by Rex Wockner

[story filed September 3, 2004]

NEW YORK -- The big gay story of the Republican National Convention,
held here Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, was the gay Log Cabin Republicans' new
get-tough approach to the Republican Party.

Log Cabin declared that the GOP has been "hijacked" by "the radical
right" and repeatedly threatened to withhold its endorsement of George
W. Bush's re-election effort.

The group is upset primarily about Bush's outspoken support for amending
the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage and about the GOP
platform's denunciations of civil unions and domestic-partner benefits.

"For too long we have watched while the radical right hijacked our
party," said Log Cabin Executive Director Patrick Guerriero. "And for
too long we have been asked to be loyal foot soldiers on election day
and asked to remain silent. ... This party platform is so outrageous and
insulting to some of us, that some of us have to call our own party on it.

"If we don't do it, nobody will. And if we don't do it now, we'll be
back in four years at a convention with language that's even worse," he
said.

Log Cabin's strong language -- and its new TV ad featuring Ronald Reagan
-- drew heavy media coverage. In the ad, Reagan says, "Whatever else
history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I
appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears."

CNN refused to air the ad, calling it "too controversial." The ad shows
photos of preacher Jerry Falwell, writer-activist Pat Buchanan and U.S.
Sen. Rick Santorum, and implies they "divide the American family with
the politics of intolerance and fear that only lead to hate." It also
shows the Rev. Fred Phelps holding a "God Hates Fags" sign.

"The Republican Party has to make a choice," Guerriero said. "We can be
the party of Giuliani, McCain and Schwarzenegger or we can be the party
of Falwell, Santorum and Buchanan. We can unite on those things that
bring us together or we can continue the politics of intolerance and
fear."

Guerriero called it a "fight for the heart and soul of the Republican
Party."

There were at least 26 openly gay/lesbian delegates to the convention.
That compares with 19 in 2000, six in 1996 and two in 1992. About 255
GLBT delegates attended this year's Democratic Convention in Boston.

BUSH STICKS TO SCRIPT

President Bush did nothing to redeem himself among gay Republicans when
he accepted the party's nomination the final night.

"Because the union of a man and woman deserves an honored place in our
society, I support the protection of marriage against activist judges.
And I will continue to appoint federal judges who know the difference
between personal opinion and the strict interpretation of the law," he
said.

"My opponent recently announced that he's the candidate of 'conservative
values,' which must have come as a surprise to a lot of his supporters,"
Bush continued. "There's some problems with this claim. If you say the
heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm afraid you are not
the candidate of conservative values. If you voted against the
bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed, you
are not the candidate of conservative values."

When Bush finished speaking, he was joined on stage by his wife,
daughters and parents, and by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife,
their daughter Liz, Liz's husband and their four children. Conspicuously
missing, as she had been the night before when Cheney spoke, was the
Cheneys' other daughter, openly lesbian Mary Cheney.

"I make of it that Mary is shoved back in the closet as viciously and
strongly as the Cheney family could and the GOP could," said John
Aravosis, founder of DearMary.com. "I would be shocked if the
Bush-Cheney campaign told Mary that she and Heather were absolutely A-OK
on stage. Mary's life partner that wears a gold wedding band along with
Mary? There's no way."

Mary did appear on stage with her parents during the 2000 GOP convention
in Philadelphia.

ACT UP SECURITY BREACH

There were several other gay stories during the convention. The morning
of Sept. 1, during the Republican Youth Convention, 11 members of ACT UP
slipped through layers upon layers of extreme security to stage a
protest on the convention floor.

They disrupted a speech by White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card by
standing on chairs, chanting, and taking off their shirts to reveal
anti-Bush slogans.

The Republican youth responded with chants of "Four more years."

The protesters were aggressively hauled away by police, charged with
assault and/or inciting to riot, and jailed.

An ACT UP spokeswoman said the group wants Bush to join other wealthy
nations in forgiving the global debt of developing nations that have
been hard-hit by AIDS.

The demonstrators apparently acquired legitimate credentials as
convention volunteers.

In a second gay protest, several members of a group called Gays Against
Bush taunted members of the Missouri delegation as they walked into a
Manhattan restaurant for dinner.

Missouri voters recently amended their constitution to ban same-sex
marriage.

"The Missouri delegation can't come to New York and act like no one is
aware of what's happening in their state," said demonstrator Louis
Flores.

GAY-FRIENDLY REPUBLICANS

The day before the convention, Log Cabin's "Big Tent Event" was attended
by Republican politicians such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,
New York Gov. George Pataki, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and
former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld.

