Ellen DeGeneres responds to Sarah Palin on marriage equality

Huckabee actually said this in a just released 60 second commercial for Lou Engle’s “The Call.”

In the spot Huckabee says, “Fast and pray and turn this nation back to God, as Jesus is our only hope.” He goes on to tell everyone to go to Sacramento and fast and pray for the sanctity of marriage over Labor Day Weekend.

Governor Huckabee should know that the Constitution is very clear about the separation of Church and State.

Take a look at the commercial; it’s unbelievable: Click Here

The event titled, “What Can Wash away our Sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus” is put on by controversial Pastor Lou Engle. There is a slick web site: Click Here

On the site, Engle is hawking “Season Tickets” for the event and gives a very passionate pitch for money: Click Here

Uganda’s Treatment of Gays and Lesbians

Two months ago, Pastor Engle again traveled to Uganda, where an Anti-Homosexuality bill is being considered. It calls for life in prison or death for gays and lesbians.

Does the current front-runner in the Iowa Caucus polls for 2012 agree with Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill calling for the death penalty for gays and lesbians?

Mike Huckabee should not continue to gay bash

It was just a couple of months ago that Governor Huckabee compared gay marriage to incest, drug abuse and polygamy. He went on to say that gay and lesbian couples should not be allowed to parent, because kids aren’t puppies. I wrote a strong response to those hateful remarks for the Huffington Post: Click Here

Mike Huckabee’s continued cruel statements about LGBT Americans are insensitive and dumb. He owes all fair-minded Americans an apology.

Cross posted from from Fred Karger’s Huffington Post article:

Federal judge approves most of Maine’s campaign law

Group opposed to same-sex marriage optimistic about appeal

A U.S. District Court judge on Thursday delivered a ruling that protected the core of Maine’s campaign finance laws against a challenge from a national marriage advocacy group regarding their constitutionality.

U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby, however, did find parts of state’s campaign finance laws as “unconstitutionally vague.”

Thursday’s decision is viewed as critical, as it sets the possible statutory parameters by which the National Organization Marriage will become involved in politicking for, or against, candidates for statewide office this fall.

Judge Hornby struck down rules requiring 24-hour disclosure of independent expenditures over $250 — not just before an election, but whenever they occur — saying the rule “has not been justified … is impermissibly burdensome and cannot be enforced.”

He also declared “Maine’s use of the words ‘influence’ and ‘influence in any way’ … are unconstitutionally vague.”

“Otherwise,” Hornby wrote, “Maine’s laws governing PACs, independent campaign expenditures, and attribution and disclaimer requirements are constitutional, and survive NOM’s challenges that they are unconstitutionally vague and overbroad.”

The National Organization for Marriage had contested the constitutionality of Maine’s campaign finance laws, prior to perhaps engaging in activity to influence outcomes of upcoming legislative elections.

The group, which supported the repeal of same-sex marriage legislation in Maine in 2009, has said it would work against the re-election efforts of Maine lawmakers who voted to support same-sex marriage in the Legislature.

Attorney General Janet Mills applauded the ruling on Thursday, saying it upholds the state’s campaign reporting and disclosure law.

Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, called the ruling mostly positive.

“Mostly, the decision appears to be very good news from the standpoint of the public understanding of who is raising and spending money to influence elections,” Wayne said. “There are a couple of aspects of the disclosure law that the judge found to be vague and have been severed from our statutes. Mostly it’s a clean bill of health for the disclosure laws.”

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said Thursday his group is disappointed in the ruling, but feels its arguments will hold sway with an appeals court.

NOM will pursue an expedited appeal to the U.S. First Circuit Court in Boston, he said, because of the short time before the upcoming election season.

Though Thursday’s decision will delay NOM’s plans for political activity in Maine, Brown said, the group is reviewing the decision to gauge a potential timeline for action.

NOM plans activity in Maine both on behalf of candidates that support “redefining marriage,” said Brown, and on candidates that support traditional marriage. He declined to say whether NOM would be active in the state’s governor’s race, as well as the legislative races.

