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CHRIS JOHNSON
Friday, September 05, 2008
The
Log
Cabin
Republicans
officially
threw
their
support
behind
Sen.
John
McCain
in
the
GOP
candidate’s
bid
for
the
White
House
this
week
amid
festivities
at
the
Republican
National
Convention.
The
gay
group
announced
its
endorsement
Tuesday
during
a
“Big
Tent
Event.”
The
Log
Cabin
board
voted
12-2
to
endorse
McCain
the
previous
night.
In
a
statement
Tuesday,
Patrick
Sammon,
president
of
Log
Cabin,
said
his
organization
would
stand
with
McCain
because
the
senator
stood
with
Log
Cabin
in
opposing
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment
when
it
came
before
Congress.
“Sen.
McCain
showed
courage
by
bucking
his
own
party’s
leadership
and
the
president
—
twice
voting
against
the
amendment,”
Sammon
said.
“He
gave
an
impassioned
speech
on
the
Senate
floor,
calling
the
amendment
‘antithetical
in
every
way
to
the
core
philosophy
of
Republicans.’”
The
McCain
campaign
did
not
immediately
comment
on
the
endorsement.
Sammon
told
the
Blade
that
the
endorsement
was
“not
an
easy
decision”
and
came
after
“a
thorough
discussion”
with
members
across
the
country.
The
Log
Cabin
president
said
officials
from
the
McCain
campaign
came
to
Log
Cabin’s
“Big
Tent
Event”
and
thanked
the
organization
for
the
endorsement.
McCain
national
political
director
Mike
DuHaime
and
Republican
National
Committee
Treasurer
Tim
Morgan
told
attendees
that
McCain
understands
that
every
vote
is
going
to
count
in
this
election,
Sammon
said.
Log
Cabin
has
not
always
stood
by
the
GOP
nominee.
In
2004,
the
organization
declined
to
endorse
President
Bush
because
of
his
support
for
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment,
which
would
have
amended
the
U.S.
Constitution
to
ban
same-sex
unions.
“I
expect
that
Sen.
McCain
will
get
strong
support
from
gay
and
lesbian
voters
—
certainly
more
than
President
Bush
got
four
years
ago,”
Sammon
said.
Sammon
said
Log
Cabin’s
decision
to
endorse
McCain
during
the
convention
is
about
on
par
with
the
timing
for
the
organization’s
endorsement
decisions
in
previous
election
years,
when
Log
Cabin
made
its
endorsement
declarations
around
the
time
of
the
GOP
convention.
One
reason
Log
Cabin
endorsed
McCain
was
that
its
“grassroots”
members
strongly
supported
him,
Sammon
said.
He
said
members
view
McCain
as
a
maverick
and
an
“inclusive
Republican.”
Sammon
said
these
members
are
not
necessarily
making
their
decision
to
support
McCain
based
on
his
gay
rights
positions.
“Gay
and
lesbian
voters
—
like
every
other
voter
—
don’t
make
their
decision
on
one
issue
or
another,”
Sammon
said.
“Certainly
gay
rights
are
definitely
a
big
part
of
the
equation,
but
they
also
consider
a
candidate’s
other
positions
on
the
important
issues
of
the
day
—
whether
it’s
energy
policy,
the
economy,
national
security.”
He
also
said
the
endorsement
was
based
on
being
able
to
make
a
case
for
gay
rights
to
Sen.
McCain
if
he
is
elected
to
the
presidency.
The
Log
Cabin
president
said
“we’ve
seen
in
this
movement
that
it’s
a
mistake
to
put
all
your
eggs
in
one
basket,”
and
that
progress
only
happens
if
both
Democrats
and
Republicans
agree.
“There’s
a
40-to-50
percent
chance
McCain
wins
this
election,
and
I
don’t
think
it’s
good
strategy
for
our
community
to
be
shut
out
for
the
next
four
or
eight
years,”
he
said.
The
Log
Cabin
president
said
the
perception
that
there
won’t
be
progress
on
gay
rights
if
McCain
is
elected
president
is
a
mistake
because
the
candidate
has
“always
shown
a
willingness
to
have
an
open
mind
on
these
issues”
and
is
“not
be
afraid
to
be
a
maverick.”
Sammon
said
members
of
his
organization
don’t
agree
with
McCain
on
every
issue.
While
he
opposed
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment,
McCain
has
supported
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
which
prohibits
gay
people
from
serving
openly
in
the
military.
McCain
also
supports
Proposition
8,
a
proposed
initiative
in
California
that
would
ban
same-sex
marriage
in
the
state.
“Quite
frankly,
when
we
don’t
agree
with
him,
we’re
going
to
speak
out
both
in
this
campaign
and
when
he’s
elected,”
Sammon
said.
Prominent
gay
rights
organizations
were
quick
to
comment
on
the
Log
Cabin
endorsement
and
McCain’s
choice
of
Alaska
Gov.
Sarah
Palin
as
his
running
mate.
In
a
statement
Tuesday,
Human
Rights
Campaign
President
Joe
Solmonese
said
while
McCain
claims
to
be
a
maverick,
“on
matters
of
LGBT
equality,
he’s
shown
that
he’s
anything
but.”
“The
Human
Rights
Campaign
endorses
mavericks
on
both
sides
of
the
aisle
—
neither
John
McCain
nor
Sarah
Palin
is
among
them,”
Solmonese
said.
In
another
statement
released
Tuesday,
Jon
Hoadley,
executive
director
of
the
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
said
his
organization
“cannot
more
strongly
disagree
with
supporting
Senator
John
McCain.”
“John
McCain
and
Sarah
Palin
continue
to
push
a
radical,
anti-equality
agenda
at
the
request
of
the
special
interests
that
control
their
campaign
and
the
Republican
Party,”
Hoadley
said.
Sammon
said
he
respects
any
group
weighing
in
on
the
Log
Cabin
endorsement,
and
that
he
would
not
attack
organizations
for
commenting
on
the
decision.
“I
understand
that
this
is
a
widely
talked
about
decision
and
I’m
not
surprised
that
other
organizations
are
going
to
weigh
in,”
Sammon
said.
“I
respect
that
we
have
a
disagreement
on
this
issue.
We’ll
move
ahead
and
work
together
on
these
issues
where
we
do
find
common
ground.”
Log
Cabin
officials
speaking
to
the
Blade
by
phone
this
week
from
St.
Paul,
Minn.,
said
they
were
having
their
greatest
presence
ever
at
a
GOP
convention.
Scott
Tucker,
a
Log
Cabin
spokesperson,
said
24
openly
gay
delegates
and
alternate
delegates
were
attending
the
convention.
But
there
were
a
number
of
distinctions
between
how
the
Democratic
and
Republican
conventions
this
year
engaged
the
gay
community.
Compared
to
the
24
gay
delegates
and
alternative
delegates
at
the
Republican
convention,
the
Democrats
had
at
least
297
gay
delegates
and
alternate
delegates.
The
Democratic
convention
in
Denver
also
had
two
openly
gay
speakers,
while
the
Republican
convention
had
none
scheduled.
The
Democrats
also
offered
two
gay
caucus
meetings
and
other,
dedicated
social
gatherings
to
discuss
gay
issues.
The
Republicans
had
...
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