The big gay elephant in the room

[Cannikin]

by Todd Kutyla


Did you hear the one about the gay Republicans? Probably not; it isn't something many people are talking about. In fact, it's kind of embarrassing for just about everyone. The group that claims to represent the largest number of conservative gays, the Log Cabin Republicans are at the moment finding it difficult to get their message heard. Gay Republicans in general don't seem to get a whole lot of respect from either the left or the right. Other homosexuals ridicule them, Democrats rarely even acknowledge them, and many Republicans would like it very much if they went back to their conservative closets and changed into something more presentable. Nevertheless, Log Cabin Republicans are becoming increasingly vocal in and outside of the party. In the process, they're bringing into question traditional notions of conservatism, activism and identity politics.

Log Cabin Republicans fall into a category of dissidents for whom many of us have mixed feelings. They put us in the uncomfortable position of having to first admit that people often have seemingly contradictory values simultaneously; and second, forcing us to decide whether we can respect their right to do so. Gay conservatives may force us to reassess our own presumptions and come clean on our secret -- or not so secret -- prejudices. On the other hand, Log Cabin Republicans may simply be a bunch of ideological conservatives who happen to love people of the same sex. Why should a simple quirk of genetic coding interfere with the pursuit of individual self-interest, after all? Gay men, and to a lesser degree lesbians, represent one of the most affluent constituencies in America. Notwithstanding the end of the "marriage penalty," President Bush's tax policy represents a potential boon for affluent gays as much as anyone.

It is still anybody's guess whether Log Cabin will ultimately achieve equity in the Republican Party. This is a critical moment in American politics all around. In what may turn out to be a major irony of the Log Cabin experiment, inter-party battles could change the face of two-party politics for generations to come. If conservative Democrats like Joe Lieberman have their way, "New Democrats" could very well sweep in to fill the moderate Republican vacuum. As elements in both parties push ever further to the right, leaving progressive Democrats disenfranchised and moderate Republicans feeling a bit schizophrenic, "New Democratic" principles could fall right in line with Log Cabin's fiscally conservative and socially ambiguous agenda. In the end, it could turn out that gay conservatives were fighting the wrong battle with the wrong party. But, that's what happens in American politics, I suppose. After all, who would ever have imagined that the legacy of Abraham Lincoln would turn out to be George W. Bush?

http://www.dailygusto.com/news/august/logcabin-082203.html