The GOP's quiet evolution on gay rights

By Aaron Blake

The recent repeal of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy notwithstanding, it's been quite some time since social issues played a prominent role in national politics.

Republicans rode to victory on the strength of so-called "values voters" in 2004, championing a message of social conservatism on issues like abortion and gay marriage. And it might have delivered them four more years in the White House.

Since then, the Iraq war and the struggling economy have consumed the American electorate and left little appetite for much else.

But beneath it all, a little-noticed trend has emerged: the Republican Party has moved steadily to the left on gay rights.

To wit:

* The upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has invited gay Republican groups to its annual meeting in February -- a move that has been met with boycotts from some conservative groups.

* In February well-known GOP consultant Mary Matalin (a veteran of the Bush-Cheney team) will host the first Washington fundraiser for the gay Republican group GOProud. (Prominent conservatives Andrew Breitbart and Grover Norquist sit on the board at GOProud. And Ann Coulter did a fundraiser for the group last year.)

* During the lame duck Congressional session last year, 15 House Republicans and eight Senate Republicans crossed over to support a repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" that banned gays from serving openly in the military. Gay groups say their initial whip counts were much lower.

* Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) accepted an award from the Log Cabin Republicans in September, becoming the highest-ranking Republican to do so.

* National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) invited gay groups to meet-and-greets with the party's "Young Guns" candidates last cycle, and the groups have been included in meetings with all three major party campaign committees.

* Former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman came out as gay in August and began a push to legalize same-sex marriage.

Ten years ago, it wouldn't have been so easy for many of these influential conservatives to ally themselves with gay Republicans. The GOP back then was winning on social issues and thought consolidating its social conservative base was the ticket to a sustained majority.

Remember that an undercurrent of the 2004 election was the number of ballot initiatives banning gay marriage in targeted states, a strategy that led to an unusually high turnout of social conservatives.

Now, though, gay rights issues are largely under the national political radar. And Christopher Barron, chairman of the board at GOProud, said that has worked in his favor. He said his group launched at an "unbelievably fortuitous" time in 2009, given that another movement was sprouting that was generally indifferent to social issues.

"Our organization got started at the exact same time that the tea party movement was getting started," Barron said. "It was a natural fit, because the party has been laser-focused on fiscal issues. There's been no interest in going back to the well on the social issues."

There's also the matter of how well those so-called "wedge" issues work. While abortion remains a pretty potent point of debate in American society, Republicans and GOP-leaning independents have moved steadily toward accepting gay rights in recent years.

Polling tells the story.

Data from Washington Post/ABC News polling shows that Republicans who support openly gay people serving in the military increased from 50 percent in 2001 to 64 percent in early 2010. By the time "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was repealed in December, 74 percent of Republicans said they supported gays serving openly in the military.

The numbers look similar on other gay rights issues.

Data from the Pew Research Center shows that, between 1987 and 2009, the percentage of Republicans who though school boards should be able to fire gay teachers dropped from 59 percent to 32 percent. The percentage who disagree with firing gay teachers rose from 56 percent to 64 percent between 2007 and 2009 alone.

There are a few reasons for this.

One of them is the generation gap -- younger people, on the whole, are more accepting of gay rights.

The second is big(ger) names. While the Log Cabin Republicans, a prominent GOP gay rights group, has been around for more than 30 years, GOProud has gained considerable press in its relatively short existence thanks to an ability to lure big-name supporters to the group. Those big names lend credibility to the cause and are forcing people to take note.

Matalin said the continuing emphasis on fiscal issues has also led Republicans to notice the common ground they share with some gay voters.

"Conservative gays are into tax, security, all the issues, as opposed to being a single-issue orientation," Matalin said. "The GOProud gang is really smart, clever, creative and cool."

On the flip side, as gay Republican groups have taken off, social conservative groups like the Family Research Council have seen their influence wane. And Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director Clarke Cooper said that diminution opens doors when groups like his want to meet with GOP members of Congress.

"Had they been faced with the Family Research Council going after Cornyn and Sessions and (former RNC Chairman Michael) Steele, saying cease and desist, in previous years, they would have capitulated," Cooper said.

None of this is to say that there's not still plenty of opposition to gay rights in the Republican Party. On the contrary, the party remains resolutely opposed to gay marriage, with only 27 percent of Republicans supporting it. And the social conservative segment of the party is still a dominant one -- particularly when it comes to picking nominees in contested primaries.

