Two Views. I guess it all depends on how you look at things.
From the Log Cabin Republicans, Republicans Sweep Senate
and House, Making History, While Gays Win Most Ballot
Issues:
In all, 92% of LCR-endorsed House Republican incumbents were re-elected, and 100% of LCR-endorsed Senate candidates won or advanced to a run-off. Also, LCR-endorsed candidates for governor were victorious in New York (Governor George Pataki), Massachusetts (Governor-elect Mitt Romney), Maryland (Governor-elect Robert Ehrlich) and Georgia (Governor-elect Sonny Perdue). -- In Ohio, Governor Bob Taft (R) won overwhelmingly despite strong opposition by far-right groups to his selection of LCR-backed Jeannette Bradley (R) as his running mate. Bradley, a strong supporter of same-sex partner health benefits for public employees, will be the first African American female lieutenant governor in the nation's history. --
From the anti-gay Family & Culture Institute,
Opposition to Homosexual Agenda Propelled GOP Victories Across
Nation:
the fact that clear pro-family stances on homosexuality played well as major campaign issues rebuts a central argument of groups like the homosexual Log Cabin Republicans (LRC) and Republican Unity Coalition (RUC). For years, these groups have argued that GOP candidates must reach out to "moderate" voters either by taking pro-homosexual positions or - as RUC advises - making "homosexuality a non-issue" in their campaigns. But even in liberal, heavily Democratic states, the election results provided evidence that principled opposition to homosexual activism helped candidates win. ...
[In Florida,] Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, clearly embraced the state's law banning homosexual adoptions. ... [In Georgia,] Rep. Saxby Chambliss (R) defeated incumbent Sen. Max Cleland. The state Republican Party pounded Cleland for his vote against the Helms amendment prohibiting federal funding of schools that ban the Boy Scouts. "
Yes, I"m partial. But weighing both arguments, I think the anti-gays come up awfully short. Aside from a stray city council or state legislative race here or there, all the key victories they claim were decidedly not decided by "family values" issues at all. Meanwhile, Log Cabin's involvement in so many winning races was, in and of itself, a victory for gay inclusion.
Lambda Goes Astray. Just why is Lambda Legal Defense, whose mission is to fight legal battles against gay discrimination, going ballistic over Miss America's pro-abstinence views? Yes, the advocacy of abstinence-only education for America's youth, as opposed to publicly funded safe-sex education, is a topic worth raising and debating, but by Lambda? Take a look at their website, dominated by denunciations of Miss America 2003, Erika Harold. It's just bizarre. Are there no cases of government discrimination to litigate? Have all the "sodomy laws" been repealed? Is gay marriage now legal? Just what gives? We expect the censorious activists over at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to reproach those who express views not in step with the party line and demand contrition. It's a shame that Lambda has fallen into this trap.
Update: Since this posting, Lambda's website
has been changed and the lead coverage is now, more appropriately,
the Supreme Court case to overturn state sodomy statutes. The Miss
America brouhaha has been reduced to only the second most important
item on the website.
--Stephen H. Miller