It is a little presumptuous to assume that any gay person, woman, or minority member has to be a Democrat because that is their only option. Some people see it differently. I am not a Republican and I despise what much of the party has become over the last few years but I don’t think I could ever be a Democrat because it just isn’t my style. I come from the libertarian branch of the Republican party or at least I would if I had to register in some way. There are plenty of us but we don’t hold the megaphone right now. That could change in the future however and many of us hold out hope rather than just joining an approach we don’t agree with general.
Can we stop pretending that only men are anti-baby-killing? Or that all black people think they need a hand-out? Or that all gay people think it’s OK to take half their paycheck so long as they can marry? Seriously, I don’t know where the Dope gets off acting like Republicans are crazed nutjobs and Democrats know the way to prosperity.
Good God, you people need to get out of your liberal bubbles. In what world are the Republicans radicals? They’re not the ones saying “You have money? M’kay, it’s our money now…cuz we can.” That’s radical.
Did you not watch the Republican Primaries? There were no conservative politicians in evidence - just a bunch of radical, authoritarian ratbags.
Amongst other things they wanted to:
[ul]
[li]eliminate the social welfare system[/li][li]increase defense spending from already historically high levels[/li][li]put Iran in its place[/li][li]give tax cuts to those who do not need them [/li][li]increase taxes on those who are just barely scraping by[/li][li]bring The Good Lord into the government[/li][li]eliminate the Department of Education, the EPA and the Fire Department[/li][/ul]
Ratbags. Authoritarians. Radicals.
Republican homophobia goes way beyond simple opposition to marriage equality.
That’s funny, because as a woman who votes Republican I hear so many on this side wondering aloud how a thinking person could be Democrat… We match our party to the one that has the most beliefs in line with our own, or to the one who matches the belief we hold most dear. I’m betting it works that way for Democrats too.
Anyway, it doesn’t surprise me that there are gay republicans, especially those who run for office. Real change comes from within, so where better to change people’s minds from within a party itself? It’s slow going, but as the numbers Rodgers01 gave demonstrate, acceptance is building.
Historic instances when the megaphone was taken away, never to be given back (aka Profiles in Courage as well as Futility:
Robert LaFollett lead the Populist wing of the GOP, a sizable chunk of the population who thought Bryan’s Democrats were too red, but opposed robber-baron big business. La Follette opposed US entry into WWI on perfectly sane and reasonable grounds, and the megaphone was passed to big business, who gorged on war profits.
Robert Taft opposed unrestained consumerism after WWII. He may have been on the wrong side of this issue in the short run, since WWII was unique in not having a post-war recession but arguably in the long run we haven’t been well-served by consumer demand being the driving engine of society.
Everett Dirksen supported Civil Rights and worked with LBJ on its passage through the Senate. Although not an especially progressive man, he saw that there was a right side and a wrong side of the issue, and didn’t want the GOP to be on the wrong side. Goldwater and then Nixon realized that by calling its opposition “Law and Order,” they could gain the support of its opponents and supposedly keep everyone’s hands clean.
No easy answers, since the first two examples were defeats through unwillingness to compromise with the dark side, and the third was a cynical compromise. But I don’t think you can change a party from within if it’s pushing you further and further to the margins, while technically still allowing you inside. The party has to be forced to make a choice: completely lose A or completely lose B.