The Log Cabin Republicans were quick to defend Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Saturday upon the announcement he would be Mitt Romney’s running mate in the presidential election. Despite Ryan’s odious record on LGBT issues, LCR executive director R. Clarke Cooper chose to highlight Ryan’s only pro-LGBT vote, describing him as a “fair-minded policymaker”:

COOPER: Congressman Paul Ryan is a strong choice for vice president, and his addition to the GOP ticket will help Republican candidates up and down the ballot. As chairman of the House Budget Committee and author of the Republican “path to prosperity” that provided the blueprint for serious spending cuts in this Congress, nobody is more qualified to articulate a conservative economic vision to restore the American economy and stimulate job creation.

At the same time, Congressman Ryan’s 2007 vote in favor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and his consistent willingness to engage with Log Cabin on a range of issues speaks to his record as a fair-minded policymaker. Overall, while Log Cabin Republicans have not completed the endorsement process for the 2012 presidential election, this is a choice that all Republicans can be excited about, and which sends a good message about the kind of campaign Governor Romney wants to run, and the kind of president Governor Romney wants to be.

Lauding Ryan’s budget plan shows how little investment the Log Cabin Republicans have for the gays and lesbians they claim to serve, because it would cut essential social services that same-sex families depend upon. One half-hearted vote for ENDA — which only came after he tried to kill the bill — in no way excuses the many votes Ryan has taken to inhibit full equality for the LGBT community.

Jerame Davis, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, offered a more pragmatic perspective on the Ryan pick in terms of LGBT equality:

DAVIS: Mitt Romney’s choice of Tea Party darling Paul Ryan as his running mate is as crass as it is cunning. Romney knows the Tea Party base of the GOP still doesn’t trust him or believe in his conservative credentials; his choice of Ryan is nothing more than a craven attempt to shore up his base. Though Ryan brings relative youth and excites the base, he has little experience aside from being a Washington politician beholden to corporations and the wealthy. [...]

Ryan’s opposition to civil rights for LGBT people certainly matches Mitt Romney’s, but unlike Romney’s gutless pandering to the religious right, Ryan is a true believer. For LGBT voters there’s nothing in this pick but more disappointment and disregard.

R. Clarke Cooper

The Log Cabin Republicans’ R. Clarke Cooper today penned a scathing rebuke of LGBT activists and allies who have been speaking out against Chick-fil-A for its anti-gay policies. Confirming for his conservative brethren that “gay people really are the thought police,” Cooper lashes out at “Chick-fil-A haters” for being “superficial, vindictive, and juvenile”:

Turning a chicken sandwich into Public Gay Enemy Number One makes LGBT people look superficial, vindictive and juvenile — everything that we as a community have worked hard to overcome. Remember, employers don’t want drama queens on the payroll, military service is serious business, and marriage is not a right society grants to spoiled children. While in a perfect world our equality should not depend on our good behavior, in a world where our rights too often hinge on political reality, the way our movement conducts itself matters.

The “movable middle” moves both ways, and they don’t like seeing people attacked relentlessly for their religion. Whatever the nuances, these voters see a man standing up for his beliefs against a politically powerful mob dead-set on driving him out of business. It’s un-American, and when fellow conservatives are finally standing up and speaking out for marriage equality as consistent with the sober values of responsibility and commitment, splashing a popular American company with metaphorical chicken blood in protest is nothing less than friendly fire.

Amazingly, Cooper manages to buy into almost every talking point used by those defending Chick-fil-A while still purporting to support LGBT equality. While some conservatives (and “some” may yet be generous) are speaking out for marriage equality, Chick-fil-A is surely doing the opposite. There’s nothing “friendly” about a company president outright condemning marriage equality advocates as “inviting God’s judgment” while giving millions of dollars to anti-gay hate groups and ex-gay organizations. The Log Cabin Republicans say on their website that theirs is “is the only Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of gay and lesbian Americans and their allies”;  Chick-fil-A is neither.

The backlash against Chick-fil-A has nothing to do with being “thought police,” but about holding those with money and influence accountable. The struggle for LGBT equality extends far beyond the legal hurdles Cooper reduced it to in this post. Finding acceptance in society and minimizing language that stigmatizes is key to ending the bullying and minority stress at the root of LGBT people’s health and economic inequities. Cooper’s flagrantly offensive argument ignores both the actual lives of a community he claims to represent as well as the harm done by Dan Cathy’s remarks and his company’s donations.

Cooper claims that it’s a struggle to convince conservatives to support equality when the “spoiled children” of the LGBT community are standing up for themselves against vicious public attacks. If he’s willing to sacrifice dignity for equality, then it’s unclear if he’s “representing the interests” of anyone at all.