The question going forward is how do Republicans deal with these issues when the economy recovers? Or if they unseat President Obama in 2012? What happens when they've actually got time and energy to devote to gay rights issues? Will social conservatives push for a return to a platform that promotes opposition to gay rights?

Almost all of the examples described above have been met with resistance. It just hasn't been as overwhelming or note-worthy as it used to be. The resistance to CPAC, for instance, has been more muted than it might have been in the past.

But without bigger fish to fry, divisions within the Republican Party become more of nuisance. The evolution has been slow and will continue to be so; in the meantime, it's still a tough issue brooding beneath the surface.

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Log Cabin urges court to sustain DADT case

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A gay rights group is asking a federal appeals court in California to keep considering whether a trial judge properly struck down the U.S. military’s ban on gays serving openly in the military.

Lawyers for Log Cabin Republicans filed a brief Monday, Jan. 10 arguing that because the ban has not been lifted, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals needs to maintain its schedule in the government’s challenge to the lower court’s ruling.

It came in response to a Justice Department motion seeking to suspend the case for at least three months. The department faces a Jan. 24 deadline for submitting opening arguments.

Government lawyers say putting the appeal on hold would allow the Pentagon to focus on training troops and other tasks necessary for completing the repeal of the ban.

Congress has agreed to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

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LGBT Groups Scale Back Goals In 2011, Search For Smaller Victories With New Congress

by Amanda Terkel

WASHINGTON -- Facing an emboldened Republican House unlikely to consider significant gay rights legislation in 2011, the nation's leading LGBT advocacy organizations are aiming to push for measures that advance pro-equality causes but are a far cry from historic bills like the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

A new analysis by the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBT advocacy group, argues that the 112th Congress will have 53 more lawmakers unlikely to vote on behalf of advancing gay rights than in the previous session; the Senate will have five more, bringing the total of such members in the new Congress to 265:

"There will be some opportunities that will be presented to us," said Allison Herwitt, legislative director at HRC. "I think that going into the 112th Congress, generally, we'll be looking at, what are the bigger bills that will be moving that we can put pieces of pro-equality -- either amendments or provisions -- into those larger moving bills?"

She said the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act might provide opportunities to include measures addressing bullying and harassment. The Older Americans Act could allow advocates to push for provisions that benefit older LGBT Americans. A piece of free-standing legislation, the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, would equalize tax treatment for employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners and other non-spouse, non-dependent beneficiaries.

HRC will still work on larger pieces of legislation, like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, pushing to introduce the bills, educating lawmakers and holding hearings on the issues.

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, also acknowledges that major measures are unlikely to go anywhere but said there are opportunities to marry the fiscal concerns of the Republican Party with pro-equality legislation. Like Herwitt, he pointed to inequalities in the tax code.

Currently under federal law, employers who offer health benefits for the domestic partners of their employees face unequal treatment: both the employers and employees are taxed at a higher rate and essentially, employers are rewarded for discriminating.

"We have drafted a tax reform bill that would address a 'donut hole' -- people call it different things -- there is currently a problem with the way the federal tax code is written that is punitive to employers, and employees who may have a same-sex partner," said Cooper, noting it would be LCR's first piece of legislation this Congress. "We figure, with the current appetite in Congress for tax reform, and the current appetite for economic growth and limiting the federal budget and balancing the budget, this may be an opportunity for a successful piece of legislation that could be introduced and sponsored by Republicans, with bipartisan support from Democrats."

He is less pessimistic that Republicans will try to take away LGBT rights, pointing to 11 of LCR's endorsed candidates -- including five new members -- who will be in the 112th Congress. He also noted that on Dec. 15, the Republican Study Committee, run by the socially conservative Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), convened a meeting with conservative and Republican auxiliary organizations -- including the Heritage Foundation, National Rifle Association, and LCR -- and made clear the party will be focused on fiscal issues.

"What Chairman Jordan shared with us is that all the priorities for this Congress are fiscal-related," said Cooper. "One could interpret it as there have been lessons learned either at a pragmatic or principled level by certain Republicans on social issues, that they're not good for the party; they are divisive. And frankly, in many respects, from a true definition of conservatism, social issues don't have a role in the government."

