Since “outreach” seems to be at the forefront of Republican thought these days, I thought this email from the Log Cabin Republicans that I received this morning was interesting:
Friends,
Last Friday, over 100 Log Cabin Republicans from across the nation converged on Washington, D.C. for the grand relaunch of Log Cabin Republicans. We unveiled a new logo, a sleek new website, and a new commitment to our many local Chapters across the nation. We also declared that we were going to take a more aggressive stance against the anti-gay rhetoric pushed by a small but vocal minority of the GOP.
To that end, I’m excited to tell you about Log Cabin Republicans’ newest ad. Today, we’re running a full-page ad in Politico, calling on the Republican Party to make the tent bigger.
As Log Cabin Republicans, we know that Republicans succeed when we stress sound fiscal principles, controlled government, individual liberty, and low-tax policy. In a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, it was revealed that 81 percent of young adults under 30 support the freedom to marry. If the Republican Party wants to remain relevant in the years to come, we must continue to champion our bedrock issues while growing Reagan’s “Big Tent” to welcome the next generation of conservative voters.
Your help is needed now more than ever. The GOP is at a critical crossroads, and Log Cabin Republicans is on the front lines of this fight. But we can’t do it alone. Your generous support of $10, $25, $50, or more today will help provide Log Cabin Republicans with the resources we need to WIN.
Today, you don’t just have the opportunity to make a difference; you have the opportunity to make history. I thank you in advance for your generosity, and your continued commitment to Log Cabin Republicans.
Sincerely,
Gregory T. Angelo
Executive Director
Log Cabin RepublicansLog Cabin Republicans is the nation’s largest Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of LGBT Americans and their allies. The more than 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
I think that if the purpose of the LCR is to “reach out” to Republicans and get the party to accept gay marriage, this particular email and ad campaign is a fail for a couple of reasons.
First off, if your goal is to reach Republicans, you probably need to put your advertising dollars to work in a publication that reaches Republicans. Politico is a left-leaning pseudo news source that certainly has “some” Republican followers but I’d be that the few Republicans that bother to read the e-edition of Politico already support gay marriage. Sort of like a preacher reaching out to the choir sitting behind him, admonishing them to come to church. Makes no sense. I’m also not particularly impressed with the ad placement that they received from Politico:
Notice that the ad is directly across from an article on a supposed rift between Bush/Cheney and an anti-gun attack on Republicans. Not exactly my idea of increasing the tent size.
But the worst part of the ad is that they use the language of the left and attack the people that they are trying to reach:
If the Republican Party wants to win future elections and set this country back on sound financial footing, it must put an end to its obsession with opposing equal rights for LGBT Americans. The GOP’s focus should be on bringing together existing members, reclaiming former Republicans, and attracting new voters. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, the freedom to marry is supported by 81 percent of adults younger than 30.
Notice the contradiction. In the opening part of the email, the LCR claims that they are going to be more aggressive against a small, vocal minority.
We also declared that we were going to take a more aggressive stance against the anti-gay rhetoric pushed by a small but vocal minority of the GOP.
But in the body of the ad that ran in Politico, they claim that the entire party is obsessed with opposing equal rights for LGBT Americans:
If the Republican Party wants to win future elections and set this country back on sound financial footing, it must put an end to its obsession with opposing equal rights for LGBT Americans.
Well, which is it LCR? Make up your minds already.
The idea that Republicans are obsessed with opposing equal rights for LGBT Americans is ludicrous. Certainly there are a few groups that are in the Republican tent that use rhetoric to oppose gay marriage but those groups are fading and becoming smaller. And frankly, the vitriol and hate speech from those that support gay marriage is far worse than what I see coming from those against it. Ed Hubbard addressed that in this post. The plain truth is that there are many of us in the Republican tent that are reaching out to LGBT Americans and inviting them in. Reagan never said that you were going to love everyone in the tent, only that we need to focus on our common values and unite behind them. There will always be differences of opinion under that tent.
All of us have to learn that “outreach” goes both ways. Perhaps next time the LCR has enough money in its coffers to reach out to Republicans, they’ll remember the old saying that you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.