 Participants talk with a representatives from GOProud, an organization that represents gay conservatives and their allies, at the Conservative Political Action Conference Feb. 11, 2011 in Washington, DC. A number of traditionally conservative organizations withdrew their support because GOProud was accepted as a sponsor. GOProud's Jimmy LaSalvia: Majority of conservatives embrace gay conservativesIn the news: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will legalize civil unions for same-sex couples in the Aloha State. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage for federal purposes as only between a man and woman, according to a statement Wednesday from Attorney General Eric Holder. ONLY ON THE BLOG: Answering today’s OFF-SET questions is Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud, the only national organization representing gay conservatives and their allies. According to its mission statement, “GOProud is committed to a traditional conservative agenda that emphasizes limited government, individual liberty, free markets and a confident foreign policy. GOProud promotes our traditional conservative agenda by influencing politics and policy at the federal level.”  LaSalvia, a co-founder of GOProud, is a long- time Republican activist, who has held volunteer and professional staff positions in Republican campaigns and party organizations in South Dakota and Kentucky. He served on the campaign staff of former South Dakota Governor Walter D. Miller. He has also worked as a development officer for Kentucky Opera and as a real estate broker in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2006 he joined the national staff of Log Cabin Republicans, first as Grassroots Outreach Director then as Director of Programs & Policy. This coming Saturday (2-26-11) Mary Matalin—the Republican strategist, CNN commentator and wife of Democrat James Carville - is hosting a “Party on the Potomac” at her home in Virginia. When did Matalin become a GOProud fan and what’s planned for the party? Mary reached out to us late last summer after she had seen some of our work and read about the party we had with Ann Coulter in New York. She said that she wanted to get involved, then she offered to have a party at her house. Mary is a good fit for our organization. Like GOPoud, she’s staunchly conservative, but not conventional. She’s much more edgy and cool than your stereotypical stuffy conservative. I’m sure that the party at her house will be like most GOProud parties – a blast! GOProud states that it is “committed to a traditional conservative agenda.” Just how challenging is it to be gay and conservative today? It’s sometimes hard to get a date! No seriously, it’s not always easy to make the case to the gay community that conservative policies are good for all Americans, including gay Americans. So many gay and lesbian Americans blindly follow the left without being willing to even listen to the other side. In fact, the overwhelming majority of our hate mail comes from the intolerant gay-left. In the last few years, GOProud’s co-sponsorship of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has led to some controversy. This year, Sen. Jim DeMint said he was boycotting the meeting because of GOProud’s attendance, along with a number of other individuals and conservative organizations. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told this blog, “Organizations whose whole reason for existence is to promote the forced public affirmation of homosexual conduct should not be welcomed at CPAC, because that is not—by any stretch of the imagination—a “conservative” agenda.” How did things go at CPAC? You know that this was our second CPAC, and things went just as well this year as they did in 2010. We had one person after another coming up to our booth to welcome us and to tell us how glad they were that we were there. The so-called boycott didn’t seem to have much effect on CPAC. In fact, both years GOProud has participated the conference has set attendance records. There is a common misperception that most conservatives don’t want gay conservatives to be a part of the movement. That’s just not the case. The overwhelming majority of conservatives, especially young conservatives, embrace gay conservatives as full participants in the conservative movement. The American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC, is under new leadership and its new chairman, Al Cardenas, said recently that GOProud’s individual members will be welcomed to the conservative conference, but as long as the organization pursues policies supporting gay marriage and gays in the military, the ACU will not approve GOProud’s participation in 2012. First, let’s check the facts… It’s been reported that in 2010, GOProud did support the repeal of DADT. Is that correct? This year, even if DADT isn’t part of your legislative agenda, do you feel that it is time for the ban to be lifted and that the military will be better if gays and lesbians can serve openly? We did support repeal of DADT when Congress considered it in December. Now that issue is over. It’s not in our legislative agenda this year because it’s in the hands of the Department of Defense and the President now. There are news reports that GOProud does not support gay marriage. Is that so? I know that it may seem funny that a gay group doesn’t have a position on this issue, but that’s the case. GOProud only works on federal issues. We believe that marriage and family laws should be the province of the states – as has been the case since the founding of our nation. We believe that states should be free to make decisions regarding marriage and family laws without the intervention of the federal government. The decisions of each individual state should be respected by the federal government. This is the essence of federalism. Accordingly, we support the repeal of DOMA, and oppose any effort to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment to the US Constitution. Even if GOProud’s position is that gay marriage is a decision left best to state legislatures, why not support the idea? We all certainly have our own personal positions on that issue, but organizationally we are consistent that we do not work on state issues, and so we do not take positions on those issues – marriage or any other state issue. Does GOProud support civil unions? That’s a state issue. So are you talking with Cardenas or other ACU leaders about GOProud possibly attending CPAC next year? No decisions have been made by us or ACU about next year’s CPAC. Members of ACU’s Board of Directors also serve on GOProud's Advisory Council, so of course we are in communication with ACU leadership. Because GOProud believes in limited government—and this is a question Parker Spitzer asks of many of its guests—what do you think is most important to cut from the federal budget? I’d like to just get rid of my least favorite government agency, the Internal Revenue Service. If we scrapped our current tax system and instituted the Fair Tax (see fairtax.org), then we wouldn’t even need the damn IRS. |
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Yeah right... And pigs were seen last evening flying North for Winter
Exactly. Mr. Gay GOP needs to keep on dreaming. The GOP wishes the gays didn't exist, don't consider gays to be human, but they will take their money in a NY minute!
