John McCain's camp reached out to its queer comrades this week by sending key staffers to address the Log Cabin Republicans this week.

Political director Mike DuHaime popped in on the group, which transplanted itself to St. Paul for the party's convention. This is the first year the Cabinites have been official RNC guests.

Additionally, McCain strategist Steve Schmidt swung by a Log Cabin lunch today and described the group's involvement as "important," reports The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld:

I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign’s respect to your organization and to your group,” said Schmidt, who many view as the new architect of the Republican Party. “Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party.”

In his brief remarks, Schmidt weaved in a personal anecdote about his lesbian sister and her relationship to him, his wife, and his children. “On a personal level, my sister and her partner are an important part of my life and our children’s life,” he said. “I admire your group and your organization and I encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe in because the day is going to come.”

Unlike some of his party peers, Schmidt supports gay marriage and in 2007 asked California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to back inclusive legislation.

Joe Solmonese made a big stink about the Log Cabin Republicans this morning when he blasted the gay group's support for Republican presidential hopeful John McCain. Recent reports, however, claim that Joe and his Human Rights Campaign are much closer to the McCain-backing Cabinites than they let on.

A website called Boycott HRC last week reported that a "reliable source" told them HRC had donated $10,000 to the LCR, while giving none to the National Stonewall Democrats.

TransAdvocate, meanwhile, published an email purportedly sent from NSD co-chair Steve Driscoll to executive director Jon Hoadley, among others. In this email, Driscoll derides HRC for their "high-handedness" at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and gripes that the organization had been stonewalling discussions on a possible 2008 collaboration.

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The Republicans are totally dominating the news cycle this week. Not only is everyone all over Sarah Palin and the party's national convention, but the gays simply can't stop talking about the Log Cabin Republicans' endorsement of presidential hopeful John McCain.

We were mad, of course, and then Chris Crain piped up, and now Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese has come out swinging:

John McCain claims to be a maverick who breaks with his party, but on matters of LGBT equality, he's shown that he's anything but. He actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in his home state of Arizona.
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Sarah Palin has also supported bans on marriage and even domestic partner benefits in Alaska. The Republican Party, McCain and Palin's party, has declared in its platform that they want to pass the federal marriage amendment.

Their party's platform also calls gay and lesbian Americans unfit for military service, supports policies that would allow faith-based organizations to deny us jobs and services using federal dollars, and attacks judges who acknowledge our equality under the law. The Human Rights Campaign endorses mavericks on both sides of the aisle- neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin is among them.

On another note, if Solmonese and Log Cabin leader Patrick Sammon were to get into a fight, who would win?

Chris Crain, a gay journalist with many conservative politics, definitely does not approve of the Log Cabin Republicans' endorsement of John McCain. How do we know this? He penned a lengthy critique of their queer politics.

Here's but a taste:

It’s as if our gay Republican friends forgot the basic politics of the carrot and the stick. Now that McCain and Palin are happily chomping away on the endorsement carrot that Log Cabin could have kept dangling in front of them, all they’re left with is the stick. With apologies to my friends among their number, including my beloved co-blogger Kevin, gay Republicans aren’t exactly known for carrying a big stick.
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Cynics will no doubt see the rushed endorsement as a desperate ploy by Log Cabin to gain entree into the GOP’s “big tent,” a concept that gay and pro-choice Republicans have demonstrated a much greater commitment to than has the rest of the party.

Crain also quite rightly points out that McCain's opposition to DOMA FMA - the Cabinites' sole gay-related celebration of the candidate - has been faltering: "McCain has been backing away from his opposition to a federal amendment, and he pledged last month to back an amendment if even one judge rules the notorious Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional." The journalist goes on to say that McCain could end up being worse on gay politics than President Bush, an idea that makes our blood run cold.

The Log Cabin Republicans yesterday endorsed John McCain, a candidate they call "inclusive."

While the gay group's all about McCain's efforts to block a gay marriage amendment - a vote motivated more by federalism than equality - communications director Scott Tucker's not entirely pleased with his party's lackluster support for same-sex marriage.

The party, however, may be more open to progress than some think:

"Clearly, the tide is turning," said Scott Tucker, communications director for the Log Cabin Republicans. "It's important for the Republican Party to be inclusive on this issue, because we are risk of being on the wrong side of history."
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A CBS News/New York Times poll released Monday found that 49 percent of the delegates to the Republican convention support allowing same-sex marriages or civil unions. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Those numbers sure are reassuring, but many of the GOP's leaders continue to come out against inclusive anti-discrimination laws, gay adoption and expansive hate crime legislation. Such decisions, we think, are even more important than marriage. And the party's positions are not "right."

