Talk about bad timing. GoProud announced the kick-off of their election cycle plans late last week, stating that their number one goal is “defeating Barack Obama (in 2012).” Self described as “the only national organization representing gay conservatives and their allies,” GoProud calls President Obama’s tenure to-date an “unmitigated disaster for all Americans, including gay and lesbian Americans.”
Um, do they mean other than the historic repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? the LGBT inclusive federal hate crimes act? The appointments of hundreds of gays and lesbians to the administration? Or maybe the decision to refuse to defend the federal defense of marriage act, a huge victory for supporters of marriage equality.
Hard to tell where the disaster is in all that. Drama!
Granted gays who put conservative in front of gay when it come to ideology have legit gripes. Many are disappointed in the administration’s handling of the sputtering economy, lack confidence in Obama’s handling of foreign affairs (presumably he gets credit for pulling off the daring raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, without costing a single American life). And they are genuinely disappointed the president has not come out in favor of same-sex marriage, although he is clearly moving in that direction, albeit cautiously. (He probably won’t make the big switcheroo until after the election.)
How about we take this to the next level?
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GoProud states that the “Republican presidential field is shaping up to be an incredibly strong one,” news to all the Republicans who are bemoaning how weak the current field is. Frontrunner Mitt Romney, once a friend of gay rights in the 1990s, now supports a federal ban on same-sex marriage and his Mormon church has spent a reported $30 million fighting gay marriage in California. Why attack Obama for not fully supporting same-sex marriage and then give Romney, who will likely go to his grave opposing marriage equality, a pass?
And the field goes downhill from there. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich believes the sanctity of marriage is reserved for one man and one woman, at least until he tires of his current wife. (He famously served one of his wives with divorce papers as she lay dying in a hospital bed, and was having an affair with a young political aide while attacking Bill Clinton’s womanizing. He also came out publicly in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act on the birthday of his lesbian half sister, Candace. Nice!)
Then there’s the Donald. Billionaire philanderer Donald Trump compared gay marriage to the unattractive, weird golf putters many of the players use these days in a recent New York Times interview, calling himself “a traditionalist,” except it seems, when he’s dating models–or in his choice of analogies.
The best GOP candidate is Republican Fred Karger. The businessman is fiscally conservative and socially liberal (an admirable place to be, if you ask this blogger), but we’ll be very surprised indeed if GoProud will stand behind the only gay guy running because, well, they don’t think he can capture the nomination.
A friend once described himself as a “bottom who never gets F*cked,” a sort of torment only gay Republicans can really understand. Any way you cut it, they have created an ideology that’s basically impossible to fulfill.
Scott Wallis is co-host of the GayCities-sponsored Swish Edition comedy & interview talk show. He considers himself a Libertarian with a small “l”.
Rick Gold
More intolerance of conservative LGBT Americans from the EVER inclusive Left.
SteveC
Conservative LGBT Americans who support the Republicans are either a)idiots, or b)so rich and privileged that they will willingly throw their fellow LGBT Americans under the bus.
What are the strategies for full LGBT equality that these GOProud idiots support? And how will they achieve them under the series of vile bigots that are the current Republican contenders?
tinkerbell
welcome back, Queerty. Missed ya.
SteveC
By the way why are those pigfuckers – the Salvation Army – adverising on this site?
tjr101
Gay conservatives are just for the money and couldn’t give a rats ass about gay rights. Only delusional self loathing fools would believe any Republican for that matter is better for gays than Obama.
redball
Amen, SteveC. Except I’d say “b)so rich and privileged and *selfish*.”
Many rich folk like Bill Gates actually care a great deal about the life chances and well-being and equality of others….
I emphasize this mainly b/c it is so important for us to know that just b/c one has wealth doesn’t mean one must think like a conservative or support the pro-big business, anti-working class politics that are the bedrock of the conservative politics.
peter k
how much is goproud getting paid to be sellouts?
peter k
@rick and why are we supposed to support conservatives/republicans? because of all the same-sex marriage bills they are pushing? because they actually do things to reduce lgbt bullying? because they really foster an atmosphere of acceptance for queer people?
have you been paying attention the actions of the social and “fiscal” conservatives? as i recall conservatives got in on a platform of fiscal responsibility, and yet their big agenda items have been trying defend dadt, doma, and other forms of discrimination against lgbt people in the usa.
goproud has done nothing for lgbt people except collude with people who would be happy to erase goproud and us lgbt people along with them.
TGC
“without costing a single American life”
So far, but if VP Joe Bigot keeps outing them, how much longer will that remain true?
With Queerty gone,I was wondering who would carry on the unhealthy obsession of Chris Barron.
Andrew
@Rick Gold: You seem to have a very twisted few of tolerance. I tolerate your right to exist, that doesn’t mean I don’t believe your an idiot.
Cam
The problem with GOProud is that they aren’t supportive of “Conservative Principles” They are a shill for the republicans.
I would take both they and the Log Cabin Republicans at their word if there hadn’t been MULTIPLE examples of both of them trying to minimize, deflect or downplay the anti-gay rhetoric coming out of the republican party.
Former Log Cabin head Patrick Guarrino took a HUGE amount of flak when he announced that Log Cabin would not endorse Bush because of the anti-gay rhetoric of the party at that time, but that they still supported conservative principles and would be supporting other republican candidates who are not anti-gay.
The groups today will not take such stands unfortunatly so I can’t take them seriously.
delurker
@Rick Gold:
conservoscum like you have a really, really twisted definition of “tolerance.”
Shannon
Scott, you forgot to mention Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico. He’s also fiscally responsible/socially liberal.
Scott
Shannon — You’re absolutely right, and I feel bad about that. My partner pointed that out to me this morning, too. I’ll write about Johnson in an upcoming post.
Rob Moore
For the record and with no defence of Newt Gingrich (he is really as vile and slimy as he appears), but the first wife was not dying. She was undergoing treatment for breast cancer and was in hospital at the time. She survived and became a teacher in the town close to the farm where I grew up. She is quite a lovely person who didn’t deserve to be saddled with a piece of shit like Newt. For a really vengeful ex-wife, the best bet is his second wife. Not only was he cheating on her with the chick who became wife 3, but he was cheating with her when he was still married to wife 1. Karma can be a real bitch. Just remember, sooner or later, a soon-to-be ex-wife will go over the edge and really fuck him up. I hope I live to see it.
Yaël
@Scott Wallis: Very well written and thought out article. I look forward to reading more from you.
The two gay republicans I know have turned “independent” owing to the party’s hard shift to the right on social issues. I’m not saying they represent anything of a trend or that they’re enamored of the Democrats, but they feel the “big tent” has been taken over by people with no interest in LGBT equality.
Robert in NYC
So come on, GOProud, name one candidate willing to introduce one single equality bill in favor of LGBT people. Name one! Obama and the democrats aren’t perfect and deeply flawed just like everyone else in the GOP but the democrats in 2012 and beyond won’t support or sign off on anti-gay bills let alone support ballot referenda to take away or ban rights for us. The GOP do it with impunity. Voting for and supporting one’s oppressors is beyond sick.