Everything is relative. Social rightists are incensed that Romney hasn’t taken a rhetorically harder anti-gay line. This, in short, is what we’re up against within the GOP.
Which is not to say, as some LGBT Democratic operatives/activists imply, that we should give up and all embrace the party of bigger, more intrusive and redistributionist government that has brought us four years of such prosperity (and, at the same time, let us know it’s all George Bush’s fault and forever will be). The battle must be joined on both fronts.
4 Comments for “And You Thought Romney Was Anti-Gay?”
posted by Houndentenor on
No one is stopping you from trying to work for a less anti-gay Republican Party. I wish you well with that effort. But as I am surrounded by the religious right here in Texas, I see what you are up against and I don’t see much coming from it any time soon.
You are right that there’s no reason that religious fundamentalism should be wed to fiscal conservatism but for the time being it is. It’s not liberals’ fault that it worked out that way. Ronald Reagan openly courted that crowd and now you’re stuck with them. Honestly I don’t see a way out of the GOP since they can’t win elections without the religious right for now, but if they keep courting them they will start losing elections very soon and it will just get worse because those social positions are increasingly unpopular with younger voters. It’s a bad position to be in, to be sure, but one of the GOP’s own doing.
posted by Tom Scharbach on
The battle must be joined on both fronts.
Absolutely.
Republican gays and lesbians can change their party of choice if (but only if) get to work at the county, state and federal levels. It will be an uphill battle, to be sure, but you can look to the results obtained by gay and lesbian Democrats who have been at work for thirty years, and know that your hard work will have results, little by slowly.
But the thing is (and this is the “but only if”) you have to actually get to work if you want results. Results won’t come otherwise.
I don’t know a single person who is active in the DPW’s LGBT Caucus who doesn’t want the Republican Party in Wisconsin to be turned around. As Houndentenor put it: “No one is stopping you from trying to work for a less anti-gay Republican Party.” Those of us on the Democratic side of the aisle (at least on this blog) have been encouraging to get to work for a long time.
Just stop talking about how you need to do it, and get cracking.
This, in short, is what we’re up against within the GOP.
Yup. But you can change it. All it takes is work.
posted by Doug on
Nice dig at Obama, Stephen, for not cleaning up the mess George Wl. Bush left us as fast as you would like and especially in the face of a Congress whose stated goal from day one was to make Obama a one term president.
BTW, Stephen, why didn’t those big Bush tax cuts produce all those promised jobs and prosperity during his 8 years? Oh yeah, that must be Obama’s fault too.
posted by Jorge on
Social rightists are incensed that Romney hasn’t taken a rhetorically harder anti-gay line.
And I’m a little perturbed he’s not taking a tougher line on Syria.
Rick Santorum lost. GET OVER IT! It is enough that he made Romney sweat. Maybe if he campaigned for Romney a little bit instead of retreating to some pipe dream linking Obamacare to the proliferation of abortion you’d have gotten somewhere. Another four years of Obama might not be that bad. So be it.