Sep 12, 2008  |  By: B. DANIEL BLATT  | COMMENTS     

JUST OVER TWO years ago in the Huffington Post, left-wing journalist and screenwriter Gene Stone asked why “any gay man or woman” would join the GOP, “a party that has stated, over and over, as clearly as can be, without equivocation, that he or she is not welcome.” Stone’s piece was little more than an angry and inaccurate diatribe, attempting to show that it was “worse than self-loathing,” it was “just plain moronic” for gay people to embrace the Republican Party.

His article, like so much of the criticism leveled against gay Republicans, did not reference any specific action by the GOP excluding gays. He didn’t even identify any actual gay or lesbian individuals who had had adverse experiences with the Party of Lincoln.

Familiar with such ill-informed attacks on gay Republicans like myself, I decided last week that when I went to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, I would make a point of referencing my blog, GayPatriot, whenever I introduced myself to a participant. As the blog is part of Pajamas Media, a consortium of mostly right-of-center web sites, I would interact with a great variety of conservative (and libertarian) bloggers covering the convention.

What I experienced with them — and with the other participants to whom I introduced myself and my blog — confirmed something I have been observing since I have been out as a gay Republican:  it’s easier to be openly gay among conservatives than it is to be openly conservative among gays.
As long ago as last spring, the John McCain campaign made clear that we would be welcome in St. Paul, offering to credential my co-blogger, Bruce Carroll and me. (Due to professional obligations, Bruce was unable to make it.)

I WAS NOT the only gay Republican to be welcomed by the party and the McCain campaign. Just as the campaign gave us press credentials, it also credentialed Log Cabin members as “officials guests.”

Mike DuHaime, political director to the McCain campaign, and Tim Morgan, treasurer of the Republican National Committee (RNC) addressed Log Cabin’s “Big Tent” luncheon on Sept. 2. Morgan said he accepted the group’s invitation as a “symbol” of the party’s outreach to the gay and lesbian community.  Two days later, Steve Schmidt, chief strategist to the McCain campaign, addressed the organization’s luncheon in honor of gay delegates, calling the group an “important part” of the GOP.

Just as McCain campaign strategists reached out to Log Cabin, so did conservative bloggers reach out to me. The folk at the Pajamas TV, a new web television network affiliated with Pajamas Media, allowed me to use their space and (when available) Ethernet cables so I could hang out with other bloggers.

That gave me the chance to see how my fellow bloggers (and a few conservative intellectuals) would react when I identified the blog. It didn’t make any difference when they learned I was gay. Nearly all of them had heard of GayPatriot. Not a single one said anything offensive or that could remotely be construed as being anti-gay. Even social conservatives (and self-identified evangelical Christians) were courteous and continued to engage me after learning of my sexual orientation.

I had the same experience when I talked to other Republicans and conservatives in St. Paul. Waiting in line at the concession stand or whenever circumstances allowed, I would introduce myself to other participants, ask where they were from, their role at the convention.  Even as they learned I was covering the partisan gathering as a gay conservative blogger, they didn’t reject me, chastise me or even direct me to “ex-gay” ministries. An alternate delegate from North Carolina did wonder how I dealt with the gay leftists as they could, in his words, be quite “vicious” adversaries.

The openly gay delegates with whom I spoke also felt welcome, including Carlos Obando, an alternate from Texas. Carlos encountered no adverse reaction from his fellow Republicans, even though he had been out when he contested the Republican primary for Texas state representative in his Houston district. He faced more animosity from gay leftists in Houston than he from straight Republicans in St. Paul.

WHEN I WASN’T talking with convention participants or congregating with my fellow bloggers, I was watching the speeches, touring the floor, taking in the atmosphere of a national convention. We could all feel the excitement as we awaited vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s speech.  We left the Xcel Center ecstatic, agreeing it was a great speech and a good night for our party, with some (including yours truly) comparing her speaking ...