In the span of four weeks, three of the most prominent gay-friendly Republicans in American politics took stands that placed them at odds with the LGBT community. First, former Governor William Weld, during interviews the week of Aug. 18 with The New York Post and New York Times in preparation for a gubernatorial run in that state, declared himself opposed to same-sex marriage, despite his very public support for gay marriage in the Bay State. Next, Arizona Sen. John McCain, who Log Cabin Republicans lists on its Web site as a "Republican hero" for his opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, came out in favor of a similar amendment to the constitution of his home state. Finally, on Sept. 7, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who told talk show host Jay Leno in March 2004 that he would support a change to state law allowing same-sex marriage, pledged to veto a gay marriage bill passed by both houses of the California legislature.
One might expect Log Cabin to be up in arms over the seeming flip-flop of three of its star political figures on gay rights issues in such a relatively short period of time, particularly given the level of support all three men have received from Log Cabin. In December 2003, Log Cabin presented Weld with a lifetime achievement award, and Log Cabin's PAC made contributions to both Schwarzenegger's 2003 gubernatorial campaign and McCain's 2004 re-election campaign. Yet Log Cabin Political Director Christopher Barron said his organization was unwilling to write off three of its allies over disagreements on single issues, even on such major questions as whether to amend a state constitution to ban same-sex marriage or to veto a marriage bill passed by a democratically-elected legislature.
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He said while Log Cabin is disappointed at each of these recent stances by their allies, the totality of each of their records on LGBT issues shows that they are strong allies of the community. He pointed to Schwarzenegger's signing of several pieces of pro-gay legislation in his first two years in elected office, including bills around employment discrimination, hate crimes and insurance benefits for domestic partners. Barron also praised McCain's impassioned speech against the FMA on the floor of the Senate last year and Weld's pro-gay record as governor of Massachusetts, which included establishing some of the country's first state-sponsored programs for gay and lesbian youth.
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What could cause the politicians who represent the hope of a gay-friendly Republican Party to oppose gay rights? Barron said he is unsure, but Human Rights Campaign Legislative Director Christopher Labonte said it is pure politics.
Each of these moves against same-sex marriage come at a time when the three politicians are trying to build support for upcoming elections, Weld for the governor's office in New York, Schwarzenegger for his upcoming 2006 re-election campaign, and McCain for an anticipated Republican presidential primary in 2008.
http://www.baywindows.com/media/paper328/news/2005/09/15/News/Is.There.Hope.For.The.Gop-985829.shtml
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