Brown also expressed frustration at the legal hurdles spurred by what he called “frivolous” lawsuits filed by their political opponents, one of which, Californians Against Hate [now Rights Equal Rights], asked the Maine ethics commission to investigate NOM.

That group, one of the primary advocates for preserving California’s gay marriage law that was repealed by voters there in 2009, questioned whether NOM raised more than $5,000 to directly repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law.

If it had, it would have been required to file campaign finance reports with the state and disclose who donated the money.

The state is seeking a list of donors so it can determine whether the group asked for money specifically to help repeal gay marriage in Maine. The group filed suit in state and federal court to try to stop the investigation, saying it fears disclosure would lead to harassment of donors.

In response, the group has said that although it donated nearly $2 million to Stand for Marriage Maine, the political action committee that worked to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law in 2009, it did not ask donors to give specifically to help in Maine.

That case remains pending.

---

Staff Writer Betty Adams and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NOM challenges orders to report donor names

Frank Schubert, campaign director for Stand for Marriage Maine, claims victory for Yes on 1 on Nov. 3, 2009, in Portland, Me.
(Source:Robert F. Bukaty (AP))

The National Organization for Marriage is going to court in two states to prevent revealing its list of donors to campaigns against marriage for gays and lesbians.

It was among the litigants that filed Protect Marriage v. Bowen, a lawsuit against the California secretary of state challenging the Golden State’s election laws requiring the reporting of names of contributors of at least $100, last December. And NOM joined with two other conservative groups this month to challenge Maine’s ten-year-old Clean Elections law in federal court. The plaintiffs contend the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on First Amendment free speech rights.

NOM has been fighting elections commissions in both states, which have ordered it to reveal donor names and addresses.

The organization contributed millions to campaigns that successfully overturned, through ballot referendums, legalized marriage for gays and lesbians in both states. Voters passed Proposition 8 in California in 2008 and Question 1 in Maine in 2009.

A U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ruled on Aug. 4 Prop. 8 is unconstitutional, but the case is expected to go the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Maine suit, filed by NOM, the Maine Heritage Policy Center and the James Madison Center for Free Speech of Terre Haute, Ind., focuses on matching funds provided to publicly financed candidates. The suit seeks to halt such payments.

James Bopp, Jr., the attorney NOM hired in its fight with the Maine Ethics Commission over revealing donor names, is representing all three organizations in the case.

In late June, the ethics commission once again rejected NOM’s attempt to block an order requiring it to reveal donors. And a U.S. District Court judge earlier this year overruled NOM’s request that it not have to comply with the commission’s order. The lawsuit appears to be the latest tactic to avoid compliance.

Maine Citizens for Clean Elections called the lawsuit “an attack on the will of the people” and claimed it’s the “latest attempt in a national strategy to buy influence and bypass the will of the people in Maine and around the country.”

The organization termed the suit to be frivolous. “Mainers have spoken, and Maine people overwhelmingly support Clean Elections,” said co-chair Alison Smith in a statement.

The law “keeps big-money special interests at bay and keeps Maine citizens at the table when decisions are made about what is best for our state,” she added. “Clean Elections requires campaigns to be open, fair and honest. This lawsuit is meant to undermine the will of Maine people.”

Maine was the first state in the nation to pass a Clean Elections law, which a federal court found to be constitutional in a challenge 10 years ago.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate (now called Rights Equal Rights), began the controversy over campaign funding by marriage opponents when he filed complaints with the California and Maine ethics commissions.

As part of the California lawsuit, plaintiffs have subpoenaed all of Karger’s records that led to his complaint with the state ethics commission. He is fighting the subpoena.

Karger is exploring running for the Republican nomination for president in 2012. He would be the first openly gay presidential candidate in history if he decides to seek the nomination.

