After a long spell with no staff whatsoever, the national Log Cabin Republicans' board of directors has named R. Clarke Cooper as the group's new leader. Here's the announcement. And some background on Cooper's military service (well, he seems like a straight shooter!).
As I've often argued, to the dismay of the one-party-is-all-we-need crowd, we will never obtain full legal and social equality if the conservative party in the U.S. remains in adamant opposition. That's why making gay integration into American society a conservative goal is so important. Witness the strides toward legal equality in Britain, where several top Torie party leaders are openly gay.
In the U.S., as of now the left-leaning Democratic party has an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress and the presidency, and after two years we are not going to see even partial repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act that prohibits the federal government from recognizing gay unions sanctioned by individual states (no joint tax returns, no Social Security inheritance, no tax break on employer-provided spousal health care, etc. etc.). The reason: the Democrats have more or less gotten a free ride, so why spend political capital?
Let's hope with new leadership, LCR (along with newer rival GOProud), can help to move the ball forward.
21 Comments for “Log Cabin Getting It Together?”
posted by BobN on
The reason: the Democrats have more or less gotten a free ride, so why spend political capital?
You guys can’t muster a single confirmed vote in favor of repeal and, yet, Dems are the problem.
Whatever floats your dinghy.
posted by Tom on
What changes in Republican politics/culture do you suppose it would take for (1) current gay and lesbian Republican politicians to come out of the closet; and/or (2) future gay and lesbian Republican politicians to feel free to run and be able to win party primaries?
posted by Jeremy on
This is good timing, especially since their DADT lawsuit begins trial next month. What amazing irony it will be when the Log Cabin Republicans are the ones who get DADT off the books, while Obama sold our people down the river.
posted by Jimmy on
“What amazing irony it will be when the Log Cabin Republicans are the ones who get DADT off the books, while Obama sold our people down the river.”
That is a stunningly absurd statement.
posted by Tom on
The House passed the measure tonight, with 229 Democrats and 5 Republicans voting for, and 168 Republicans and 26 Democrats voting against. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the measure 16-12, with one Republican voting for and one Democrat voting against.
It isn’t yet clear when the measure will get to a vote on the Senate floor. Speculation is that the matter will be taken up in June.
posted by Tom on
Stephen, first off, I hope you will contribute to the five Republicans who voted for the DADT repeal amendment (Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, Charles Djou, Judy Biggert, Joe Cao and Ron Paul).
Second, I hope that you will encourage both the LCR and GOProud to help move the ball forward by endorsing and supporting these candidates.
posted by Jorge on
Okay, here’s another stunningly absurd statement for you, Jimmy.
Everything else that was important this term passed with about the exact same margin of Republican support. I think it has more to do with Republican (and Republican voter) disdain of Democrats and the Obama Administration than any black and white policy difference.
posted by Tom on
So your suggestion is that Republicans oppose repeal of DADT notbecause they think that it is bad policy but instead because Democrats support repeal of DADT?
posted by Jimmy on
“I think it has more to do with Republican (and Republican voter) disdain of Democrats and the Obama Administration than any black and white policy difference.”
I think that is an entirely cogent statement. At least you have been paying attention, Jorge. The GOP game plan has been obstruction from day one of the shift in power, starting in ’06.
posted by Bobby on
I’m glad LCR appointed a military veteran, and I hope he’s not a RINO like the last LCR president was. It’s too bad the GOP stands against this issue, yet when I watch Glenn Beck and see that Obama is starting to do the same things Woodrow Wilson and FDR did, there’s no way I’m gonna stop being a republican. I also don’t like the speech Obama gave to the West Point graduates where he talked about humanistic bullshit and being global citizens.
posted by Tom on
Like successfully leading the nation in a major war?
Oh, no, that can’t be it.
I guess you are complaining about US involvement in the UN … sounds more like Beck.
posted by BobN on
I think it has more to do with Republican (and Republican voter) disdain of Democrats and the Obama Administration than any black and white policy difference.
