THE
LOG
CABIN
Republicans
—
that
ever-mystifying
gang
of
GOP’ers
who
say
they
represent
gay
and
lesbian
interests
in
a
party
that
is
totally
disinterested
in
representing
gay
men
and
lesbians
—
finally
seem
to
have
developed
some
political
balls.
The
group
has
a
history
of
being
little
more
than
apologists
for
the
Republican
party
and
its
indefensible
stances
on
issues
of
concern
to
gays
over
the
years.
Indeed,
watching
some
of
their
spokespeople
in
the
past
try
to
rationalize
how
the
group
continues
to
support
a
party
that
is
clearly
anti-gay
has
been
like
watching
some
amazing
contortionists
at
a
circus.
In
the
2000
presidential
election,
before
it
was
clear
that
George
W.
Bush
would
be
the
Republican
candidate,
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
took
the
political
gamble
of
backing
Bush’s
rival,
John
McCain.
This
peeved
the
Texas
governor,
and
after
he
had
the
nomination
sewed
up,
he
refused
to
even
meet
with
them.
Instead,
his
old
friend
Charles
Francis,
who
is
gay,
assembled
a
group
of
gay
Republicans
who
had
supported
Bush
over
McCain,
and
the
“Austin
12”
who
met
with
Bush
in
the
Texas
state
capital
helped
in
turn
to
create
an
entirely
new,
and
even
more
spineless
organization,
called
the
Republican
Unity
Coalition.
PETRIFIED
OF
FOREVER
being
on
the
outs
—
the
worst
political
purgatory
possible
inside
the
Beltway
—
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
have
spent
much
of
the
Bush
years
doing
just
about
anything
they
could
to
get
back
in
good
graces
with
their
party’s
leader,
reaching
a
new
low
in
the
exercise
of
Uncle
Tommery.
For
those
of
us
who
are
gay
or
lesbian,
watching
the
political
butt
kissing
was
stomach-churning,
even
taking
into
consideration
the
brown-noser
standards
ubiquitous
in
the
nation’s
capitol.
But
the
suck-up
strategy
may
have
borne
some
fruit.
Less
than
a
year
ago,
the
relatively
new
leader
of
the
Log
Cabin
organization,
Patrick
Guerriero,
boasted
to
one
gay
publication
that
his
group’s
access
to
the
Bush
White
House
was
“unprecedented.”
And
the
Log
Cabin
leadership
claims
to
have
buried
the
hatchet
with
the
Republican
Unity
Coalition.
Guerriero
made
public
kissy-face
with
Francis
by
inviting
him
to
speak
at
the
Log
Cabin’s
black-tie
dinner
last
year.
All
seemed
honky-dory
for
the
“we’ll-do-anything-to-get-back-in-good-graces”
Log
Cabin
Republicans.
THEN
CAME
BUSH’S
call
for
a
federal
marriage
amendment,
to
change
the
Constitution
to
ban
gay
couples
from
ever
getting
married.
Though
the
Republican
Unity
Coalition
officially
opposes
the
federal
marriage
amendment,
Charles
Francis
was
still
up
to
his
old
apologist
games,
telling
the
New
York
Times
recently
that
good
and
decent
people
can
differ
on
the
issue
of
gay
marriage.
And,
the
RUC
adds,
they
won’t
support
the
federal
marriage
amendment
because
it
takes
away
from
“far
larger
and
more
important
issues.”
The
emphasis
belongs
to
the
RUC,
per
the
group’s
Web
site.
Just
what
is
supposed
to
be
so
much
more
important
to
a
group
that
purports
to
stand
for
the
rights
of
gay
men
and
lesbians
than
a
constitutional
amendment
that
threatens
to
forever
truncate
those
rights?
I
braced
myself
in
readiness
to
witness
more
of
the
same
kind
of
gutless
behavior
from
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
as
I
saw
from
the
Republican
Unity
Coalition.
Instead,
the
Log
Cabin
group
surprised
me.
The
Log
Cabin
Republicans
haven’t
treated
us
with
another
nauseating
performance
of
political
acrobatics.
Not
only
have
they
condemned
the
federal
marriage
amendment
in
strong
terms,
they’ve
put
their
money
where
their
mouth
is.
One
million
dollars
worth
of
it,
to
be
exact.
Last
week,
the
Log
Cabin
organization
unveiled
a
TV
ad
campaign
that
took
aim
at
the
Bush
administration’s
support
of
a
constitutional
amendment
to
ban
same-sex
marriage.
The
gay
GOP’ers
are
airing
the
ads
in
swing
states,
clearly
hoping
to
woo
moderates
in
their
own
party
away
from
the
president’s
position
—
and
maybe
even
away
from
the
president
himself.
The
30-second
television
spot
features
Vice
President
Dick
Cheney
(whose
daughter,
Mary
is
a
lesbian)
and
his
comments
in
the
2000
presidential
campaign,
where
he
stated,
“I
don’t
think
there
should
necessarily
be
a
federal
policy
in
this
area.”
(Cheney
has
since
said
that
he
would
support
the
president’s
decision.)
The
ad
follows
up
on
Cheney’s
remarks
with
two
simple
words
in
capital
letters:
“WE
AGREE.”
Furthermore,
Guerriero
has
hinted
that
his
group
might
not
endorse
the
president
in
the
coming
election,
specifically
because
of
the
gay
marriage
issue.
FOR
MOST
OF
us
who
are
gay
or
lesbian,
that
seems
like
a
big
“duh!”,
a
no-brainer.
But
for
a
group
that
has
done
everything
it
can
the
past
few
years
to
cozy
up
to
the
powers-that-be,
getting
up
the
gumption
to
take
these
clear
swipes
at
the
president
is
nothing
less
than
radical.
Guerriero
and
his
group
can
be
pretty
sure
that
they’ve
just
kissed
access
to
the
White
House
goodbye.
But
they’ve
gained
something
that
even
a
thousand
meetings
with
George
Bush
in
the
presidential
chambers
couldn’t
afford
them:
a
little
bit
of
self-respect.