The attendance numbers at CPAC would have been higher if they weren't there. Many groups chose not to show up because of their presence. GOPROud is putting the best political spin they can on their involvement. The truth is, even Log Cabin Republicans have yet to make any meaningful headway into the conservative ideology.
The GOProud positions are far more Libertarian than GOP from what I can tell. That said, I think GOProud has got a lot of donors, are well-funded and well-organized, and will be a force in the GOP for years to come...which I can only see as a positive. Maybe the tea-party nut-jobs and the abortion-bombing crazy "christians" will get together on the far right in a prty of their own and move to Montana. America can only hope.
you mean they'll be a "farce in the GOP" for years to come.
How does being a gay repub work? "We disapprove of our own lifestyle"?
LOL!
Well, I just did the calculation on the fairtax web site and I lost out to the tune of about $2000. Even if I spent all the money I get except for the IRA contribution, I still lost out by about $200. Plus, if the fair tax plan went into effect, lots of people would avoid spending, which would turn the economy down and lose jobs. Fewer jobs, less spending. Hmmm. This plan is not gonna work!
He may think that the majority of republicans support his gay republican group, and in fact many may in public, but you know in private they sure don't. It goes against their very being, their fiber right down to their core. We all that's true. They are for limited government except when it comes to the bedroom. Such hypocrites.
These poor self-hating gay republicans are saddening. This is nothing more than republican rhetoric that they pull when they are not in office to try to recruit. Laura Bush all of a sudden has not problem with gay marriage, next is her daughter, then Cheney wants to have a change of heart. Yet none of them did anything about it when they were in power, AND, if they are elected again, the will do NOTHING to provide equality for gay Americans. I hope that these GAProuds are able to find the therapy they deserve. Life is too short to spend it oppressing oneself.
It must be getting cold in Hell. I always thought Hell would freeze over before Republicans would embrace Gays. Who will they campaign against now.
Delusional. The GOP(ring wing Christians) will not accept gays, regardless of political beliefs.
SELF HATE=GOProud. Why would anyone support an organization that hates you as a person for your lifestyle? I just don't get it.
I have a gay nephew who's a Republican and I just don't get how he can be so blind to the fact that if the Republican leadership had their way, gays would be rounded up and put into internment camps.
To Mr. Spitzer. I can only summerized ur advocacy of these unions during ur governership is: POLITICS, and politics and maybe a little politics. Look at the substance of the issue, then I can't see how u could codify it. It just one of those things that the practicing individuals hav to deal with w/o trying to force some unsual social etiquette upon the masses. I think its sick, but my reasons against the life choices as a matter a law is that it far exceeds the purpose of the courts and society in general. Conversely, I had a friend that worked in a mostly gay employed organization and she couldnt take the manipulation of individuals since she was the straight odd ball out (for lack of a better expression). She had an emotional brake down that resulted in psychological treatment. One could argue there were some underlining issues, but it doesnt negate the toil in dealing w/ very different choices people make in the bedroom and project it out into the public. I don't hate people that make those choices, but dont force further acceptance bc of my thoughts against the behavior.
...I doubt the word "embrace" is the correct term.
Dear Brandon, You make a pretty broad assumption. I'm a conservative and don't hate gays, but I don't approve of their lifestyle either. One can disapprove of someone's behavior but still be okay with the person. It really is possible.
No, the GOP simply embraces anything or anyone that will garnish them votes. If you think anything else, you're a fool.
One day, perhaps right after the 2012 election, GOProud will see that the GOP only wants them for their votes.
Then they'll g pray away the gay.
GOProud saying they do not have a view of Gay Marriage or Civil unions is a huge cop-out and only weakens them as a force in the political world. They could take the high road, stand up for equal rights but like most of their moderate Republican comerades are too afraid to alienate the Religious zealots that drive the party today.
How can you be a 'gay conservative'? Republicans hate gays, almost as much as they hate Mexicans, and Obama, and foreigners in general, and scientists, and Democrats, etc. etc. Their religion says that even their God hates them. Republicans think it's the government's job to persecute them, and force them to live as though they weren't what they are. What kind of twisted thinking would lead a gay person to support this party?
It's the kind of judgement that these posts include that makes gay Republicans like myself stay in the shadows, quietly listening to liberal friends rage on about how evil and stupid and self-hating gay Republicans must be when there's one (me) sitting right there among them. I don't resort to name-calling when someone has an opinion I disagree with, no matter how incongruous with reality that opinion seems to be. These comments represent the demise of civility in discourse that has trickled down from the political sphere. It is so deeply saddening to me that Americans have neither the vocabulary nor the inclination (apparently) to have an intelligent discourse on political principles without denigrating the other side. I can assure you that I am not self-hating or delusional after nearly 20 years of off and on involvement with the GOP (even during my coming out period). My experience is in line with Jimmy LaSalvia's in the sense that I believe that most of the GOP embraces gays and lesbians, with the notable exception of the vocal 25% on the far right whose belief is grounded in their fervent christian beliefs which we should all respect (without calling them zealots) whether or not we agree or disagree. Can we all just be a little bigger as human being please?
Hey GoProud,
What have you and the log cabin's done for the gay comunity? I can't think of one single real issue you all compleated in our favor. It is and always has been the libs that got the rights we have today and the ones we will have in the future!
Get real! The Cons only want your money and your vote! Soon as the get into office look at what they do everytime! You are in the wrong party and these people are not going to change to please you.
Stop wasting your time with Cons!