Log Cabin Republicans stand firmly behind John McCain
by PageOneQ
pageoneq.com
Ignoring his calls to pass an anti-gay marriage amendment in his home state and his positions on a number of gay and lesbian issues, the Log Cabin Republicans today endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for president of the United States.
Issuing a statement from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Log Cabin Republicans president Patrick Sammon that "on the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade-the federal marriage amendment-Sen. John McCain stood with us. Now we stand with him."
The organization also praised the Senator's pick of Sarah Palin for Vice President, despite her anti-gay stands on issues such as hate crimes extensions and employment protection. The group said the pick shows McCain is committed to living up to his reputation as a "maverick."
"Sen. McCain has always shown a willingness to reach out and engage in dialog with Log Cabin, while considering all sides of an issue," Sammon said, expressing confidence that McCain will continue such talks if he is elected.
The organization said that the vote of the board was 12 in favor of the endorsement and two opposed. The Board has 17 members, including 16 men and one woman.
"Stonewall Democrats continues to work with our allies across the aisle on areas where we can mutually advance equality," countered the Stonewall Democrats' Executive Director Jon Hoadley on Tuesday, "but we cannot more strongly disagree with supporting Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. John McCain and Sarah Palin continue to push a radical, anti-equality agenda at the request of the special interests which control their campaign and the Republican Party.
"The McCain/Palin ticket opposes adoption by same-sex couples, supports constitutional discrimination regarding the freedom to marry, supports legal discrimination in the workplace based on gender identity and sexual orientation, opposes comprehensive hate crimes legislation and is willing to jeapordize our national security by barring qualified servicemembers simply based on their sexual orientation alone."
The Stonewall Democrats also contrasted the current Democratic and Republican tickets on issues of LGBT equality.
"The McCain/Palin team is an aggressively anti-equality ticket," Hoadley continued. "That is one reason why Republicans and Independents continue to add their support to the campaign of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Stonewall Democrats across the country continue to log thousands of hours making phone calls, visiting neighbors and registering new voters on behalf of Senator Obama and the Democratic ticket. We know the stark contrast between the strong leadership of Senator Obama and the anti-equality record that John McCain and Sarah Palin continue to build. If we are to enact significant pro-equality legislation at the federal level, we must continue our work electing Barack Obama as our next President."
"John McCain claims to be a maverick who breaks with his party, but on matters of LGBT equality, he’s shown that he’s anything but," added HRC President Joe Solomonese. "He actively campaigned for a constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage and domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in his home state of Arizona. He went so far as to appear in television commercials for that campaign, is now supporting an amendment to strip marriage equality from California couples and has said that he’d vote for a federal marriage amendment if laws already banning marriage equality were to be struck down by federal courts.
"Sarah Palin has also supported bans on marriage and even domestic partner benefits in Alaska. The Republican Party, McCain and Palin’s party, has declared in its platform that they want to pass the federal marriage amendment. Their party’s platform also calls gay and lesbian Americans unfit for military service, supports policies that would allow faith-based organizations to deny us jobs and services using federal dollars, and attacks judges who acknowledge our equality under the law. The Human Rights Campaign endorses mavericks on both sides of the aisle — neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin is among them."
The complete LCR statement follows.
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Log Cabin Endorses Sen. John McCain for President McCain is an Inclusive Leader Who Will Appeal to Independent Voters
(Minneapolis, MN) - Log Cabin Republicans today announced its endorsement of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for President of the United States. Log Cabin's national board of directors voted 12-2 to endorse the Republican nominees for President and Vice President. Log Cabin announced the decision at its "Big Tent Event" during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.
"On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade-the federal marriage amendment-Sen. John McCain stood with us. Now we stand with him," said
Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Sammon. "Sen. McCain is an inclusive Republican who is focusing the GOP on unifying core principles that appeal to independent voters."
"Sen. McCain showed courage by bucking his own party's leadership and the president-twice voting against the amendment. He gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, calling the amendment 'antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans.'
He paid a political price for his vote," said Sammon.
"Log Cabin Republicans is a grassroots organization and our membership overwhelmingly supports endorsing Sen. McCain," said Log Cabin Board Chairman Pete Kingma. "Our board and staff members have spent recent months getting input and feedback from our members. The consensus among our members is strongly in favor of an endorsement because of his inclusive record. Our members also support him because he's a maverick; a trait most recently on display with his decision to select Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate."
"In recent years, too many Republican politicians have used divisive social issues in an effort to win elections. Sen. McCain is a different kind of Republican. He understands the GOP lost its majority in Congress in 2006 largely because the Party focused on divisive social issues. Sen. McCain knows the politics of fear and division will damage our Party and our nation so he's focusing the GOP on unifying core principles such as limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a strong national defense," said Sammon.
"We have honest disagreements with Sen. McCain on a number of gay rights issues. Log Cabin will continue our conversation with him and other Republican leaders about issues affecting gay and lesbian Americans. We will speak out when there's disagreement-either during the upcoming campaign or when John McCain is President," said Sammon
Sen. McCain has had a long and friendly association with Log Cabin Republicans, dating back to the organization's opening of a national office in the mid-1990s.
"Sen. McCain has always shown a willingness to reach out and engage in dialogue with Log Cabin, while considering all sides of an issue," said Sammon. "We know that will continue when he is President."
"Progress in the fight for LGBT equality requires support from both Republicans and Democrats," said Sammon. "Log Cabin's endorsement of Sen. McCain will ensure our community has a strong voice making the case for gay rights to John McCain when he is President."
According to the organization's bylaws, Log Cabin endorses only Republican candidates.
Log Cabin Republicans endorsed then-Governor George W. Bush in 2000, but declined to endorse President Bush in 2004-largely over the president's push for a federal anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment and his decision to use gay people as a wedge issue in winning re-election.
"I expect Sen. McCain will receive strong support from gay and lesbian Americans," said Sammon. "LGBT people are not single-issue voters. Gay rights issues are a critical part of the equation, but so are many other issues impacting our daily lives-foreign policy, the economy, jobs, energy policy, health care reform, and taxes. Gay and lesbian Republicans believe Sen. John McCain is the most qualified person to lead our country." |
