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SCOTT TUCKE
Friday, February 29, 2008
IT’S
A
SAD
state
of
affairs,
albeit
unsurprising,
when
gay
rights
advocates
can’t
bring
themselves
to
say
a
nice
thing
about
a
Republican
U.S.
senator
who
twice
led
the
charge
against
the
anti-gay
federal
marriage
amendment.
I
take
issue
with
the
column
Chris
Crain
wrote
last
week
for
the
Washington
Blade,
“John
McCain
the
McMaverick?”
His
column
ignored
several
facts
and
distorted
the
truth.
Let
me
first
examine
Crain’s
words
about
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans’
strategy
against
Mitt
Romney.
Log
Cabin
challenged
Romney
in
television
and
radio
ads
for
his
lack
of
credibility.
We
highlighted
his
past
positions
as
a
Senate
candidate
in
Massachusetts,
which
are
vastly
different
than
the
positions
he
took
running
for
president.
Our
ads,
which
aired
primarily
in
New
Hampshire
and
Iowa,
helped
seal
the
flip-flop
narrative
that
took
Romney
down.
Crain
writes,
“While
there’s
no
question
Log
Cabin
had
a
score
to
settle
with
Romney,
who
promised
as
recently
as
1994
that
he
would
be
a
more
effective
advocate
for
gay
rights
than
Ted
Kennedy. But
is
it
really
the
Log
Cabin
view
that
Romney’s
pro-gay
past
is
inconsistent
with
being
a
true
conservative…?”
No.
That’s
why
the
ads
made
no
mention
of
gay
issues.
We
targeted
the
ads
to
a
very
specific
audience
and
sought
to
undercut
Romney’s
support
among
social
conservatives
—
and
it
paid
off.
Romney’s
flip-flops
on
every
major
issue
became
a
theme
of
his
campaign
and
led
to
his
defeat.
Crain
wrote
that
“gays
should
find
no
solace”
in
Sen.
John
McCain.
While
Log
Cabin
has
not
endorsed
McCain
and
while
his
record
on
LGBT
issues
is
certainly
not
perfect,
Crain’s
attacks
on
the
Arizona
Republican
are
not
justified.
He
says,
“I
don’t
really
understand
why
John
McCain
is
so
attractive
as
the
‘McMaverick
Republican’
to
GOP
moderates,
especially
if
they
are
gay.”
CRAIN
IS
CLEARLY
not
a
McCain
supporter
—
and
he’s
entitled
to
his
opinion.
But
it’s
surprising
that
Crain
can’t
see
why
McCain
is
an
attractive
candidate
for
GLBT
Republicans.
McCain
has
effectively
won
the
GOP
presidential
nomination
with
no
help
(and
with
outright
hostility)
from
most
so-called
social
conservatives.
If
elected,
McCain
will
take
anti-gay
crusader
James
Dobson
off
speed-dial
at
the
White
House,
which
is
a
significant
achievement
for
all
gays
and
lesbians.
Dobson
declared
he
“would
not
vote
for
John
McCain
under
any
circumstances”
in
large
part
because
of
McCain’s
lack
of
anti-gay
credentials.
Crain
dismisses
McCain’s
record
opposing
the
anti-gay
federal
marriage
amendment,
saying
“the
president
doesn’t
get
a
vote
on
constitutional
amendments
and
there’s
zero
likelihood
that
a
President
McCain
will
waste
an
iota
of
political
capital
opposing
congressional
Republicans
on
a
marriage
amendment.”
First,
if
the
president’s
opinion
on
a
federal
marriage
amendment doesn’t
matter,
then
why
did
Crain
care
when
President
Bush
endorsed
it
in
2004?
You
can’t
have
it
both
ways.
The
truth
is
the
president’s
opinion
on
constitutional
amendments
matters
enormously
(the
major
reason
Log
Cabin
chose
not
to
endorse
Bush
in
2004)
and
it’s
only
fair
to
note
that
McCain,
the
Republican,
twice
voted
against
the
anti-gay
constitutional
amendment.
It
took
enormous
political
courage
for
a
senator
from
red-state
Arizona
to
buck
his
own
party
and
the
president
on
such
a
hot-button
issue.
Crain
continues,
“It’s
true
that
McCain
doesn’t
pander
to
the
right
with
rhetoric
about
‘traditional
family
values’
…
Many
moderates
and
libertarians
still
love
McCain
for
calling
out
Pat
Robertson
and
Jerry
Falwell
as
‘agents
of
intolerance’
back
in
2000.
But
let’s
not
forget
how
McCain
sucked
up
to
both
of
them
in
advance
of
this
presidential
run,
even
speaking
at
Falwell’s
Liberty
University.”
In
other
words,
it’s
a
deal-breaker
when
a
politician
“sucks
up”
to
religious
voters
by
appearing
with
anti-gay
extremists? Then
I
guess
Crain
won’t
be
voting
for
Democratic
candidate
Sen.
Barack
Obama,
who
hosted
a
gospel
concert
featuring
“ex-gay”
preacher
Donnie
McClurkin,
a
man
who
says
gays
can
“change.”
Are
gay
Republicans
going
to
see
eye-to-eye
with
McCain
on
every
issue?
No.
But
McCain
is
a
drastic
improvement
over
the
gay-baiting
politics
that
have
too
long
dominated
the
Republican
Party.
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