Last night's HRBOR (see photo above) event was a huge success with a massive turnout. Amazingly, HRBOR - the gay and gay friendly chamber of commerce I helped found - now counts as members the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce (which covers Hampton, Newport News and York County) and the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce (which covers the south side cities of Hampton Roads). Also in attendance was a former GOP candidate who I invited since as a former Republican myself, he might find the experience of a HRBOR event educational. Also in attendance were leaders of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with which HRBOR collaberates and of which I am a member. As noted time and time again on this blog, in my view the GOP is engaged in a slow acting form of suicide as evidenced by its continued anti-gay and anti-Hispanic and anti-minority stances. These bigoted positions may still play well with the angry white evangelical Christian crowd, but that demographic group is literally dying off. As the Washington Post reports, a few Republicans have learned that they can support marriage equality and still win elections. Here are some article highlights:
Three state House Republicans voted to legalize gay marriage in Illinois last year, breaking ranks with their party and giving Democrats just enough support to pass the legislation. All three are still standing Thursday despite an intense effort from social conservatives to defeat them in GOP primary voting.
"If you wanted the takeaway to be that voting for gay marriage for an Illinois Republican is the kiss of death, you can't make that case," said Kent Redfield, a University of Illinois at Springfield political scientist.
The campaign served as the latest front in the Republican Party's ongoing internal fight over gay rights. Same-sex marriage advocates in the GOP see what happened in Illinois as another sign the ground is shifting in their favor, while opponents cast it as evidence that Republicans who support gay marriage won't go unchecked.
Of Tuesday's winning trio, state Rep. Ron Sandack (R) was the most significant. Challenger Keith Matune conceded to Sandack Wednesday, a day after the incumbent squeaked out a narrow victory that for a time looked like it was headed to a recount. Sandack's vote for gay marriage became a central focus in his race, which was flooded with money and resources by outside forces on both sides.
Sandack received financial support from Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge fund manager protecting Republicans who support gay marriage with his pocketbook. Singer donated to Sandack's campaign and also gave thousands more to Illinois Unity PAC, which supported Sandack.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, state Rep. Ed Sullivan easily won his primary, in which his vote for gay marriage was less of an issue than it was in Sandack's. Still, it was on the radar, as Singer also gave him money. Sullivan was targeted by an Illinois Family Action mailer featuring two men kissing. "You can kiss the GOP goodbye with officials who vote like Democrats," it said. Sandack faced the same attack.
State Rep. Tom Cross was the only other Republican to vote for the gay marriage law that will go into effect in June. He comfortably won the Republican nomination for state treasurer.
Gay marriage advocates said the three won by campaigning on multifaceted platforms and refusing to allow the opposition to use the marriage debate as a divisive issue.
"I think for anyone considering using marriage equality as a wedge issue in 2014 or 2016, it should give those individuals pause," said Gregory Angelo, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group.
But gay marriage remains among the most sensitive topics in the Republican Party, even as more and more states are legalizing it, the public has shifted heavily in its favor and the GOP donor community has vouched for it.
The reality is that the Christofascists are increasingly viewed as toxic by the general public and rightfully so. If the GOP is to survive long term, the Christofascists and their Tea Party first cousins need to be thrown permanently into the political wilderness. One can only hope that members of the Virginia GOP will wake up and look to Illinois as a blue print of how to embrace equality and still win despite the spittle flecked attacks of the Christofascists.
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