Soooo… your defense of your party voting against something that is of great importance to YOU is that they were just playing politics on an issue of fundamental civil rights.
And just in time for Pawn Pride Month!!!
posted by Grant on
I am in agreement with Stephen Miller that the gay community putting all its political eggs in one basket is not a good long-term idea. As an independent-moderate, I, like many others in the gay community have had plenty to say in frustration with the Obama Administration’s handling of DADT and other issues important to us. But unlike the British Tory model, the American Republican model is largely controlled by the both the religious right (who care deeply about gay issues, in that they want to stop any progress at any cost), and the other legs of the Republican party who really don’t care much, but don’t want to lose a powerful block in their party.
How gays and lesbians can muster enough clout within the Republican party to make a difference is a mystery to me. I applaud any sincere efforts, from any side, which help to advance equality for gays and lesbians. On a local level (especially in the bluer states and districts), one can find a few Republicans who are fiscally responsible and socially libertarian. But these are rare birds indeed.
posted by BobN on
I would echo Tom’s call for gay Republicans to get behind your five Reps. who voted for repeal, even if they don’t represent your district.
I would go further, however, and encourage you to contact your Reps. who DID NOT support repeal and tell them you won’t be contributing to their campaigns until they change their minds.
[Note: later in the year, as November approaches and you start to worry about Socialist Victory, you can renege on your threat and give as much money as you want. The important thing is for your Rep. to think some of his supporters disagree with him/her. And don’t forgot for Dems in the 26 districts that also voted “no”, you can adopt the same tactic.]
posted by Jorge on
Soooo… your defense of your party voting against something that is of great importance to YOU is that they were just playing politics on an issue of fundamental civil rights.
And just in time for Pawn Pride Month!!!
No, sir. My defense is that the Democrats were so abusive in playing politics with the critical issues facing the nation that it 1) caused genuine hard feelings in Congress (not really too important), 2) corrupted the brand of compromise to the general public, and 3) called into question their competence on any general matter.
I’ll wish you luck in taking McCain and the others down if you can, but you’re not the person who will persuade me to go after them.
I definitely do not think, Jimmy, that the fault for the current political climate lies with the Republicans.
posted by Jorge on
So your suggestion is that Republicans oppose repeal of DADT notbecause they think that it is bad policy but instead because Democrats support repeal of DADT?
Well… given the margins (I know there’s a large unpersuadable base) it’s either that or because they’re stupid.
posted by Bobby on
“So your suggestion is that Republicans oppose repeal of DADT notbecause they think that it is bad policy but instead because Democrats support repeal of DADT?”
—That’s stupid, Republicans have always been somewhat uncomfortable with gays, in fact, the kinds of gays that vote republican don’t care that much about being gay or gay rights. The GOP isn’t going to oppose a policy just because the DNC supports it, do you really think they’re that stupid?
posted by Tom on
I think that gay and lesbian Republicans can gain enough clout in the Republican party to make a difference in exactly the way that gay and lesbian Democrats gained enough clout in the Democratic party to make a difference.
Here are the key steps that gay and lesbian Democrats took in Wisconsin:
(1) Gay and lesbian Democrats came out of the closet and became visible within the party.
(2) Openly gay and lesbian Democrats worked within the party, gaining political experience and accumulating influence in the party.
(3) Openly gay and lesbian Democrats started working for gay-supportive Democratic candidates in campaigns, gaining increased access to gay-supportive Democratic office holders.
(4) Gay and lesbian Democrats began channeling political contributions to gay-supportive Democratic candidates through personal contributions, Fair Wisconsin’s PAC, and conduits.
(5) Gay and lesbian Democrats began withholding campaign work and contributions from non-supportive Democratic candidates, particularly in primaries.
(6) Gay and lesbian Democrats began a systematic effort to influence Democratic officeholders on gay/lesbian issues through personal visits, letters and e-mails.
