To many, the idea that gay men and women could even be Republicans is a vigorous thought exercise. But now even Log Cabin Republicans are wondering whether they want to stay Log Cabin Republicans. No, that doesn’t mean some members are on the fence about suddenly becoming Democrats. Rather, they’re thinking about leaving the organizations — and splitting off to form a new one.
Given that the organization’s roster is at a low point, bank balances are nearly zero (until recently), and a new president has yet to be named, plenty of members are reconsidering whether LCR is the right place for them.
Some gay Republicans are considering organizing outside of the Log Cabin Republicans, raising questions about whether a new group will form to compete with the organization.
Chris Barron, a former Log Cabin political director, said he’s involved with activities such as “talking to gay Republicans and kind of getting a sense for what the priorities of gay Republicans are right now.”
“A lot of folks who care a lot about the direction that this party is headed in … are seriously concerned about the lack of a voice for gay Republicans in the party right now,” he said.
Jimmy LaSalvia, a former Log Cabin policy director, said he’s had discussions with gay Republicans at GOP events and concluded that Log Cabin is “missing a lot of opportunities to provide a voice for gay conservatives.”
“We’re looking at a political landscape where gay Republicans aren’t represented,” he said. “Log Cabin’s absence has left a void on the political landscape.”
Log Cabin, which didn’t respond to the Blade’s request for comment, is operating at minimal capacity even as it prepares for its annual national convention, which will take place in April this year in D.C.
The organization has yet to announce a new president after former Log Cabin head Patrick Sammon left the organization in January. At the end of that month, the organization had no full-time staff. Consultants were planning the convention.
[…] LaSalvia said he and Barron have made no official decision about starting a new organization, but said they are investigating the feasibility of forming a new group and are “talking with folks who might be interested in something like that.” [WashBlade]
Larry
Someone on Pam’s House Blend noted that an invitation to a Texas GOP official by the local LCR group there was met with an angry response that basically denounced gays as heathen scum, while the state GOP’s official platform explicitly states its position that homosexuality threatens the very fabric of society and that it should be illegal.
I consider myself an independent and even reject labels like “liberal,” “moderate” or “conservative,” and I hate to indulge in partisan bickering, but the Republican Party of Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley is dead. The Republicans have become the new Dixiecrats, replacing racism with theocratic homophobia.
Chitown Kev
@Larry:
Larry, I’m on Pam’s too and the statement itself deserves to be seen, if for nothing else than a good laugh:
“We believe to have ‘fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness’ for the sake of political expediency, or any other reason for that matter, is to offend a holy God, from whom the blessings bestowed upon this country flow.”
I completely agree with every aspect of your post. And the racism is still there with the GOP/Dixiecrats.
Stop! Or My Daddy Will Shoot!
Does this big tent make my ass look fat?
jr
Larry, I agree with your well-written post. As a right-leaning independant, the GOP is looking less and less viable. Which is a shame, especailly now that the Dems are sliding the country quickly towards socialism. The GOP needs a lot less Rush Limbaugh and a lot more Ronald Reagan right about now, and it’s not gonna happen. So much the worse for our nation.
greybat
A small dash of socialism will be the only thing that can save our economy right now. That is how Democracy functions.
The rich will simply have to fend for themselves… in their mink-lined lifeboats.
petted
Is there any real point in starting a new gay Republican caucus besides getting to dump the political baggage, supposedly, of the LCR? I mean if they really want to change how the LCR interacts with the Republican party it would be very easy to do that by changing the LCR given that that it effectively a couple of boards on a sawhorse, that is no leader and no full time staff, although I guess that’d mean they’d have to deal with the LCR’s debt problems too (at least last I heard they were still in debt).
strumpetwindsock
@Chitown Kev:
Wow… Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams (and speaking of republicans, Lincoln) would be turning over in their graves to read ignorant shit like that.
And JR….it’s sure not what I would call socialism. If they had given the money to the people who were actually going to lose their homes and jobs (perish the thought!) perhaps.
Are you sure you don’t mean corporate blackmail, and didn’t Bush start that ball of shit rolling down the hill?
And Greybat is right. Perhaps the teeniest bit of socialist thinking – perhaps establishing a few limits on how much your financial institutions can rape the public – might have prevented them from ruining the world economy in the first place.
rogue dandelion
@greybat: if only we had more than a dash!
seize their lifeboats! make them use use their diamond encrusted life preservers.
what is exactly the goal of LCR?
to make more gays republican, or make more republicans gay friendly? they seem to be failing miserably either way.
Ben
@rogue dandelion: “what is exactly the goal of LCR?
to make more gays republican, or make more republicans gay friendly? they seem to be failing miserably either way.”
hmm, I seem to keep hearing that a full 25% of self-identified gays vote Republican in the Pres elections and an even higher % went to McCain this time around…
also, the gay-friendliness is exactly a huge bone of contention that’s dividing the moderates from the apocolyptic apoplectic wing-nuts these days.