“The super-mysterious National Organization for Marriage is relentless in its desire to intimidate and harm people through its mean, untruthful and potentially illegal activities,” Karger told EDGE in e-mail when asked to comment on the lawsuits. “The ones hurt the most by NOM are the very ones they claim they want to protect, our LGBTQ youth. A Congressional Investigation is needed of the National Organization for Marriage.”

Peter Cassels is a recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s Excellence in Journalism award. His e-mail address is pcassels [at sign] edgepublications [dot] com.

Fred Karger is gay, Republican and running for president in 2012. If you think
that’s cool, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Video: TheNewGayTV.

The New Gay:

Fred Karger is just your average gay, republican presidential hopeful. Oh wait, that makes him not average at all. Here you can see his views on politics, gay inc and why the hell gay repubs exist in the first place. After that you, can decide whether or not you’ll vote for him. Have fun!

To link to the announcement about Fred Karger’s appearance on the Fallon Forum, click here.

Fred Karger will be on Ed Fallon’s radio program tonight. Karger is originally from Chicago, who worked for over 20 years with leading national Republicans, including Reagan, Bush, and Dole. In recent years he’s been an outspoken activist for LGBT equality, leading efforts to expose questionable campaign finance activities on the part of anti-gay organizations. Make plans to tune in tonight from 7:00- 8:00 p.m. on 98.3 WOW-FM or online. Please consider including your voice in the conversation by calling 515.312.0983 or 866.908.8255 (TALK). If you miss the show, podcasts are available.

To link to the podcast, Click Here. Or, click the arrow to listen now.

Fred’s coverage on San Diego’s Channel 10 News: CLICK HERE

Below is all the information about the decision from Lynn Fuller, Media & Public Outreach Liaison, United States District Court, Northern District of California:

On August 4, 2010, the court will issue its written order containing findings of fact and conclusions of law following the court trial held in January and June of this year. The order will be e-filed in the court’s Electronic Case Filing system, and will be immediately available thereafter through ECF and PACER. Visit www.cand.uscourts.gov for details on registering for PACER. There will be no court proceeding associated with the publication of the order.

The Perry order will be e-filed between 1 pm and 3 pm tomorrow. It will be available electronically to the public not only through PACER but also directly from the court’s website, www.cand.uscourts.gov, free of charge soon after it is e-filed.

Go to marriagetrial.com for immediate online reenactment

I did a CNN i Report for Producer Chris Morrow at the Prop 8 trial in back in January. It is available to see here: CLICK HERE

Chris gave me an hd flip camera to cover this historic case. There were no cameras allowed in the courtroom thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the cafeteria seemed to be okay.

I did interviews with legendary attorney David Boies, civil rights leader Stuart Milk, nephew of the incredible Harvey Milk, Chief Deputy San Francisco City Attorney Therese Stewart who had questioned the wittiness that day and spectator and Stanford student Adam Hahn. Hope you enjoy it!

It will be an exciting day, and I am very optimistic about the outcome. Equal protection is in the Constitution for just this reason.

NOTE: Tonight Fred will be Ed Fallon’s guest for a full hour on WHO Newsradio – 1040, Iowa’s leading talk radio station. He will be on the Fallon Forum from 7:00 to 8:00 pm (Central Time). Podcast will be available. Stay tuned.

“Wednesday, we talk about the ongoing debate over marriage, which again surfaced in Iowa this week when the so-called National Organization for Marriage visited Iowa. To be clear, NOM is only for certain marriages, and has supported tactics and an agenda that are markedly discriminatory. There visit to Iowa comes at a time when a recent KCCI poll showed 53% of Iowans in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.”

GOProud, Tammy Bruce Break the Manchester Hyatt Boycott Saturday – A Closer Look

GOProud, the Washington D.C.-based conservative gay Republican group, is holding a private reception Saturday at the Manchester Hyatt hotel, which has been the target of a boycott by the LGBT community and the UNITE HERE! Labor union since July 2008.

The LGBT/labor coalition Sleep With The Right People plans to protest the event starting at 4:30 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, 1 Market Place in San Diego. The GOProud event runs from 5pm to 7pm.

