Don’t let all the evidence fool you, Republicans are totally, 100 percent ready to embrace the LGBTQ community… Or so says the first openly gay member to be part of the Republican National Convention’s platform committee, Rachel Hoff.
“Outside of the platform committee, our party is ready to move on,” Hoff told ThinkProgress.
Related: This Gay Republican Hates Democrats So Much He’s Willing To Give Up His Rights To Defeat Them
Hoff was unsuccessful in convincing her fellow committee members to accept the hard-fought, constitutional rights of the LGBTQ community, or to agree to treat them even vaguely like equal citizens.
“We are your daughters. We are your sons, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, the couple who sits next to you in church,” she said to the committee. “Freedom means freedom for everyone, including gays and lesbians…And all I ask today is you include me and those like me.”
Their response? Voting down every single pro-LGBTQ amendment and instead put forward a platform that was so bigoted even the Log Cabin Republicans objected. It includes language demeaning same-sex marriage and parenting and gives an approving nod to so-called “gay conversion therapy.”
“A huge number of people have come up and thanked me for being their voice in the room,” Hoff said. “It’s especially touching when it’s fellow LGBT Republicans.”
Another “voice in the room” was tech billionaire Peter Thiel, who became the first openly gay speaker at the Republican National Convention in 16 years and the first ever to speak about his sexual orientation, saying he was “proud to be gay.”
Related: Gay Republican Owns Ted Cruz During Town Hall
Donald Trump claimed he would protect the LGBTQ community during his RNC harangue, er, speech. Though in the not-so-distant past, the self-proclaimed billionaire has also spoken in favor of “religious freedom” laws, state laws prohibiting transgender people from using public restrooms and locker rooms matching their gender and against same-sex marriage. And let’s not forget his VP pick, Mike Pence, is one of the most virulently anti-LGBTQ politicians of our time.
Then there are the barrage of anti-LGBT bills that have been introduced by Republicans in recent weeks, months and years.
Yes, there are some token members of the LGBT community who call themselves Republicans, but tokens do not equal change.
“I think we’ve got to catch up, not just on marriage but on a full spectrum of issues effecting the LGBT community,” Hoff said. “There’s a perception that we’re really far behind the left, but you will remember that Barack Obama did not support marriage equality until 2008.”
She continued: “Plenty of Republicans, national Republican leaders, came out for marriage equality before Hillary Clinton. And so I would encourage some memory of recent history in terms of the rhetoric that’s directed toward the Republican Party on this issue.”
Related: AZ Congressman With Gay Son Is Still Against Same-Sex Marriage
While it is true that the Democrats have not always been as pro-LGBTQ as they could have been over the years, in a match-up between the two it is clear to see that the Republicans have not only fallen behind when you consult history but are still leaving us in the lurch.
For comparison, here is what this year’s Democratic Party platform states:
Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized LGBT people — like every other American — have the right to marry the person they love. But there is still much work to be done. LGBT kids continue to be bullied at school, a restaurant can refuse to serve a transgender person, and a same-sex couple is at risk of being evicted from their home. That is unacceptable and must change. Democrats will fight for comprehensive federal nondiscrimination protections for all LGBT Americans and push back against state efforts to discriminate against LGBT individuals. We will combat LGBT youth homelessness and improve school climates, and we will protect transgender individuals from violence. We will promote LGBT human rights and ensure America’s foreign policy is inclusive of LGBT people around the world.
Alistair Wiseman
Keep trying Queerty. As your party is in utter chaos in Philly, keep up your diversionary tactics.
As the implosion continues, the Democratic National Committee Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had to resign due to her collusion in rigging Democratic primaries in favor of Hillary Clinton. She has now been served a class action lawsuit for rigging primaries.
http://observer.com/2016/06/debbie-wasserman-schultz-served-class-action-lawsuit-for-rigging-primaries/#.V5U_Os6Zo_l.twitter
DCguy
@Alistair Wiseman:
Please stick to the topic of the post. The GOP is rabidly anti-gay with a platform that attacks lgbt rights as much as any Saudi Cleric.
The fact that you are so desperate to avoid the topic shows that you have no answer for it. So basically, what you are doing, is desperately trying to defend a party that has hatred and bigotry against you as it’s platform.