No disrespect, Log Cabin Republicans, but have you lost your collective mind?

Just this morning the blogs began talking about the GOP's platform, which takes no uncertain stand against gay right, and now you've gone and endorsed John McCain.

And, what's more, President Patrick Sammon declared, "On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade - the federal marriage amendment - Sen. John McCain stood with us. Now we stand with him." Um, Cabinites, McCain didn't stand by you because he likes the gays. It's because he likes federalism! C'mon!

Plus, marriage is hardly the "most important" issue. It's spectacularly eye-catching, yes, but what about hate crimes legislation, employment discrimination legislation, and adoption legislation? Are we living on the same planet?

Sammon goes on to say that he expects McCain will get a lot of gay votes. With 68% of polled gay voters loving up on Obama? Not likely…

We've included the press release after the jump.

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Patrick Sammon, leader of the same-sex loving Log Cabin Republicans, released the following statement about Sarah Palin, who John McCain's picked as his running mate:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin can help Sen. McCain win this election by appealing to independent and young voters. She’s a mainstream Republican who will unite the Party and serve John McCain well as Vice President. Gov. Palin is an inclusive Republican who will help Sen. McCain appeal to gay and lesbian voters.

The Cabinites' website also directs viewers to 365Gay's report on the veep selection. Why? Because of this specific line: "Palin has a scant record on LGBT rights but is considered a moderate."

As the Democrats were holding their love fest yesterday, the Republican are releasing their party platform.

Though the Grand Oldies are trying to trim down their agenda, it seems they're still committed to coming out against the queers. You know, it wouldn't be a Republican party without a bit of divisive action.

And - surprise! - gay party members seem ready to roll over and take it, because no one enjoys getting fucked more than a gay Republican.

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Ten New York Republican Senators made some serious gay headway when they introduced a queer inclusive anti-bullying bill last week. The move surprised many, especially considering that Senatorial Republicans have for six years dismissed a similar bill, the Dignity Bill. It's not that oppositional Senators support bullying, but many objected to the bills' explicit inclusion of gender identity and expression, ananathema for right-leaning lawmakers.

Entitled the "Safe Schools for All Children Bill," this latest measure looks a lot like the Dignity Bill, including trans protections, but there are subtle differences. Perhaps most importantly, "Safe Schools" leaves no room for litigation. That is, students and parents aren't granted the right to sue, a subject the Dignity Bill didn't address. Safe Schools also includes the pragmatic cyber-bullying stipulation, another piece left out of Dignity.

Legislative differences aside, an examination of Safe Schools' success over the oft-dismissed Dignity Bill provides some lessons in political persistence, timing and a bit of post-9/11 geography.

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California's Log Cabin Republicans are flexing their muscle. The gay group's joined forces with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to smack down Proposition 8:

Today, Log Cabin sent a message out to its California membership announcing the creation of Republicans Against 8, a coalition of concerned Republicans who believe in limited government and individual liberty. Our goal is to reach out to that 5-6 percent of persuadable Republican voters and convince them that, regardless of how they feel about marriage, protecting fundamental freedoms for all Californians is more important.

In 1978, when the Briggs Initiative threatened to take away the fundamental freedom for all Californians to teach in Public Schools, Governor Ronald Reagan stood up and opposed it. Today, another Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is fighting for the rights of all Californians once again.

This here image is a mock-up of the ad. We think they should feature Arnold in his not safe for work body building days.

President Bush did good yesterday when he signed a revised AIDS Relief initiative.

The plan, which allocated $48 billion over five years to fight HIV/AIDS, also lifts a travel ban on infected persons looking to enter the US.

Gay group Log Cabin Republicans applauded the President's action, of course, with HIV/AIDS policy consultant David Reznick saying,

President Bush has done tremendous work to combat this disease globally and that deserves to be an important part of his legacy. This legislation will continue the dramatic improvements in the lives of millions of people living with this disease.

Recent reports indicate that HIV-infected people are living considerably longer than they did before new brands of life-sustaining drugs.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has previously insisted he supports California's Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

Then, last week, conservative group Protect Marriage said that McCain backed their unholy mission: passing an amendment again restricting nuptials to one man, one woman. McCain's camp didn't reply to those allegations, but the homo-politicos over at Log Cabin Republicans dug into the candidate and confirmed the flip-flop.

Let the political expediency begin!

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