"A Gayer GOP"

By Dennis Sanders

If you have not read the latest article by Meghan McCain, you need to. The daughter of Senator John McCain talks about the importance of the Republican party becoming more tolerant of gays and lesbians.

Here's a little sample:

I am determined to build a more-inclusive GOP not by making us "sound" more inclusive, but by doing it. And I know people are out there waiting for it to happen. One of the speakers I’m most looking forward to meeting at the Log Cabin Republicans' convention is former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman.She’s a role model for women in politics, and she was also ahead of her time in calling for a more-inclusive Republican Party. Whitman began talking about the changes we need to see happen in the GOP years ago—way before it was popular, and way before conservatives had the guts to agree with her.

It's always good to see gay Republicans speak up, but it is equally important to have our straight allies speak us as well. If McCain is a representative of her generation, than the GOP will need to shape up.

Dennis Sanders - A pastor living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has worked on centrist Republican issues for years, including stints as President of the Minnesota chapter of Log Cabin Republicans (a gay/lesbian advocacy group) and Republicans for Environmental Protection. Dennis blogs at NeoMugwump and happily lives with his partner Daniel and serves two cats, Morris and Felix


HHR Note: THE NEXT RIGHT a popular GOP blog on technology and politics has an interesting article out entitled Young Voters, the GOP, and Gay Marriage. The article written by Kristen Soltis a National Merit Scholar and a Massey Presidential Scholar recently completed research on the topic of young voters and the GOP: where the Republican Party is losing young voters, how serious the threat is to the party, and how the Republican Party should respond. And on this point, Ms. McCain has it right - the issue of gay marriage is one on which young voters and the Republican Party diverge significantly.