In other words, you are a beaten woman defending the man who puts her in the hospital every month.
As for Rachel Hoff, she is also a liar, she was in tears after the party not only struck down everything she suggested, but instituted the most anti-lgbt platform in it’s history. One thing all the gay republicans have in common, you all lie about the party.
If you won’t admit the truth about it, there is no way you can work to change it. You can only change something when you admit there is a problem.
AtticusBennett
now now, be nice to Alistair. he’s physically repulsive, and has capers for testes – he needs to denigrate “liberals” and praise the GOP or else his Daddy will hate him even more than usual.
Gay Republicans grovel for a tiny amount of Conditional Tolerance. let them have it. it’s the best they’ll ever get. they’ll never actually know support and love, after all.
😀
Alistair Wiseman
@AtticusBennett:
As usual, you have it backwards. Do you really think you are brave because you regurgitate the same, safe, politically correct groupthink that all your friends and the mainstream media parrot? Do you ever go against the mainstream and have an original thought of your own? You don’t – you are an echo chamber. You are part of the leftist groupthink and a precious example of an approval seeker.
You have previously stated to me, “i’ve [sic] seen you on Facebook. you’re [sic] a tired, homely, troll of a man.”
Really? You’ve seen me on Facebook? I’m tired, homely and a troll?
I have never been on Facebook. I do not, nor ever had, an account on Facebook. Since you know so much, please tell me more about myself. Tell me more about how my family hates me.
Several times I have brought this to your attention without any kind of acknowledgement from you. What kind of gay man bullies and tries to ugly-shame another gay man? All because of politics?
To use your own words. You know what is “pathetic”, when “spineless cowards” and “wimps” don’t have the integrity, character or decency to acknowledge their own error when they bully and ugly-shame other gay men for their own selfish political gains.
That is you, Atticus Bennett.
Kangol
Mike Pence is rabidly anti-gay. No amount of claims to about the LGBTQ will change that. The majority of the Republicans in Congress have strongly anti-gay voting records. No amount of blathering will change that. The GOP has stood on the wrong side of LGBTQ rights and equality again and again. Donald Trump could barely even say the acronym properly at the hatefest in Cleveland. Watch what they’ve done and continue to do, not what the Log Cabinettes say, because they get played over and over like a broken piano. And their advocacy of right-wing homonationalism is played out!
Kangol
@Alistair Wiseman: Good riddance to Wasserman Schultz, and any other Democrat who takes liberal and progressive voters for granted. She’s a shill for Wall Street and conserva-Dem policies anyways. That doesn’t make the GOP any less anti-gay. MIKE PENCE IS ONE OF HARDCORE ANTI-GAY REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS AND TRUMP CHOSE HIM TO BE VP! That says everything. Even John Kasich, a “moderate” by the nutcase GOP standards today, fought same-sex marriage all the way to the Supreme Court. AND LOST! That’s your GOP. Anti-gay, anti-middle class, anti-women, anti-people of color, antediluvian. No thanks!
Magnus
Poor sap must have failed philosophy. Compare one platform to the other, it’s rather simple deduction. How stupid is this fool or how much are they being paid to say this? They’re either as dumb as a post or they’re a shill with no shame.
Magnus
The GOP has never been protective of LGBT people, they hate “identity politics”, unless of course your identity has to do with religion. They have done nothing to protect LGBT people.
Also the “you’re being politically correct” is a meme born from the bowels of places like 4chan, make an actual argument other than “you’re wrong because you’re an SJW or you’re trying to be politically correct”.
Go back to /pol/ Alistair Wiseman, your political memes will fail to impress here.
nomore2partysystemusa
Gay Inc needs to get out of the 2 party system charade bubble and realize the 2 party system is crumbling. Trump and Clinton both have bad favorability ratings in the polls. The Republicans have a #nevertrump problem. Democrats have a Bernie or Bust problem. Meanwhile Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party and Jill Stein of the Green Party are both polling higher each time they’re actually included in a poll.
Combine that with:
· Most Americans don’t vote
· Most Americans want more choices besides Ds and Rs
· Congress continues to break records for all time low ‘approval’ ratings
· Millennials have less party affiliation allegiance than previous generations
· Registered American voters are picking “independent” more than Democrat or Republican
Lastly, people are not buying the tired old lesser of evil excuses about spoiler effect, SCOTUS, Duverger’s law, Electoral College, 12th amendment, “wasted vote” / “they can’t win,” “most important election of our lifetime” fear mongering anymore.
