Gay Republicans in 2012

R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans talks Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™. Now that the 2012 Presidential race has begun we thought we’d get his spin on the GOP candidates running for President and where they stand on gay rights. We talked to Clarke about the Iowa Caucus with Romney and Santorum finishing head to head, the upcoming primaries, the GOP candidates who signed the Family Leader's anti-gay marriage pledge and more. The last time Democrats and Republicans were in agreement on LGBT issues was during the Carter-Ford election back in 1976. When asked where the Republican Party stands on our LGBT issues today, Cooper stated, “Well Charlotte that’s a very good question and that’s a question asked by fellow Republicans within the party. There’s actually a divide that’s mostly generational within the party. What I mean by that is one can look at the generational groups within the party. Log Cabin Republicans are only one of many ancillary groups in the party. We happen to be the gay group but you also have groups that are more generationally oriented. Young Republicans, College Republicans are where you find most of your millennials, the people who are thirty and under. Why is this important you ask? It is important because these are the registered Republicans who are either supportive of gay rights at best or minimally are agnostic when it comes to issues like marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination or at the time, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. It’s a huge divide and that’s not just anecdotal it’s actually measured by internal polling by conservatives for conservatives and also reflective in polling in media like CNN, ABC, you name it. It is noted by the party that there is that shift.” Before taking the helm of the Log Cabin Republicans Clarke worked with the George W. Bush Administration for eight years and is an Army Reserve Captain who served in Iraq during DADT. Now that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has been repealed we talked to him about what’s it like serving as an officer in the Army Reserve. We also discussed how he would rate the Obama administration’s performance on LGBT civil rights and what advise he would have for LGBTQ teens who are facing bullying incidents. For More Info: www.logcabin.org

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