I used to think that the Log Cabin Republicans took their name as a tribute to Abraham Lincoln or maybe even that brand of maple syrup.
But now I'm thinking that the "log cabin" in their name is less Lincoln-style, and more Kaczynski-style, as in crazy guy in the woods out of touch with reality.
Don't get me wrong. I understand that gay Republicans are in a tough spot. Clearly they aren't single issue voters – and no gay voter should be. But an endorsement of the McCain/Palin ticket? WTF?
Yeah, yeah. John McCain used to be a maverick. Notice that I am using past tense. The McCain of today is not the McCain of 2000. He's since pulled the reigns hard to the right and became one of the biggest Bush apologists ever, voting with him over 90 percent of the time. McCain has eagerly hitched his star to Bush's plummeting chunk of burning asteroid. Bush: the man McCain rightfully deserved to beat in 2000 and the most unpopular president ever. And McCain wants to be more like him.
And, yes, McCain used to oppose the Federal Marriage Amendment. Note, again, the past tense. McCain, who was prominently featured in 2004 campaign ads supporting Arizona's anti-gay amendment, said recently that he opposed the amendment and thought the states should handle it. Unless that whole state-by-state thing doesn't work out. Why, if some liberal namby-pamby court should decide that a state like Arizona should have to recognize "gay marriage" then, well, a Constitutional amendment is the only option.
Did I mention that the Republican Party platform specifically includes passing the anti-gay marriage amendment? "To be honest, the platform was not the hill we were going to die on," Log Cabin Republican spokesman Scott Tucker said, according to CQ Politics.
My, how, er, poetic.
On the issue of judges, McCain has vowed to appoint more folks to the Supreme Court in the style of conservative right judges like Alito and Roberts. Bush appointees.
If all that isn't enough to make gay Republicans take pause, well then there's Sarah Palin. The folks at rabidly anti-gay groups like Family Research Council and Focus on the Family are totally gay for her. They've been trying to get the slobber off of their TV screens ever since her convention speech.
Bizarrely, the Log Cabin Republicans see Palin's nomination as a plus.
"Our members also support (McCain) because he's a maverick, a trait most recently on display with his decision to select Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate," Log Cabin board chairman Pete Kingma told CQ Politics.
Wow. I can't shake my head hard enough in disbelief.
But hey, the Republicans let the Log Cabiners attend the convention this year as a fully credentialed official guest. My, what a long way LCR has come since the days when Bob Dole returned their checks.
With McCain, it's like the GOP threw LCR a meatless bone and they went after it like a bunch of starving mongrels. Granted, the GOP threw it overhand and directly at LCR's face. But hey, what's a little broken nose among friends?