The three priorities identified by Jordan, according to Cooper, were: 1) a rescission package that would eliminate previously approved spending; 2) balancing the federal budget; and 3) federal welfare reform.

Herwitt is less optimistic. She said that LGBT advocates will have to look closely at budget numbers Republicans put out and where they decide to cut spending. Will they go after funding for HIV/AIDS programs? Hate crimes enforcement?

Additionally, as the 2012 elections heat up, she said Republicans might bring social issues to the table again.

"I think they're going to have to give some red meat to their base, and I assume it's either going to be anti-gay, anti-choice, or anti-immigrant, or all of the above," said Herwitt. "So I just think that when you have someone like Jeb Hensarling, who is chairman of the House Republican Conference, he's extremely connected and close to a lot the right-wing religious groups, so there's going to be pressure on the leadership to deliver on some of these issues."

One branch of government that could hold major victories (or upsets) for the LGBT community: the judicial system. There currently are two major cases making their way through the courts, one challenging the constitutionality of DOMA, the other the constitutionality of California's same-sex marriage ban. Either could end up at the Supreme Court.

There will also be action at the state level, with Maryland, New York and Rhode Island looking to advance marriage equality bills, and states like Tennessee, Arizona and Florida likely considering legislation to restrict adoption rights for same-sex parents.

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Log Cabin to Build Bench in New York

By Julie Bolcer

The New York chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans announced “Starting at 1,” a new initiative designed to increase members’ involvement in state and local politics, with goals that include recruiting and grooming successful candidates for elected office.

Starting at 1 takes its name from the launch date of January 1, 2011. Beginning next month with e-mail updates to members and a presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, the initiative will provide information to encourage participation in local government and state Republican organizations and committees, the traditional entry points for heavyweight political involvement.

“Right now we have a politically savvy membership, and it’s time to take things to the next level,” said Gregory T. Angelo, a spokesman for the Log Cabin Republicans of New York, in a statement. “Starting at 1 is designed to take the enthusiasm we’ve seen from our members for everything from joining their local community board to becoming more involved in the Republican county committee and even running for office. With the momentum from the 2010 midterm elections driving us forward and the mounting excitement for the 2012 presidential election ahead, 2011 is the perfect time to begin building the gay GOP leaders of tomorrow, and Starting at 1 seeks to give individuals the tools to do just that.”

As elsewhere, all politics is local in New York, but aspiring power brokers may find the terrain inaccessible, even treacherous, without an introduction and guidance. Starting at 1 aims to help gay Republicans traverse the playing field comprised of entities such as community boards, county committees, and district leader offices.

“We’re going to be encouraging people to run for committee, to engage more with their district leaders, to engage with their community board, to build a back bench with Log Cabin,” said Angelo. “That starts with people getting the tools they need to become part of that process. We’ll let people know about opportunities for candidate school and running for county committee and who their district leaders are.”

Starting at 1 arrives after a wave of Republican midterm election gains in Congress, to which New York contributed six seats, more than any other state, to the House takeover. However, no Republican won statewide office in New York despite races for two offices, attorney general and comptroller, initially thought to be competitive. Meanwhile, many Republicans in the state felt dissatisfaction with their Tea Party-backed gubernatorial nominee, Carl Paladino, whose antigay remarks to a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders in October prompted a national uproar. According to the nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, not a single openly gay Republican was elected to a state legislative office this year.

On the other hand, the GOP made gains in the New York state assembly and won back the state senate, where advocates await action on the marriage equality bill that failed last year and on a long-stalled transgender civil rights bill. Republican senate leader Dean Skelos said during the campaign that he would recommend bringing the marriage equality bill to the floor pending consultation with his conference, and lobbying groups like Log Cabin note that historic gay rights legislation including the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act and a hate crimes bill passed under a Republican state senate in the past decade.

While the initiative was formally announced Wednesday, Log Cabin members learned about Starting at 1 earlier this month during the group’s holiday party in New York City, which drew Republican leaders including Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper, former Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, and state party chairman Ed Cox. The initiative is exclusive to New York right now, but the state chapter hopes to inspire gay Republicans everywhere.

“Starting at 1 is entirely a Log Cabin Republicans of New York initiative, though it is a model that can be replicated by Log Cabin Republicans chapters throughout the country,” said Angelo. “In fact, it's our hope that other chapters will follow our lead with similar efforts to engage their membership during this incredible window of opportunity in Republican Party history.”

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