Joan Garry is the former executive director of GLAAD and co-chair of the Obama campaign’s gay finance operations. She can be found blogging with her kids at whosthegrownup.com or on her own site, joangarry.com.
I
THOUGHT
THE
Log
Cabin
Republicans
would
withhold
their
endorsement
of
John
McCain.
Maybe
I
just
hoped
they
would.
After
all,
they
withheld
their
endorsement
of
President
Bush
in
2004,
so
I
thought
it
was
possible.
In
making
its
endorsement,
the
group
pointed
to
the
Arizona
senator's
opposition
to
a
federal
constitutional
amendment
that
would
have
defined
marriage
as
being
between
a
man
and
a
woman.
The
group
also
indicated
that
it
had
honest
disagreements
with
McCain
on
the
subject
of
same-sex
marriage.
The
Log
Cabin
gang
traveled
to
St.
Paul
to
carry
the
message
that
Republicans
are
on
the
“wrong
side
of
history”
when
it
comes
to
the
right
of
gay
and
lesbian
couples
to
marry.
Where
to
start?
First,
I
understand
the
idea
of
working
from
the
inside.
I’ve
seen
heroic
strides
made
by
gay
employees
groups
and
gay
teachers
groups
working
for
change
from
the
inside.
In
this
context,
I
understand
and
respect
the
work
of
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans.
Second,
I
am
not
a
single-issue
voter
and
most
LGBT
people
I
know
are
not.
But
my
rights
as
a
citizen
are
pretty
damned
important.
And
we
all
know
that
an
endorsement
means
that
an
organization
will
mobilize
its
membership
base
to
actively
support
a
candidate.
In
this
case,
one
who
works
against
our
fight
for
equality.
In
the
spirit
of
full
disclosure,
I
am
the
co-chair
of
the
National
LGBT
Finance
Committee
for
Sen.
Obama.
You
could
argue
that
I
am
not
objective
and
I
suppose
you
could
be
right.
But
there
are
facts
that
are
impossible
to
ignore:
“I
don’t
believe
in
gay
adoption,”
McCain
said.
“I
believe
that
the
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy
is
working
in
the
military.”
In
2000,
2002
and
2004,
he
voted
against
adding
sexual
orientation
to
federal
hate
crimes
legislation.
McCain
voted
against
extending
the
Civil
Rights
Act
to
prohibit
job
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation.
And
while
he
opposed
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment
in
2004,
two
years
later
he
supported
a
similar
state
constitutional
amendment
in
Arizona.
IN
THE
2000
election,
exit
polls
indicated
that
roughly
1
million
gays
cast
their
votes
for
George
Bush.
Numbers
like
that
can
make
a
difference
in
a
close
election.
If
you
think
about
it,
that
should
have
given
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans
greater
access
to
power
than
ever
before.
And
what
did
we
get
for
that
investment?
The
fight
of
our
lives
against
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
same-sex
marriage.
The
argument
of
course,
is
that
if
McCain
is
elected,
we
will
need
a
voice.
But
here’s
where
the
logic
starts
to
go
awry
for
me:
There
is
a
huge
difference
between
“If
McCain
is
elected”
and
“Let’s
go
out
and
push
a
million
LGBT
voters
to
help
ensure
his
election.”
Patrick
Sammon,
in
an
interview
on
Logo
this
week,
tells
viewers
that
George
Bush
won
an
estimated
18-20
percent
of
the
LGBT
vote
in
2004
and,
“Senator
McCain
has
the
ability
to
get
a
higher
total
than
that.”
Not
if
I
have
anything
to
say
about
it.
THERE
ARE
MANY
who
say
mean
things
about
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans.
I’ve
heard
the
line
that
“gay
Republican”
is
an
oxymoron
too
many
times
to
count.
Gay
Republicans
are
often
subjected
to
personal
attacks,
that
they
are
LGBT
people
of
the
“self-loathing”
variety.
I
disagree.
The
LGBT
community
is
diverse.
As
voters,
we
have
a
responsibility
to
look
at
all
the
issues
America
faces
and
that
we
as
individuals
care
about.
Arguably,
we
all
vote
with
some
element
of
self-interest
as
we
make
our
decisions.
That
makes
sense,
right?
But
voting
against
our
self-interests?
Not
now.
Not
this
time.
I
am
angry
about
the
endorsement.
This
election
will
be
close
and
we
will
need
every
vote
to
ensure
that
McCain
is
not
elected
and
that
he
is
not
the
man
who
makes
the
next
one,
two
or
three
Supreme
Court
appointments.
The
Log
Cabin
tribe
has
spoken.
We
can’t
change
that.
But
here’s
hoping
that
LGBT
Republicans
will
think
for
themselves
and
question
the
endorsement.
Here’s
hoping
that
we
keep
talking
about
the
real
issues
with
all
of
our
LGBT
friends
regardless
of
party
affiliation.
Here’s
hoping
that
one-by-one,
we
can
persuade
some
of
these
chickens
to
make
a
different
choice.
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