Like it or not, the end of the failed 2 party system is inevitable.
Alistair Wiseman
@Magnus:
From exit polling, we know that in the last three presidential elections 23%-27% of gay and lesbians voted for the Republican candidate. Do you really think that they voted for the Republican candidate because of their stance on LGBT issues?
If I was a one issue voter, I would probably still be voting Democratic like in my naive youth.
Alistair Wiseman
@nomore2partysystemusa:
“Like it or not, the end of the failed 2 party system is inevitable.”
America has NEVER had a third party candidate win the presidency. That will not be changing anytime soon. There are currently several political candidates and parties in which voters can choose other than Democratic or Republican. It just does not happen in any significant numbers. (The election of 1912 was the most successful third party run.)
Good luck on changing the hearts and minds of the American voting public.
Brian
Hillary Clinton is a pandering female. I wouldn’t be surprised if she fears male homosexual desire. Her record on male homosexual rights is atrocious.
I’d rather see Trump as President simply because he will stop the flow of homophobic illegals.
woodin
A vote for Trump is a vote for communism and Putin.
Bob LaBlah
@Kangol: “Good riddance to Wasserman Schultz, and any other Democrat who takes liberal and progressive voters for granted.”
Honey, are you SURE you used the right words in your comment? It sounds like you just said good riddance to Hillary as well with that tone. The only thing missing in her photo ops are gays and men of color. Think about that one for a minute but trust me, her photo ops are ALL the same, one the people in them change but not the “color” scheme. And keep it mind, it took her too long to speak about the Orlando incident for it to have any credence. At least the knucklehead that lives on Fifth Avenue (and sadly, the likely winner this November) understood the political opportunity it presented and spoke up immediately, not that anyone believed his feigned grief over it (or at least I sure as hell didn’t believe it).
Lefil
@Alistair Wiseman:
Trump is a nutcase. He will do absolutely NOTHING that he says he will do. Think about it. Trump has none of the political skill necessary to be the chief executive officer of the Republic. He claims that he would “declare war” on ISIS and “wipe out” the terror organization, but he does not comprehend how dangerous it is to exert physical military power in the real world. If Trump is elected as President, he will make such a fool out of himself in front of the world and America will become a laughingstock for years.
Bob LaBlah
@Alistair Wiseman: ” (The election of 1912 was the most successful third party run.)”
George Wallace gave them a damn good scare in 1968. For those of you who have the time that man is worth a google/youtube search just to hear what his views were at that time. You might want to pay special attention to what he says he would have done to people lying in the streets blocking traffic and compare a few other things to what you are hearing being clandestinely preached to the ignorant masses of today from the platforms of todays lords who wish to rule over us. Trust me, there is no difference once you decipher both of them (then and now) and their speeches’ content.
Alistair, we ALL lose this time around. This is how ignorant the American public has become.
Mo Bro
It’s a moot point.
Every time a conservative reaches out to us, his only reward is to be viciously attacked, so I suspect they’re learning that no good deed goes unpunished when it comes to appeasing the Qs.
martinbakman
As long as we remember our place, and stay in our lane, the Repubs are our friends, at least for a little while, right? 😉
They might even attend your nuptials until that right is done away with. Just don’t get to comfy with plans to serve your country openly.
Masc Pride
@nomore2partysystemusa: 100 percent agreed! The country is spiraling into more and more contention because of the two party system. How can the country ever be united when both parties are operating off a “them versus us” logic? It can’t. The two party system will only work when one party completely crumbles and all its members die out.
Bob LaBlah
@Masc Pride: “The two party system will only work when one party completely crumbles and all its members die out.”
Remember that system called communism and how it eventually went the way of the doe-doe because people tired of one party rule or the way things went totally wrong when no other voice but that of the party would be tolerated? As we now see this time around BOTH parties are anything but democratic when you look deep inside them.
Paco
For the people against the two party system…
If other political parties want a shot at running the country, they need to be focused on achieving that goal from the bottom up, filling seats of local and state levels of government first and pushing others out of power. We already know how Washington ceases to function when a president has to deal with a congress controlled entirely by a different political party.