Cleve Jones, friend of Harvey Milk and founder of the NAMES PROJECT AIDS Memorial Quilt, is a UNITE HERE organizer trying to remedy the drastic conditions for workers and lack of job security at the hotel. Cleve says:

“The solidarity between the labor movement and the LGBT movement is a powerful coalition. In San Diego, the owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt—the second largest Hyatt in North America—gave $125,000 to put Proposition 8 on the ballot. Our union and the LGBT community are boycotting the Manchester Grand Hyatt, because there is power in the union and there is power in coalition.”

Pause for a second and consider this: Manchester’s $125,000 came in February 2008 at a time when the antigay campaigners did not have enough money to put the measure on the ballot. That money not only paid for the signature-gathering campaign but also gave the then-lackluster Gail Knight-led ProtectMarriage fiscal viability that brought in new money and support. Equality for All countered with a Decline to Sign effort.

Equality for All was non-partisan and reached out to gay Republicans and independents, as well as progressives to fight Prop 8. Political consultant Scott Schmidt of the Los Angeles chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, later created Republicans Against Prop 8 to specifically target Republicans after the measure qualified. Log Cabin has also honored the boycott.

So why is GOProud holding their Tea Party-sounding “Don’t Tread on Us” reception at the Manchester Hyatt hotel? I don’t think it’s because they need the (CORRECTION) $16,000 ($6,000 was cash from Manchester Financial Group and $10,000 was hotel credit from Manchester Grand Hyatt) to break the boycott and fund their 527.

I think this is a PR move aimed at a larger, conservative audience – not the LGBT community. Indeed, this is the gay version of the fight within the Republican Party itself between the ultra-conservatives, exemplified by Dick Armey, Karl Rove, and Mike Pence – and more moderate conservatives such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris Shays, Allan Simpson and Christie Todd Whitman. In Whitman’s wrote a book “It’s My Party Too,” she explains: “The trend we’re seeing in my party, in particular, is the growing influence of people who want to define what it means to be a good Republican in an ever-narrowing way.”

Bottom line: Log Cabin Republicans are Republicans in the traditional sense – focus on the individual, lower taxes, limited government, national security, keep the government out of the bedroom. But LCR is also focused on LGBT equality – the best example of which is their go-alone, six-year federal lawsuit to have Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell declared unconstitutional.

GOProud, on the other hand, is a more currently conservative GOP group with an agenda that strongly mirrors the ultra-conservative Congressional Republican agenda – though GOProud supports repeal of DADT and opposes a federal constitutional marriage amendment.

Reporting on the split among gay Republicans after executive director Patrick Sammon left in January, Politico’s Ben Smith on April 10, 2009 quoted Christopher Barron, a former Log Cabin political director who broke with LCR:

“Essentially, there’s no voice for gay Republicans or gay conservatives in particular in D.C. right now. Log Cabin has been completely and totally absent here in D.C. for months and months,” Barron said.
”It has simply moved way too far to the left and is basically indistinguishable from any other gay left organization.”
[cut]
“If your main issue is hate crimes or [federal anti-discrimination legislation] or marriage, you’re probably not a Republican,” Barron said, saying that while he backs gay groups on those other issues, they shouldn’t be federal priorities.”

Ironically, as Kerry Eleveld noted in her reporting for The Advocate for May 19, the accusation about LCR being weak in DC came around the same time as their national convention at which Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s daughter Meghan and his campaign manager, Steve Schmidt, came out in support of marriage equality. Although the revelations, Eleveld wrote, “may fall short of a conservative revolution, I dare say it’s the first salvo in a battle for the soul of the party.”

But, Eleveld wrote:

“even with the advent of this new conservative gay group, the state legislatures will be the sole domain of Log Cabin. GOProud will focus on federal issues, Chris Barron said at their Wednesday press conference. Their 10-point legislative agenda did not, however, include hate crimes, employment nondiscrimination, or relationship recognition. Barron — who was a political director for Log Cabin and worked on hate crimes and ENDA legislation — called those “laudable goals” but, added his counterpart Jimmy LaSalvia, “there are two dozen groups downtown already working on ENDA and hate crimes.”

