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Log Cabin Republicans have worked for almost three decades to build a stronger GOP that welcomes gay and lesbian
Americans. Since 1993, when we opened our national office, we've endorsed both GOP candidates for president. But this year,
despite our loyalty to the party of Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln, we have decided, after significant discussion, to withhold
our endorsement of President Bush. It was a difficult choice, but our integrity requires it, and the Republican Party's future
will be stronger because of it.
We continue to stand for fundamental Republican positions: low taxes, limited
government and winning the war on terrorism. That's why we're Republicans. But we cannot stand idly by while some in the GOP
use fear and intolerance to divide the United States in a culture war. Though such tactics may provide short-term political
gain, they will put the Republican Party on the wrong side of history.
The Republican Party has a choice: It
can be the party of Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger or it can be the party of Alan Keyes and Rick Santorum.
Some will accuse us of being disloyal. However, it was actually the White House that has been disloyal to the 1 million gay
and lesbian Americans who voted for Bush in 2000, including more than 50,000 in Florida alone (where he won by only a few
hundred votes). The White House is pursuing a reelection strategy geared to the radical right, using gay and lesbian families
as a political wedge issue. That is unacceptable.
The president's use of the bully pulpit, campaign stump speeches
and radio addresses to support a constitutional amendment to prohibit civil marriage equality has encouraged the passage of
discriminatory laws and state constitutional amendments across the country.
The constitutional amendment would
not only ban gay marriage, it would also jeopardize civil unions and domestic partnerships. The president's support of an
unnecessary and discriminatory constitutional amendment ignores the party's belief in state autonomy and disregards the nation's
reliance on federalism. Using the Constitution as a campaign tool weakens our nation's founding document and erodes our party's
proud tradition of equality and liberty.
It didn't have to be this way. In 2000, Bush ran an inclusive campaign
that appealed not only to social conservatives but also pro-choice Republicans, independents and gay and lesbian conservatives.
The early days of the Bush administration saw significant victories for our organization. The administration maintained existing
anti-discrimination protections for federal employees, appointed openly gay employees and extended survivor benefits to gay
and lesbian partners who lost loved ones on 9/11.
Over the last year, presidential advisor Karl Rove has been
obsessed with his belief that 4 million evangelicals stayed home in 2000. As a result, the 2004 campaign has focused on energizing
the far right while ignoring mainstream Republicans. From stem-cell research to partial-birth abortion and faith-based initiatives,
the president's record attracts voters on the far right. Had he decided not to endorse a constitutional amendment, does anyone
really believe that the far right would have stayed home in an election between Bush and John F. Kerry?
The
far-right campaign strategy is widening the gender gap, eroding support among gays and lesbians and weakening support among
younger voters. The president should return to the strategy that got him elected four years ago.
Even as we
saw the GOP's future highlighted with fair-minded prime-time convention speakers, we saw the passage of an extremist party
platform that opposes any basic protections for gay and lesbian families. The incongruity between the party's platform and
its list of prime-time speakers symbolizes a wider battle for the GOP's heart and soul.
A clear majority of
Americans support civil unions, even though many do not yet support civil marriage equality. In 10 years, our view will be
shared by the vast majority of American voters. That is why Log Cabin is warning our party to avoid the path of defeat paved
with intolerance and exclusion.
Log Cabin's mission is about more than one platform, one convention, one election
or even one president. We eventually will succeed in building a more inclusive Republican Party. Liberty, fairness and common
decency will prevail, or the Republican Party won't.
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Patrick Guerriero is executive
director of the Log Cabin Republicans.
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