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Log Cabin Republicans
| God, guns, and freedom U.S. Politics |
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| Starting arguments over Thanksgiving dinner |
| Persons of interest |
“”Aren't you guys the same group that raised a shitload of money and gave it to Bob Dole's campaign and he sent it back, didn't he?
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—Flawless (1999) [1]:52
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“”Every four years gay Republicans slime out from under their rocks to remind us that the Democratic candidate wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues. They then implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) pivot to this nonsensical argument: Since your guy/gal wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues, the LGBT community should vote for the Republican who was terrible on LGBT issues then, is terrible on LGBT issues now, and who has pledged, if elected, to remain terrible on LGBT issues forever.
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| —Dan Savage[2] |
The Log Cabin Republicans is an association for gay members of the United States Republican Party. Its membership unites LGBT individuals who place a higher priority on defense or economic issues than in gaining equal rights as members of a minority group, or as they would put it, "overturning the traditional definition of marriage".
The name is a reference to Abraham Lincoln, not to the personal "logs" or "cabins" of its members, or who they use them with. They claim their name because Lincoln founded the Republican Party with ideas of liberty and equality in mind. Although it may be that Lincoln played for their team.
The idea of a gay conservative may seem like an oxymoron, but this assumes that people with a particular shared sexual orientation must necessarily be a monolithic political bloc and that a minority, by default, supports its own demographic. There are certainly gay conservatives that internalize the bigotry directed at them. Others are simply comfortable with their economic position in society and are more concerned with preserving their comfort than helping other members of their demographic (aka "Fuck you, I've got mine").
According to their bylaws, the Log Cabin Republicans will only endorse Republican candidates, regardless of the issues or individuals in any specific political race. They also seem to oppose the outing of hypocritical anti-gay politicians.[3][4] GOProud, the first gay organization to sponsor CPAC, also gave gay conservatives a voice. GOProud's target audience were those who found the Log Cabin Republicans too moderate (for all-but-endorsing some Democrats anyway when the Republican candidates were utter bigots).
Don't ask, don't tell[edit]
To their credit, the Log Cabin Republicans filed a lawsuit against the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2004, during the George W. Bush administration. Their legal challenge to the policy (which only received a trial in July 2010) was successful, however Barack Obama campaigned on repealing the policy anyway.[5][6]
See also[edit]
- Tammy Bruce — An honest-to-God lesbian Republican talk-show host.
- Fred Karger — Who ran in the 2012 Republican presidential primary.
References[edit]
- ↑ Alexander, Jonathan; Yescavage, Karen (2003) (in en). Bisexuality and Transgenderism: InterSEXions of the Others. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-287-2.
- ↑ The Definition of Insanity: Gay Republicans
- ↑ Here's the page (The CBC's Current with Anna Maria Tremonti).
- ↑ Here's the audio.
- ↑ Dan Levine (September 29, 2011). "U.S. court vacates ruling on gays in military. Reuters.
- ↑ (October 19, 2010). "Timeline: Chronology of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy". Reuters.