But employment nondiscrimination? What a loss — for a Republican who knows the issue inside and out — not to be lobbying GOP members of Congress on behalf of LGBT people who work in 30 states across the country with no legal protections.”

I asked LaSalvia about the 14-month old organization and the boycott. He said GOProud is starting to hold events around the country to “raise awareness” about the group.

“We wanted to hold an event this summer in Southern California, and we chose to do our first event in California in San Diego because of its large population of conservatives. You probably know that that there are very few properties in the world of the stature of the Manchester Hyatt, so it would be an obvious place to consider for an event in San Diego.

As far as the boycott goes, Mr. Manchester has apologized for his support of Proposition 8, and has generously offered financial support to the LGBT community.”

Well, let’s look at that for a moment. Even the San Diego Union Tribune suspected that Manchester’s throwing of a “serious chunk of change at gay and lesbian causes” was nothing “but an attempt to derail that pesky boycott…. The $125,000 total matches what he gave to Proposition 8. So it would be even-steven.

“He’s trying to clarify his views,” Kelly Commerford, director of marketing for the Grand Hyatt, one of the largest hotels on the West Coast, told the paper. “He’s not discriminatory. He’s supportive of this community. He realizes he offended people.”

Commerford confirmed the money to me, though he would not discuss whether Manchester is trying to sell the Hyatt. He wrote via email:

Doug Manchester offered a $125,000 donation ($25,000 in cash and $100,000 in in-kind services) to LGBT organizations as tangible proof of his regret for his original donation and as a re-commitment to the LGBT community in San Diego and beyond. An application and selection process was put in place, to which several organizations applied. This pledge has been fulfilled.”

Indeed, a website was set up especially to present the apology, the application and other PR overtures from Manchester. Some thought the apology was “hollow.”

But in talking about the boycott, LaSalvia moves into what language more closely associated with Dick Armey, who called openly gay Rep. Barney Frank “Barney Fag:”

“We lost the Prop 8 battle in California, and if we ever want to win then our community needs to be in the business of making new friends not enemies. The reason the boycott is still in effect is because of unrelated issues raised by labor unions. Unlike other gay organizations, GOProud does not take its marching orders from union thugs. (Emphasis LaSalvia’s)

Mr. Manchester has generously offered financial support to a variety of LGBT organizations, including GOProud. I couldn’t care less if others accept the support or reject the support.”

LaSilvia also said:

“Our mission is to represent gay conservatives and our allies. The traditional “gay agenda” has been defined by the left and treated as if it’s the top priority for all gay people. We work on a much broader agenda and that conservative policies are good for all Americans, but especially gay and lesbian Americans.”

Potential gay GOP presential contender Fred Karger, who founded Californians Against Hate – which just changed its name to Rights Equal Rights – thinks that’s just spin:

“GOProud should not even be considered a gay Republican group, and should not be called so. They are a Republican ultra conservative group, apparently made up of only a handful of members. They don’t even support pro gay Republicans. In California last month they endorsed the same candidate in the U. S. Senate race as the most anti-gay organization in the country, the dreaded National Organization for Marriage, against former Republican Congressman Tom Campbell, who supports full LGBT equality.

They instead should be called GOEmbarrassment.”

Karger notes that while the California Republican Party is holding its semi-annual convention at the Hyatt the end of August, “California Log Cabin is for the first time not holding their reception at the host hotel, but has moved it to another property in San Diego, and thus honoring the boycott. They of course endorsed [pro-gay US Senate candidate]Tom Campbell and gave him money, I believe.”

