Log Cabin Republicans Vote to Withhold Endorsement from President Bush
Log Cabin Republicans are withholding their endorsement from President Bush for 2004. “Log Cabin’s National Board has voted to withhold a Presidential endorsement and shift our financial and political resources to defeating the radical right and supporting inclusive Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives,” said Log Cabin Board Chairman William Brownson of Ohio. The Log Cabin Board of Directors voted 22 to 2 not to endorse the President’s re-election.
“Certain moments in history require that a belief in fairness and equality not be sacrificed in the name of partisan politics; this is one of those moments. The national board’s vote empowers Log Cabin to maintain its integrity while furthering our goal of building a more inclusive Republican Party. Log Cabin is more committed than ever to its core mission to build a stronger and more inclusive Republican Party. There is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, and that fight is bigger than one platform, one convention, or even one President,” said Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Patrick Guerriero.
The vote by Log Cabin’s 25 member national board marks the first time since the organization opened a national office in Washington, DC in 1993 that the organization has not endorsed the Republican nominee for President. Log Cabin endorsed Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000. Exit polls confirmed that over 1,000,000 gays and lesbians voted for Bush/Cheney in the 2000 election, including nearly 50,000 in Florida alone.
Andrew Sullivan is pleased:
I’m impressed by the lop-sided vote against Bush, as well as their care to insist that they do not reject all his policies – just the discriminatory ones. They did what they had to do, in my opinion. But it’s terribly sad, nonetheless.
I can certainly understand why gays in general and Sullivan in particular would not support President Bush’s reelection bid. I continue to note, however, that doing so on the single issue of support for same-sex marriage is rather odd given that the Republican Party has never, in its 150 year existence, supported same-sex marriage.
The Log Cabin Republicans have two defining characteristics: 1) they are gay and 2) they are Republican. They twice endorsed Ronald Reagan, who opposed same-sex marriage. They endorsed George H.W. Bush, who opposed same-sex marriage. They endorsed Bob Dole, who opposed same-sex marriage. They endorsed George W. Bush, who opposed same-sex marriage, in 2000. The only thing that has changed since then is that, pursuant to the action of judges in Massachussets and elsewhere, it has become a political issue. Bush has endorsed an amendment to preserve the status quo. An amendment which has already failed and which has zero chance of actually passing, ever.
