LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Gay Republicans: Isn't that an Oxymoron? |
by Michael Ferens |
Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), the political organization representing the views of thousands of gay men and women, splashes into Rehoboth Beach, Saturday, July 24, with an event to be held at the beach home of Kevin Bliss. At the event, National LCR Director Rich Tafel will be signing copies of his newly released book, Party Crasher: A Gay Republican Challenges Politics as Usual. Following the book signing, LCR will hold its first Rehoboth reception hoping to increase exposure and gain members in Sussex County. Joining Tafel will be Bob Kabel, former staff member to President Reagan and former Chairman of the LCR National Board of Directors, as well as Bliss, current LCR Board Member and past president of the Capitol Area Log Cabin Club. Tafel, Kabel, and Robert Stears (the current LCR Chairman) recently appeared on MS-NBCs Hardball with Chris Matthews to discuss the impact of gay Republicans on the upcoming presidential election. Being a member of Log Cabin can feel like coming out twice. The first time, obviously, is when coming out as a gay person in a predominately straight world. The second, and often more difficult, coming out is as a Republican in the gay community. I know first hand. I was an early (1992) member of LCR and helped start the Philadelphia club where I served as Treasurer and Vice President. I have continued my dedication to the Republican Party principles and remained an LCR member. And, I can attest to the questions (and comments) commonly posed to LCR members from persons in the gay community. Comments such as: "Gay Republican, isnt that an oxymoron?" "Anyone who is gay and republican, must hate themselves." "How can you support the party of Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC)?" Or, the worst one, "Arent you ashamed of yourself?" The Republican Party was tainted in the early 1980s when organizations such as the Christian Coalition strongly wedged their way into the GOP. They managed to re-elect politicians who love to hate, like Lott and Helms. It was mostly Republicans who tried so hard to block the nomination of James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg simply because he is gay. This does beg the question, "Why would a gay person choose to remain involved in such a bigoted political party?" To Log Cabin members, the answer is simple, "You can take the boy out of the Midwest, but you cant take the Midwest out of the boy." Log Cabin members believe that just because they are gay they dont have to be a Democrat, nor should they be excluded from their own party. Gay Democrats have done an excellent job of being part of the Democratic Party and finding politicians to support gay issues. Gay Republicans seek to emulate that success by continuing our support of gay friendly Republicans, like Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ), and Senators Jim Jeffords (R-VT), Gordon Smith (R-OR), and 2000 Presidential Candidate John McCain (R-AZ). LCR fights discrimination through the Republican Party while staying true to the issues that made many LCR members Republican in the first place. We are not Republican because we support the Christian Coalitions agenda. (Gay Philadelphia Democrats are not Democrats because they support anti-gay mayoral candidate John Street.) We are involved because we believe in the base Republican principles: a strong, private sector economy; strong defense; effective foreign policy; less taxes; less government spending, and less intervention in private lives. LCR wants to mirror the Christian Coalition in only one way, by building a wedge into the Republican Party as powerful as the so called Family Value organizations. So, is being gay and a republican an oxymoron? LCRs Big Tent vision is finally making sense to the party as a whole, so the answer is no. More and more Republicans are realizing that welcoming lesbians and gays into the party is not only the right thing to do, it is also good politics. Michael Ferens is also one of the volunteer CAMPsafe Lifeguards this summer. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 9, July 16, 1999 |