Log Cabin Republicans unveiled a million-dollar campaign to stop a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage, at a March 10 news conference on Capitol Hill.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a 30-second black-and-white TV ad that features Vice President Dick Cheney during the 2000 campaign. He defended the option of states to choose to recognize same-sex relationships.
'The radical right wanted a culture war—they've got it now,' said Patrick Guerriero, Log Cabin's executive director. 'We will not remain silent if gay and lesbian families are used as a wedge issue in this election.'
'The antifamily Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) would turn back the clock on gay and lesbian civil rights by denying not only civil marriage, but also jeopardizing civil unions and even domestic partner benefits.'
'Loyalty doesn't mean checking one's principles at the door, loyalty means having the courage to tell someone when they are wrong,' Guerriero said. 'As Republicans, it is our obligation to stand up and speak out when our party is headed in the wrong direction.'
Log Cabin spokesman Mark Mead was on the floor of the 1992 Republican National Convention when Pat Buchanan stepped to the podium. 'I witnessed Buchanan launch the culture war that helped defeat the first President Bush. It felt like I had been kicked in the stomach when Buchanan made his antigay tirade. I felt the same sensation last month when the current President Bush endorsed an antifamily constitutional amendment.'
He compared arguments for the FMA with rhetoric he heard about interracial marriage growing up in Mississippi. Mead said, 'I want my President and my party on the right side of history—standing with the Log Cabin Republicans in defense of freedom, fairness, and equality.'
'The party must return to its principles—federalism, states rights, and liberty for all Americans,' said Bob Kabel, former chair of Log Cabin and a Bush delegate to the Republican National Committee in 2004 from Washington, D.C. 'The Republican Party envisioned by my former boss, Ronald Reagan, was a big tent with room for all Americans. I stand here today to ask my party to respect the principles of liberty that make this the best nation in the world.'
'We don't think that we should freeze history by amending the Constitution in the midst of this great national debate,' Guerriero said.
The television ad began running March 11 in the Washington, D.C., market and in seven swing states where much of the presidential campaign will be focused. They are Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
A thousand copies of the ad are being sent to party and elected officials, and print advertising will follow. Guerriero said the scope of the ongoing campaign will depend on the resources they are able to raise.
He claimed 'unprecedented support. In fact, Log Cabin has received more donations and more calls for new members and new chapters in the last two weeks than at any other time in our 27-year history. The fight against the constitutional amendment has woken up the giant which is the millions of gay and lesbian Americans, or families, our neighbors, our coworkers, who simply don't want to remain silent during this historic moment as the nation grapples with how to recognize gay and lesbian families.'
Guerriero chastised the White House for listening to political advice from Gary Bauer, Pat Robertson, and Pat Buchanan. 'I would remind them that they are all failed presidential candidates. In fact, all of them have run against Bushes in their lifetimes. I'm not sure why Karl Rove would spend his time taking counsel from failed presidential campaigns.'
He left open the possibility that Log Cabin still might endorse Bush's reelection; that is a decision that will be made by the board, after the convention. Part of that decision will depend on what happens between now and then; whether gay marriage is used as a wedge issue by the campaign and what, if anything, is offered to gay Americans.
'We know what the President is against; he's against gay marriage. So is John Kerry,' said Guerriero. 'We want to know what the President is for. Does he support civil unions? Does he support domestic partnerships for federal employees?'
Log Cabin did not endorse the first Bush's reelection effort in 1992.
The Ad
The TV ad is built around a video of Dick Cheney responding to a question on gay marriage during the vice presidential debate of the 2000 campaign. In it he says, 'The fact of the matter is, we live in a free society, and freedom means freedom for everybody ... people should be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to enter into. It's really no one else's business.'
The ad cuts back and forth between the video of Cheney responding to the question, an old photo pointing to a 'Colored Waiting Room,' and photos of gay and lesbian couples.
Cheney says that marriage is regulated by the states. 'I think different states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area.'
The ad ends with the words on the screen: 'We agree. Don't amend the constitution, and www.LogCabin.org .' The ad can be viewed online at that web address.
The message of the ad is simple, said Patrick Guerriero, 'You shouldn't play politics with the Constitution. Good conservative Republicans—even the Vice President of the United States in the Bush administration—believe that states should navigate through this issue, not the so called experts in Washington, D.C.'