Viewers, especially gay and lesbian watchers, of the Republican National Convention should be wary of what they have seen on TV.
Even if they are, the Republicans don't want to come off as hard-hearted ideologues. They remember all too well the ugly divisiveness wrenched on the public by extreme right-winger Pat Buchanan when he gave a featured speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention.
They also remember the terrible PR image he gave the party, and the role his hard-hearted brand of conservatism may have played in losing the election for Daddy Bush.
To avoid a re-run of that scenario, the Republicans have done an extreme makeover this year in the prime-time lineup that most of America got to see and know.
But we should be cautious. The prettied-up public face of the Republican Party doesn't necessarily match its less visible, less friendly heart. The most prominent prime-time faces that were flashed across television screens are some of the Republican Party's most moderate luminaries.
They included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the accidental Republican who switched over from being a Democrat just to get the chance to run for the office; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is not only moderate on social issues like abortion rights and gay rights, but who was being paraded on TV by the Republicans as a national hero for leading New York City through the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; another superstar, on several levels, is the California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is not only married to a woman from the infamously liberal Kennedy clan, but who also recently said it was OK with him if gays wanted to get married.
Other famously moderate Republicans who were highly visible included New York Gov. George Pataki, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld.
Even one of the top dogs himself, Vice President Dick Cheney, won himself a warm and fuzzy feeling in the media recently, speaking about his lesbian daughter.
This parade of moderates, and the vice president's personal display of emotion as a father, is all well and good, and may even leave some people, gays and lesbians included, with a little warm feeling.
It shouldn't.
Because behind all the make-up and false eyelashes it takes to put on such a respectable public face, the Republican Party remains a staunchly conservative party driven by religious and right-wing zealots who are making it clear in more concrete ways that they have a stronghold on Republicans, and 'moderate' is not in their vocabulary.
They may not be given as much of the spotlight on the national stage because, well, they just don't gussy up so good for the American public.
But behind the scenes, there's no doubt who is in charge of the direction of the Republican Party. And it isn't the moderates.
A few simple examples can illustrate that.
The day after Cheney made his remarks in Iowa, the GOP committee charged with writing the details of its party's political platform voted unanimously to adopt a plank calling on the nation to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment.
And certainly President Bush, the party's ultimate leader, has used the FMA as a campaign tool over the summer. He continues trying to scare righteous Americans that if they don't act now with this drastic measure to enshrine discrimination into the Constitution, then 'activist' and 'renegade' judges will threaten the very foundations of the 'traditional American family.'
Furthermore, just before the polished and prettied-up face of the Republican Party got its make-up tips for prime time, the less glamorous—and less tolerant—soul of the organization sat down to write up its party platform. Not surprisingly, they took head-on the issue of same-sex marriage. They weren't nearly as moderate as the gregarious, camera-loving men who would be showcased on TV.
By a unanimous vote, the GOP platform committee adopted language that said, in part: 'Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country, and anything less than a constitutional amendment, passed by Congress and ratified by the states, is vulnerable to being overturned by activist judges.'
The platform goes on to admonish those 'activist judges,' and even supports withdrawing the court system's jurisdiction over marriage laws so other states would be 'protected from the mischief in Massachusetts.'
In addition to the blatantly anti-gay rhetoric in this platform, Americans of all persuasions should be worried that a political party has as part of its official objectives the dismantling of part of the judicial system.
Furthermore, the GOP platform committee flatly rejected a proposal by a group of moderate Republicans, including the gay Log Cabin group, that simply called for respect and acknowledgement of disagreement on volatile issues.
'We recognize and respect that Republicans of good faith may not agree with all the planks in the party's platform,' the proposed Unity Plank said. 'This is particularly the case with regard to those planks dealing with abortion, family planning and gay and lesbian rights.' The Unity Plank was rejected flat out, and called a 'divisive' measure.
Despite the parade of moderates, Americans, and especially gays and lesbians, should make sure they know how ugly the Republican Party is when the cameras are turned off and the make-up and glitz is gone.
