not have advocated for the rights of gay people before he “decided” he was gay. It seems that gay rights are only important to him now that he has come out. Why weren’t they important before?
TJ Parker // Aug 27, 2010 at 9:00 am
brandon:
“But isn’t it possible that for many gay people, the fact that they happen to like the same sex might not be the defining thing in their life. Most straight people are interested in many issues other than the fact that they prefer the opposite sex.
“Can’t gay people be interested in issues like back to basic education, the rights of the unborn, obscenity on tv or any other `evangelical issues.’
Yes, of course. Most of us are well-rounded people with lives just like your own. And if sexual orientation was just sexual orientation then what you’re saying is correct. I agree whole-heartedly.
But its the GOP and its social conservative agenda that asserts repeatedly that sexual orientation is not just sexual orientation: it defines how we are treated in every facet of our lives. Our families are taxed differently than yours. Inheritance laws affect us differently. The parental or spousal rights and responsibilities that you take for granted are denied to us. Social conservatives have argued forcefully that discrimination in employment is okay. The AG of Virginia has pushed to allow discrimination in education.
So, bottom line: its social conservatives that have completely defined us by our sexual orientation by asserting some divine right to discriminate against us anywhere and everywhere on that basis.
And that’s just assuming that everything is equal. If we buy into the true “family values” issues of social conservatives, then we’d have to say that family issues are weighed more heavily than others. How much is your right to make medical decisions for your spouse or child worth to you?
Look, I’m very well off financially. I benefitted enormously from the Bush years. But not only did I vote against him, but I contributed to the Democrats and worked for them. And I remember the exact moment when I decided to do that: before the 2004 election, the morning that I saw Bush get up on TV and announce his vile anti-gay marriage initiative: that pushed me off the fence immediately. I was sick of being the GOP’s political football.
How would the GOP ever win me back? As in the case of Mehlman, its not enough to no longer oppose things like same-sex marriage. I’d have to see them go out and undo the damage – e.g. all those anti-marriage amendments – with just as much zeal. I don’t know how long that will take, but I don’t think it can be done credibly in the short term. Actually I think it will take at least a generation.
Elvis Elvisberg // Aug 27, 2010 at 10:52 am
brandon– of course you’re right that gays can be political, philosophical conservatives.
But that kind of conservatism is dead in this country.
There is nothing more to conservatism anymore than tribal hatreds. When Bruce Bartlett wrote in 2005 that the Bush-era GOP was not conservative, because of the massive debts they were running up, how did conservatives respond? Did they mend their ways, bringing the deficit under control? Of course not. They excommunicated Bartlett from the conservative movement. Remember, Bush Jr. left office with a 28% approval rating from independents… and a 61% approval rating from Republicans.
There are no ideals in conservatism, only tribal allegiances. Gays are not part of “us,” so the GOP wants to use the power of the government to make their lives worse.
armstp // Aug 27, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Mehlman is a funny dude. Are we sure he really is gay?
I think there are many more gays in the GOP than there are gays in the democratic party. They just don’t know it or are scared of it so that is why they are so against the gays. And the gay you are likely to meet in the bathroom stall is more likely to be a Republican, as he has to hide it. Must be a misserable life for all these gay Republicans. Maybe that is why they are trying to kill us with all there failed policies.
brandon // Aug 27, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Elvis: “There is nothing more to conservatism anymore than tribal hatred”
The above statement Elvis is simply not true.
Considering that Bruce Bartlett no longer believes in conservatism and is now a believer in Keynesian economics, he deserved to be excommunicated from the “conservative movement.”
I’m not surprised that over half of Republicans still approved of Bush as party loyalty among some is very strong. I’m sure a good percentage of the GOP still approved of Nixon in August of 1974.
The fact that Bush was incompetent does not mean that conservatism is wrong and liberalism is right. It simply means that Bush was incompetent.
Former Log Cabin Chief Rich Tafel: I'm Not Forgiving Ken Mehlman / Queerty // Sep 9, 2010 at 10:02 am
[...] rights. He is truly a force multiplier for us.—R. Clarke Cooper, LCR's current chief in a previous and updated statement[via Washington Blade] ';document.write(str);}/*]]>*/ Sep 9, 2010 · [...]