Karger helped organize the boycott:

“The Boycott Manchester Hotels, organized 2 years ago by numerous LGBT groups and our labor allies, has been so successful, that Manchester’s own estimates are that it is costing his Manchester Grand Hyatt property alone $1 million per month in lost business. All real LGBT organizations including HRC and Equality California have turned down any money from Manchester, and many other LGBT and allied organizations have endorsed the boycott including the Courage Campaign and the Equality Federation.”

So why break the boycott? While everyone is focusing on the rivalry between GOProud and LCR, I started thinking about openly gay radio talk show host and author Tammy Bruce, who chairs GOProud’s Advisory Council. My hunch is that this stunt is a way for GOProud to prove to the Tea Party and other ultra-conservatives that they are more Republican than gay.

Tammy Bruce is something of a star on the conservative right wing C-List, introducing herself as a gay, gun-owning former liberal Democrat who bucked the oppressive liberal political correctness and now makes money talking about it. Judging from her website, she’s also a big Sarah Palin fan.

Tammy used to be the head of the NOW chapter in Los Angeles in 1989/early 1990s, when she worked in coalition with progressive LGBT groups. I covered her at that time and watched as she used her celebrity status as a local radio show host to help raise money for HIV/AIDS organizations and other causes.

But by the mid-90s, she had become a controversial lightening rod. In 1995, NOW President Patricia Ireland condemned Tammy at a news conference for making insensitive remarks during the OJ Simpson trial. Tammy said she was trying to keep domestic violence instead of race in the spotlight. Marc Lacey reported in the LA Times Dec. 7, 1995:

“Bruce was quoted in an Associated Press report as saying she did not want to discuss the O.J. Simpson case on a TV program because she did not want “to argue with a bunch of black women.” Bruce later said she had been misquoted on the matter.

Ireland said the comments caused grave concerns among many black women in the organization and raised the false impression that NOW does not regard racism as a problem.

As a sign of how the comments were received, Ireland said leading national civil rights leaders contacted her to complain about Bruce’s outspoken views, while white supremacist groups praised the comments in calls to NOW leaders in one rural state.”

Tammy fought back:

“There is nothing to retract. I have made it clear that this issue affects all women, including women of color. Of course, this issue is colorblind.”

Tammy’s biggest contretemps with the liberal and African American communities came in 1998 when she was fired from her radio gig at KFI for making racially insensitive remarks about Bill and Camille Cosby. On July 8, the day after a 19 year old Ukrainian immigrant had been found guilty of murdering Ennis Cosby, USA Today published an op-ed by Camille Cosby entitled “Camille Cosby: America Taught My Son’s Killer To Hate Blacks.” In it she wrote: “After Mikail Markhasev killed Ennis William Cosby on Jan. 16, 1997, he said to his friends, `I shot a nigger. It’s all over the news.’”

Though many of us missed what Tammy actually said, some of the offensive remarks came to light during KFI program director David G. Hall’s profuse apology (using the royal “we”) for what the usually very smart Tammy said in response to the op-ed. This is from the LA Times:

“Noting that Bruce’s opinions began to “overtake the facts,” Hall called various comments by the KFI host “unfounded, mean-spirited and simply inappropriate.”
[cut]
“Specifically,” Hall said, “Mrs. Cosby was characterized as ‘incredibly unstable, crazy, paranoid, delusional, just nuts’ and the like. It was suggested that Mrs. Cosby seek therapy. We had no information about Mrs. Cosby’s mental health. . . . We wish to apologize.
[cut]
“Similarly, in challenging Mrs. Cosby’s assertion that her son’s killing was racially motivated, we suggested that Mrs. Cosby caused her son’s death by giving him access to an expensive car. Those comments were remarkably insensitive. . . . Ours were cruel statements to make to parents whose son had recently been murdered.”

Hall said Tammy’s statements about Bill Cosby were “false, offensive and unnecessarily hurtful. And they too need to be retracted.” Hall cited “our statements” that Cosby had “multiple illegitimate children as a result of multiple extramarital affairs with white women,” and another that he “secretly funded the criminal defense of O.J. Simpson.”