"I am a believer that what makes America and New York great is its
inclusiveness and its willingness to let everybody be who they are, and
I will always stand for that regardless of whether it happens to be
politically correct or not," Bloomberg said.

He added, "I don't think we should ever use the Constitution to drive
wedges between us," a reference to the proposed Federal Marriage
Amendment (FMA) supported by Bush.

Specter said the arrival of gay equality is inevitable.

"In the long sweep of history, or maybe even the short sweep of history,
those who favor gay rights and those who favor equality are on the right
side of the issue," he said.

Weld said same-sex marriage is a conservative concept.

"It's making the same demands on gays and lesbians as are made on
everyone else when they want to commit to each other for a lifetime," he
said.

Weld also noted, "You're not going to repeal biology in the United
States Senate or the House."

A small group of non-Republican gays picketed the Log Cabin event in
protest against Mayor Bloomberg's appearance.

"He just talks out of both sides of his mouth," said demonstrator Ann
Northrop. "He thinks he's progay; he's deluded. And they [LCR] think
he's progay, and they're deluded."

THE PODIUM

Gay-bashing from the podium was low-key this year.

"Most senators in both parties voted to protect the institution of
marriage through the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law by
President Bill Clinton, but not John Kerry," said Maryland Lt. Gov.
Michael Steele.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., said: "Marriage is important because
it is the cornerstone of civilization and the foundation of the family.
Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented.
But it is something Republicans will defend."

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney declared, "Because every child deserves a
mother and a father, we step forward by recognizing that marriage is
between a man and a woman."

From the other side, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated:
"Maybe, just maybe, you don't agree with this party on every single
issue. I say to you tonight I believe that's not only OK, that's what's
great about this country. Here we can respectfully disagree and still be
patriotic, still be American and still be good Republicans."

Gay groups chastised Schwarzenegger for using the phrase "girlie men"
again. He said: "There is another way you can tell you're a Republican.
You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the
American people, and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who are
so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!"

The remark elicited the loudest cheers of Schwarzenegger's speech.

THE FLOOR

Gay delegates interviewed on the convention floor wondered aloud if
they'll even vote for Bush this year.

"That's a tough question," said D.C. delegate Carl Schmid. "I do not
believe that Log Cabin should endorse President Bush. ... It's really
the gay issue that holds me up, and some of the HIV/AIDS issues as well,
that I'm disappointed with him. It's tough. We're conflicted. It's very
difficult sometimes to be gay and Republican and balance those
interests."

"I don't know," said D.C. delegate Bob Kabel when asked if he'll vote
for Bush. "There's a certain line in the sand that you just can't cross,
and so it's hard to look yourself in the face and say I'm a good foot
soldier if somebody's trying to amend the U.S. Constitution. ... The
question for me is do I vote for President Bush or not vote at all."

But California delegate Christopher Bowman said he probably will vote
for the president.

"I'm not a one-issue person," he said. "What we saw with the FMA in July
in the Senate was the high-water mark for the FMA. Every year it will
lose ground. ... They can put it in the platform. They can pretty it up.
But it's a dead issue."

The straight chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party, Mike
DeNunzio, congratulated Log Cabin for getting tough but urged the group
to endorse Bush anyway.

"Log Cabin has got to stand up for its mission and speak out bravely and
clearly," he said. "I support that type of activity. [But] this is not a
single issue. We're dealing with world terrorism, we're dealing with the
economy, and I know the Log Cabin leadership knows that also. For that
reason I believe they should endorse the president. ... We're a big-tent
party and we've got to have a big perspective on this and then work
step-by-step to achieve these goals."

THE HALLWAY

Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes made news by calling Mary
Cheney a "selfish hedonist" in an interview with Sirius Satellite
Radio's OutQ channel.

He later told the Chicago Tribune: "I have said that if you are actively
engaging in homosexual relations, those relations are about selfish
hedonism. If my daughter were a lesbian, I'd look at her and say, 'That
is a relationship that is based on selfish hedonism.' I would also tell
my daughter that it's a sin, and she needs to pray to the Lord God to
help her to deal with that sin."

His remarks were widely denounced by other Illinois Republicans.

THE PLATFORM

The party platform language that incensed Log Cabin reads:

"We strongly support President Bush's call for a Constitutional
amendment that fully protects marriage, and we believe that neither
federal nor state judges nor bureaucrats should force states to
recognize other living arrangements as equivalent to marriage. We
believe, and the social science confirms, that the well-being of
children is best accomplished in the environment of the home, nurtured
by their mother and father anchored by the bonds of marriage. We further
believe that legal recognition and the accompanying benefits afforded
couples should be preserved for that unique and special union of one man
and one woman which has historically been called marriage."

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