Bob LaBlah
@Paco: You might want to check this elections Libertarian Party candidates. One is even a former governor. They have a pretty decent ticket. They just don’t have the publicity. Its because of Lyndon LaRouche and his foolish rhetoric and antics that I ignored them in the past.
Masc Pride
@Paco: Totally agree with you there. Jill Stein would be viable competition if more folks knew who she is, where she stands on issues and what the Green Party represents. She would certainly snatch up a significant amount of Sanders supporters. Libertarians and Green Party candidates totally need to expand and become present in other levels of gov’t.
However, there is no doubting that the “them vs us” two-party system is creating a hostile mess that’s consistently failing to get things accomplished for the better of the people. Two sides putting party over the people is part of what’s destroying the country.
Dave084
Well I suppose it’s true that you can’t fix stupid. That is obviously the case for this RNC crackpot as well as “Alistair Wiseman” who loves to troll this site. There are many qualified mental health professionals who may be able to help those delusional folks to alter their map of reality.
DCguy
@Alistair Wiseman: stated: “If I was a one issue voter, I would probably still be voting Democratic like in my naive youth.”
—-
Do you want to know just how rabidly anti-lgbt gay Republicans are? They try to say that civil rights is being a one issue voter.
Really?
The right to get married
The right to enter in to a financial contract with somebody (Yes, some states tried to bar that.
The right to adopt
The right to make medical decisions
The right to be on anthers insurance
The right to serve in the military
The right to have be employed and not get fired for being lgbt
The right to be able to rent an apartment
The right to not be denied a house
The right to be able to go into a public business and be served as any other member of the public.
The right to attend schools and not be thrown out for being lgbt
The right to not be bullied (Yes, the GOP tried to say bullying was ok if it was based in a religious anti-gay belief.)
The right to get a divorce and have a legal financial split like other couples
The right to inherit without draconian tax takings
The right to joint ownership
Oh but wait that’s right, the gay Republicans desperate attempts to minimize the GOP’s assault on lgbt Americans is to deride them as “One Issue Voters”. Which one of all those issues is the one issue?
Alistair Wiseman
@DCguy:
Thank you for making my point blindingly clear.
Alistair Wiseman
@Bob LaBlah:
Funny that you mention George Wallace.
This past Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) said Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was “the worst Republican nominee since George Wallace.”
Hilarious! How embarrassing! Considering that George Wallace was a r@cist, segregationist Democrat and Democratic Representative Ellison did not even know he was part of his own party. Did the host George Clintonopoulos bother to correct Rep. Ellison? Of course not.
Perhaps Rep. Ellison needs a history lesson that Democrats, not Republicans, are the party of segregation, Jim Crow, the KKK and slavery.
Exchange below:
https://youtu.be/-blxHZgtIm8
Kangol
@Mo Bro: What are you talking about? Mike Portman reached out to LGBTQ people on same-sex marriage, and he was praised. He’s one of the few conservative US GOP Senators–and yes, he is a conservative–to do so. His motivation was his gay child, but that did count. What about the entire fricking party? What about the laws the GOP is trying to repeal, the way it still targets gay and transgender people with its rhetoric? Its failure to denounce hom0phobes in the party? Do you just ignore all that? Does it not matter to you?
Bob LaBlah
@Alistair Wiseman: Thanks for posting that link. I heard about this but didn’t bother to watch. It doesn’t shock me at all no one remembers Wallace was a democrat nor what happened at the 1968 convention that Queerty will not allow me to post for some reason or other. Those who don’t allow history to be talked about are doomed to repeat it.
Alistair Wiseman
@Kangol:
Hey Kangol:
I’m still waiting on those “ugly”, “hateful” and “r@cist” comments from Trump’s convention speech.
I would really like to see your response as I did not hear these comments.
robho3
A gay republican is like a Jewish nazi.
Bob LaBlah
@robho3: Believe it or not your comment does contain credibility. What bothers me is how they (the ones in the media) ignored that salute by Laura Ingraham.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZUwiLY5nt4
randeman
One thing is certain: there is no fool quite like a gay Republican fool. The right wing wouldn’t piss on gay people if they were on fire. Some people are just too fucking stupid to see that.