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Bush Courts Gay Republicans

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Elian: The Movie

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Colorado Senate Rejects Gun Legislation

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Unreliable Guns Aren't Smart

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Will Gore Be Held Accountable?

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Turning on Greenspan

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Two Cheers for W.'s Environmental Message

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The Ph.D. with the Lamp

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Elian, Still in the Middle of the Ocean

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Leave E-commerce Alone

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E-mailgate

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Kessler Control

4/14/00 8:25 a.m.
Bush Courts Gay Republicans
But no concessions on gay issues.

By Mark Mazzetti, Southwest Correspondent for The Economist

eorge W. Bush came out of his meeting with gay Republicans yesterday puffed up with New Age Clintonisms. "I'm a better person for the meeting," Bush said, and went on about how enlightening it was to hear about the "life journey" so many of his gay Republican "friends" had taken. The psychobabble came from both sides, as one of the attendees talked about how they "raised the consciousness" of the governor, and some clearly hoped they could change Bush's mind on the foremost issues of their agenda. Fugeddabahdit.

Both as governor and presidential candidate, Bush has never given an indication that he would endorse any of the most significant causes advocated by homosexuals. Yesterday morning's meeting obviously did little to change this.

During the press conference, Bush came out of the blocks saying that he remained opposed to gay marriage, which evidently was a major topic of conversation during the meeting. When asked if he would advocate any legal recognition of gay partners that some cities and states have passed, Bush said, "It's going to be up to cities and states to make those decisions." How about recognition from the federal government? "I don't believe in gay marriage," he answered abruptly.

On another matter, whether he would endorse federal hate-crimes legislation, Bush had an equally terse answer. "I believe all crime is hate," he responded awkwardly. This is consistent with a position Bush has long held as governor of Texas. Last year, when hate-crimes legislation came up in the Texas Legislature, Bush refused to take a stance on the bill itself, but indicated that he might veto it should the legislation reach his desk. Presumably, a federal hate-crimes bill would see the same fate should Bush's desk move to the Oval Office.

During the press conference, Bush said there was strong agreement at this morning's meeting on a wide range of issues. OK, what? In Bush's exact words, they agreed on "my clear vision to make sure every child gets educated and no child gets left behind. My strong sense of how to keep the economy growing with tax relief for everybody that pays taxes in America. The need to rebuild the military…" etc. In other words, they agreed on the boilerplate issues of the Bush candidacy.

It seems, then, that the meeting had little to do with policy, and everything to do with positioning. Bush was able to show that he was moderate enough to meet with gay Republicans, and gay Republicans were able to show that they could score a meeting with the presidential candidate. Although none of the leaders of the Log Cabin Republicans attended yesterday's meeting, there was talk of a meeting in the future where the group might throw their support behind Bush.

One person who did attend the meeting, former Representative Steve Gunderson, said in yesterday's New York Times that "no candidate ought to expect support from gays and lesbians just from recognizing our existence." Yet this seems to be exactly what happened. Bush stood at a podium with them, without having to concede anything.

They can "raise his consciousness" all they want, but they will not achieve any significant results. Like so many other Republican interest groups wary of Bush's philosophy, they will give him their support because they have nowhere else to go.

To be sure, some small changes may come from all of this. During the press conference, Washington D.C. Council member David Catania said that they were pushing for a homosexual speaker at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia, as well as for an end to the anti-homosexual rhetoric that has come out in past Republican conventions. These things could very well happen, given Bush's determination to position himself as a new breed of Republican. Moreover, now that Pitchfork Pat has bolted from the party, there is less chance of any speaker breathing fire on the delegates.

In the end, however, the meeting highlighted just how little clout homosexual Republicans have within their own party. In addition, Bush seemed little concerned about broadening his appeal to win support from independent gays, who — according to polls — make up nearly one quarter of homosexual voters. He had the obligatory one-hour meeting, said he was a better person for it, and stuck around for 15 minutes of the press conference. He then left to go crown the new Texas Bluebonnet Queen.

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