(In 1997, Cosby admitted to one extra-martial affair after a woman tried to extort him for money.)

But as the Daily Howler reported in late 2003, Tammy was out. She re-emerge in 2001 The New Thought Police in which she wrote that Rosa Parks had “pushed us into the maze of Thought Police totalitarianism that we face today.”

In The Death of Right and Wrong, Tammy writes that Bill Cosby and Kweisi Mfume are Black Elitists —people who are “motivated, whether consciously or unconsciously, by a deep-rooted hatred for their country and themselves, which leads them to attempt to destroy the future of their own people and, indeed, everyone else.”

You get the gist. After her run-ins with Patricia Ireland and being called a racist by the Cosbys (a charge with which I publically disagreed-thinking Tammy insensitive but not a racist) – Tammy launched a new lucrative career as a conservative darling.

I asked LaSalvia to put me in touch with Tammy to ask why she was breaking the boycott – but she never contacted me.

So standing back to look at the two organizations – GOProud made headlines at the recent CPAC convention, may make headlines breaking the boycott and is now associated with the policy leadership of Tammy Bruce. LCR, on the other hand, has a new executive director, former diplomat and soldier R. Clarke Cooper, who expressly wants to reconnect with the National Republican Committee. Along those lines, LCR announced that conservative Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn is attending the LCR PAC reception prior to their big dinner in September. Cooper himself outlined the distinctions last June:

“LCR has a political action committee (PAC) to support Republican candidates. GoProud does not have a PAC. LCR has member-run chapters throughout the United States. GoProud does not have a membership base. LCR has an office with full time staff. GoProud does not have a fixed address. LCR has in-house registered lobbyists with Hill experience. GoProud does not have any presence on Capitol Hill. Finally, LCR has active litigation challenging the Obama Administration to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. GoProud does not have a presence in the courts.
[cut]
“By virtue of our lobbying activity, growing relationship with the RNC, and regular contributions from our PAC, LCR is the influential entity on the Hill.”

Charles Moran, Vice-Chairman, Log Cabin California, was less diplomatic:

Log Cabin Republicans was asked to apply for some of the food & beverage credit being offered by Mr. Manchester’s hotel. Log Cabin Republicans declined the invitation to apply. Log Cabin Republicans understands the profound impact that Mr. Manchester’s financial contribution made to the Prop 8 campaign. Mr. Manchester’s right to make that contribution is just as valid as our decision to not patronize his hotel and encourage our members to make the similar decision. As good Republicans, we financially support those who support us.

GOProud is its own organization with its own set of goals and values.

Given that they openly support and endorse candidates who support criminalization of sodomy and believe banning gays and lesbians from teaching in public schools, their decision to take Mr. Manchester’s money
comes as no surprise.”

We’ll see what happens. Just as with the Democratic political and lobbying groups – the proof is in what is accomplished. Which raises the question: what, exactly, does breaking the boycott accomplish?

A gay Republican president?

Fred Karger, a gay civil rights activist and a Republican, has been dropping not-so-subtle hints that he may seek the GOP nomination for president in 2012. This week, Karger let reporters know he will be spending some more time in New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation primary election in January 2012.

“I have been in New Hampshire for nearly a month so far this year, and will be spending a lot more time there over the next year and a half,” Karger said in a statement. “Lots to do.”

Karger has dubbed the potential, long-shot presidential campaign “Fred Who?”

Karger founded Californians Against Hate in reaction to Proposition 8, the successful California ballot measure that overturned gay marriage in the state in 2008. He filed complaints against the LDS Church for under-reported donations in the “Yes on 8″ campaign.

In June, the California Fair Political Practices Commission fined the church $5,539 for $36,928 in contributions that were not reported on time.

Karger recently changed the name of Californians Against Hate to Rights Equal Rights to reflect a new national scope and direction.

