Flaylo
Handsome Devil
Michelangelo Signorile: The High Cost of Political Gay-Bashing
Perry isn't going to gay bash his way to the White House, the GOP will lose the social battle. I don't believe gays should openly serve but I wouldn't use that belief as a political weapon to draw the retard vote that is largely nonexistent.
It might now dawn on some evangelical voters to ask: If Rick Perry truly believes open gays shouldn't serve in the military why does he appear to believe they can serve so close to him in his own campaign? And it's not like he's the only choice for the hard-core antigay crowd, as true believers Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum are vying for their votes as well. It's true that evangelicals have been stereotyped as being driven by one issue, and, like everyone else, the economy appears to be a driving factor in their election decisions too. No candidate is going to get by on "family values" alone.
But it's also true that the gay issue is no longer as potent for GOP politicians because more and more GOP moderates and independents aren't willing to go along with the antigay line. A few years ago the same kind of political gay-bashing Perry has engaged in worked like a charm for the GOP. When George W. Bush, ramping up for the 2004 election, pushed a federal marriage amendment - claiming we needed to "protect" marriage - it brought in the religious right crowd while obviously not disgusting moderates in the party enough to scare them off.
But now, Ken Mehlman, the man who orchestrated that strategy as both chair of the Republican National Committee and head of Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, is out of the closet and working in the party to gain support for marriage equality.
Perry isn't going to gay bash his way to the White House, the GOP will lose the social battle. I don't believe gays should openly serve but I wouldn't use that belief as a political weapon to draw the retard vote that is largely nonexistent.