Gay Republicans Deserve Support From the LGBTQ Community

[DonViejo]

By Vanessa Vitiello

Gay Republicans aren't just a punch line anymore. Not one but three of them—Carl DeMaio in California’s 52nd District, Richard Tisei of Massachusetts’ 6th, and Dan Innis in New Hampshire’s 1st—will be running for Congress in the upcoming 2014 midterm elections.

These guys aren’t crazies or novelty candidates, either. While all three have tough roads ahead of them, facing fellow Republicans in the primaries followed by incumbent Democrats in November if they prevail, they’re legitimate contenders. Two years ago, Tisei came within a hair of unseating incumbent John Tierney. (2014 will be a repeat of that 2012 race.) Both DeMaio and Tisei have held political office in their respective states previously, and Innis was, until recently, the dean of the business school at the University of New Hampshire. All three of the seats they’re fighting for have made it onto lists of the most vulnerable House Democrats, and if any of them win, they’ll make history as the first Republican(s) to be out when first elected to Congress.

To be sure, the Republican Party has lagged far behind the Democrats on LGBT issues, as well as other issues of diversity and equality. In the past, this has resulted in some pretty ugly attacks against gay Republicans from prominent gay activists on the left. But you can't have a healthy democracy without a minimum of two strong, functional political parties. In a country as diverse as ours, this means that both major parties need a variety of voices, and both of them need to appeal to more than just a single, ever-narrowing constituency. If the Republican Party continues to decline in relevancy, we’ll all suffer in the long term if we’re forced to default to a Democratic Party that doesn’t have to work at being better than the alternative.

With this in mind, I talked to one of the three candidates, Carl DeMaio, to ask the big question liberals always ask about gay GOPers: Why would an openly gay man ever be a Republican? DeMaio began by stressing that his orientation is only one facet of who he is. He's also a reformer! He believes in individual freedom! Local control! Competition and the free market! (Seriously, it’s as if the guy were running for office or something.)

more
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/02/17/gay_republicans_gays_should_support_them.html?

[Scuba]

1. Conversely, the Democratic Party deserves support from gay Republicans.

[DURHAM D]

2. No thanks.

Sounds like Paulites to me.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Uh, no. They will not get mine. Self-haters.

[theHandpuppet]

4. Sorry, but no

Why would I vote for a jerk just because he's gay?

[Behind the Aegis]

12. Exactly!

Shouldn't he be trolling for votes among his republican peers?

[theHandpuppet]

13. Talk about gall.

This is a person who for years has been voting for the Republican Party platform and supporting candidates who are diametrically opposed to everything in which I believe. The only thing he "deserves" is my boot up his ass. What freakin' nerve.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Well, if you want to get your boot up there...

...you'll have to ask him to remove his head first. It's the only conclusion I can reach as to why he would have the audacity to beg gay democrats to vote for him.

[catbyte]

5. That sounds to me like I should vote for Hillary solely because we're both women.

I don't think like that, sorry.

[theHandpuppet]

9. More like voting for Sarah Palin

After all, the Log Cabin Self-Repudiators voted for her.

[catbyte]

11. True, that. Gack!

[mitchtv]

6. are you kidding me?

help the GOP win Dem seats? TROLL BAIT

[Behind the Aegis]

7. Never gonna get it! Never gonna get it!

If being gay is only one part of who he is, then why is he trolling to the community which is only "part" of what he is?! You can't choose to be gay, you can choose to be Republican!

[Warren Stupidity]

8. I read that on slate and no, really no. Not even close.

[Politicalboi]

10. Oh right away

Let's help them take our rights away. USA! USA! USA!

[Rowdyboy]

15. Pretty hard to have respect for someone with no respect for themselves and no GLBT with any....

self-respect can be a Republican. No way, no how. You have to be heavily self-loathing to identify with those jackasses.

[theHandpuppet]

16. Would you trust anyone who voted for Sarah Palin?

'Nuff said.

[Rhythm]

17. I can respect the person for being open, but cannot vote for him/her

...because in our party-driven republic, majorities matter.

I can say aloud that i am proud of a politician for coming-out (or for being a vocal ally), but I cannot in good conscience vote for a Republican, and have them potentially occupy a seat in the HoR, Senate, White House (or even state legislature or city council) that my party needs to hold.

[Fearless]

18. There are plenty of gay democrats out there that I'll vote for instead.

[closeupready]

19. Garbage.

What Vitello is REALLY arguing is, gays should support the Republican Party. No, thanks. For ALL the reasons others have stated here.

[joeybee12]

20. Nope, they're just teabaggers who happen to be gay...nt

[mitchtv]

21. success for me would be

G GOPer splits puke vote,throws election to Dem