California-based, pro-marriage group goes national

If marriage equality activist and potential presidential candidate Fred Karger has his way, Lieutenant Dan Choi will be the country’s first out gay chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Karger, who’s set to explore a 2012 presidential bid, quipped that’s what he told Choi he’d like to see when he ran into him at New York City’s recent Pride parade.

Choi has become the public face of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. Karger didn’t say what Choi’s response was.

Before he makes any move toward the White House, though, Karger has plenty to do.

The man behind the anti-Prop 8 group Californians Against Hate, announced recently that the group’s name is changing to Rights Equal Rights.

Some, including Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, have suggested using the word “hate” to fight for same-sex marriage could be counterproductive.

Karger, 60, said including the word in the original name of his group had “served its purpose very well.”

“When I started this effort, I wanted to let people know I was going to be aggressive, and unfortunately there’s still many people who don’t like the LGBT community,” he said. “But I wanted to take a more positive tone. That’s kind of the direction I’m heading, personally, and I think Californians Against Hate has been hugely successful in slowing down our opponents.”

Karger spoke with the Bay Area Reporter on Friday, July 16, which was the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the boycott he helped launch against hotelier Doug Manchester in San Diego.

Fred Karger has changed the name of his Californians Against Hate to Rights Equal Rights as a nod to the broader work he has been doing. Photo: Courtesy Fred Karger

The Californians Against Hate site featured a “dishonor roll” of Prop 8 contributors, and was launched around the same time that Karger called for the Manchester boycott.

Manchester, whose properties include the Grand Hyatt in San Diego, gave $125,000 to support what eventually became Prop 8, which California voters passed in November 2008 to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. The boycott reportedly resulted in millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The mission of Rights Equal Rights will include “keeping an eye on the major opponents of equality,” with the National Organization for Marriage and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints being at the top of the list, said Karger. Members of both groups were among Prop 8′s biggest backers.

Karger prompted the state of Maine to investigate NOM when he filed a complaint on its reporting practices. The anti-gay organization worked to support the same-sex marriage ban in that state, which ultimately passed in November 2009.

Most recently, California’s Fair Political Practices Commission fined the Mormon Church $5,339 after Karger complained about the church’s late reporting of contributions that were supportive of Prop 8.

“We’ll continue to speak out when I see questionable activities on their behalf,” said Karger of anti-marriage equality organizations.

He said, “I realized the name of my organization had grown beyond Californians Against Hate and it was time to adjust that” when he filed the complaint in Maine.

Karger said when the Manchester boycott started two years ago, he had originally thought it would last just four and a half months.

“I had no idea this would go on, so I have to make a few adjustments to change,” said Karger.

He said the Manchester and similar boycotts have sent “a clear message to the big donors that if they want to contribute six-figure sums in these elections when it’s public, we might not want to patronize their businesses.”

When a ballot measure to repeal Prop 8 comes, said Karger, “It will be a very different situation” than what occurred in 2008, when Prop 8′s backers raised more than $40 million to push their measure. Prop 8 opponents raised similar amounts.

“The other side will have to do major money laundering if they’re going to try to keep marriage away from us,” he said.

Karger, a Republican, is in the process of establishing an exploratory committee for a 2012 presidential bid. He said couldn’t yet affirmatively announce a bid because that would mean he’d have to start filing campaign finance reports.

However, Karger said he is developing a commercial called “Good Morning, New Hampshire.”

“It’s going to be a fun biographical piece to introduce New Hampshire to Fred Karger,” he said. Karger, who said he hasn’t yet raised any money for a presidential bid, plans to rent a house and get a car in the state. New Hampshire is the first state where presidential primaries are held.

Karger said he’d pattern himself after another GOP member – the late former President Ronald Regan.

Karger said that like himself, Reagan was “always upbeat.” He expressed confidence.

“I’m not going to be raising hundreds of millions of dollars, unlike some of my potential opponents,” he said, but added that he’d be participating in many of the presidential debates that will come.

He said if he does make an announcement to run for president, it would probably be sometime next year.

For more information on Karger’s work to support marriage equality, visit www.rightsequalrights.com.