The strategy worked. Not too many years ago, Democratic candidates and officeholders, particularly in more conservative, upstate areas, ran scared of gay and lesbian issues. No longer.
Governor Doyle worked with Fair Wisconsin and Democratic leadership to pass a domestic partnership bill last summer, making Wisconsin the first and only state in the union to enact domestic partnership benefits in a state with a nuclear option anti-marriage amendment (bans same-sex marriage, civil unions, and “substantially equal” status). Several members of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation and state legislature are openly gay, including Tammy Baldwin and Mark Pocan. Senator Feingold endorsed same-sex marriage. The DPW has endorsed a resolution for four years running calling for repeal of the anti-marriage amendment and, while the anti-marriage amendment remains in place, enacting laws to protect LGBT families within the constitutional limitations.
I won’t say that it is all sweetness and light, or that things are anywhere close to ideal, but I’ve been actively involved in politics since 1968 and I’ve seen the change and helped bring it about.
The turning point in Wisconsin came in 2006, during the anti-marriage amendment fight. Gays and lesbians all over the state finally got to the point where they weren’t going to take it any more, and got off their asses and got to work in their communities. It made a real difference in the more rural, upstate ares outside Milwaukee and Madison, and that year was the year things began to change in earnest.
I think that kind of thing has been going on within Democratic circles all over the country. As frustrating as the current situation is within the Democratic party, we are light years beyond where we were even ten years ago, and we aren’t going to see a repeat of 2004, when Democratic politicians hid under the bed, for the most part, in the anti-marriage battles that swept the nation that year.
I asked, early in this thread: “What changes in Republican politics/culture do you suppose it would take for (1) current gay and lesbian Republican politicians to come out of the closet; and/or (2) future gay and lesbian Republican politicians to feel free to run and be able to win party primaries?”
The Republican party is going to be a lot harder to crack because of the power of the Christian right and social conservatives in the GOP primary process. I do not envy gay and lesbian Republicans, because I have a sense of how hard it is going to be to turn the Republican party around. But I think the steps to take are obvious.
If those of you who are Republicans or vote Republican want the party to turn around, stop wasting your time criticizing Democratic politicians for being slug-footed, and get to work changing the Republican party.
A tangible first step is to do what you can to the five Republicans who voted for DADT repeal reelected in November. And for most of you, living outside their districts, that means digging into your pockets and sending them a campaign contribution.
posted by Jorge on
I appreciate the criticism, Tom, but there is a part of me that is fundamentally unpersuaded. I do not understand why.
I believe it is because I am used to respecting the other side when it comes to gay and lesbian issues. It’s ideology.
It is not the Republican party I want to turn around. They are only the right wing of a country with a clear stand. It is the country I want to change. It is interesting that I do not believe the same thing about the Democratic party, except for my own representatives. But in fact, without the general public’s backing, they wouldn’t be able to get away with a lot of things, either.
That’s all irrelevant. We can’t use past history to look at the partisan split in this vote. Look at what the opponents are doing to stand up for civil rights in this instance. The objection that a repeal should not be done without respect for the views of the people actually serving in the military has been nullified. It is no longer a factor. The repeal is supported by a majority comparable to Arizona’s 1070 bill.
What then remains to sustain the opposition? Nothing that relates to anyone’s civil rights.
So, yes, this bill makes a good litanus test of a candidate’s pro-gay or anti-gay credentials.
posted by BobN on
I’ll wish you luck in taking McCain and the others down if you can, but you’re not the person who will persuade me to go after them.
It’s hardly my place to “take down” Sen. McCain. If anyone is going to do that, it’s the crazy zealots in your and his party.
posted by Neil D on
If the agenda of LCR is to make the GOP more gay friendly, I wish them luck. It’s hard to imagine that it’s necessary to enable the opposition to make progress. Goodness knows we’ve made lots of progress over the years without any help from conservatives. Why bother now?