Both the Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud have responded negatively to today’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act. GOProud claimed that Obamacare “hurts gay and lesbian families” — despite the fact none of their own position statements actually support LGBT rights. LCR went a step further, with its Deputy Executive Director Christian Berle blaming Democrats for stripping LGBT-specific protections from the legislation:

BERLE: Log Cabin Republicans also have not forgotten that Democrats in Congress stripped provisions protecting LGBT families out of healthcare reform when it was passed. We remain committed to ending the Internal Revenue Service’s discriminatory treatment of employer-provided healthcare for domestic partners. While the Court may have found Obamacare to be constitutional, that does not mean it has been carved in stone. Now is the time to go back to the drawing board and institute reforms that work for all Americans.

National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jerame Davis told ThinkProgress that LCR has lost touch with “both reality and history”:

DAVIS: The Log Cabin Republicans must have lost their minds today. They are ignoring both reality and history in their attempt to convince LGBT Americans that the Affordable Care Act is bad for them. The LGBT provisions they claim were removed from the ACA by Democrats were done at the demands of the GOP. Throughout the healthcare debate the GOP demanded concession after concession and dug in their heels threatening to filibuster the bill in the Senate if they didn’t get their way. Log Cabin Republicans are doing a disservice to LGBT Americans by intentionally mischaracterizing the history of the Congressional debate on the ACA for partisan gain.

Indeed, even without the explicit LGBT provisions, the ACA still benefits the LGBT community in many important ways, such as improved data collection and protections for people who affected by HIV. For the Log Cabin Republicans to attack this law and the Democrats who advocated for it is to abandon support for the LGBT community just to make a disingenuous partisan cheapshot.

The Log Cabin Republicans’ R. Clarke Cooper was quick to try to discredit Obama’s announcement supporting marriage equality today, calling it “cold comfort” and “offensive and callous” in the immediate wake of Amendment One’s passage in North Carolina:

COOPER: That the president has chosen today, when LGBT Americans are mourning the passage of Amendment One, to finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous. Log Cabin Republicans appreciate that President Obama has finally come in line with leaders like Vice President Dick Cheney on this issue, but LGBT Americans are right to be angry that this calculated announcement comes too late to be of any use to the people of North Carolina, or any of the other states that have addressed this issue on his watch. This administration has manipulated LGBT families for political gain as much as anybody, and after his campaign’s ridiculous contortions to deny support for marriage equality this week he does not deserve praise for an announcement that comes a day late and a dollar short.

Though LCR claims not to endorse candidates, this absurd attack suggests the group would rather stand with Mitt Romney, who has pledged to support a federal marriage amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide. Coming from a group whose mission is to “secure full equality for gays and lesbians,” this is a stunning example of petty partisan politics.

Update

Conservative media is not pleased:

Ever since last week’s release of the National Organization for Marriage’s confidential memos that reveal its race-baiting tactics, the enduring question has been whether Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich will apologize for having signed the anti-gay group’s presidential pledge. In a column today in the Washington Times, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper urged the Republican Party to purge the group entirely from its ranks:

Putting aside NOM’s callous disregard for LGBT families, my party, the Republican party, cannot afford to be associated with an organization that arrogantly seeks to manipulate African American and Latino voters, particularly when the Republican Party is working hard to promote our message of economic opportunity and individual liberty among these communities. Crude identity politics has no place in today’s conservative movement.[...]

The debate surrounding the freedom to marry is ongoing, with good and loyal conservatives on both sides. However, NOM is a cancer that needs to be removed for the good of the conservative movement. Inclusion wins, and division loses. It is time to walk away from NOM – and buy a cup of Starbucks coffee for the road.

So far, none of the three candidates who signed the pledge has commented on NOM’s insidious tactics or distanced themselves from the group, but they all have deeper ties they might not wish to remind voters of. It came to light last week that Romney had secretly given NOM $10,000 in 2008 to advocate for California’s Proposition 8. Santorum was identified in the memos as an official spokesperson for the group’s efforts. Gingrich has vowed that if elected he would institute a commission on religious freedom modeled entirely upon NOM’s rhetoric. All three have significant past investment in the group and could possibly have even been privy to these tactics before they were revealed last week, so it would seem they have more to answer for than just the pledge.

Gay Republican group GOProud said today that “Speaker Gingrich said absolutely nothing wrong” when he told a gay voter he’d be better off supporting President Obama’s reelection. Both GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans insist that the liberal press is misrepresenting Gingrich’s comments, but in doing so they’ve conceded that supporting LGBT equality is not among their top priorities:

GOPROUD: The liberal press is at it again, attempting to mischaracterize the words of a Republican Presidential candidate. Speaker Gingrich said absolutely nothing wrong in his exchange with the gay Iowa voter… Speaker Gingrich handled himself with class and dignity in this discussion with the gay voter and the press reports that have reported otherwise have done a real disservice to the truth.

LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: In this political climate, the door is wide open for a strong Republican candidate to win the support of conservatives, independents and disillusioned Democrats – and there are those who are working hard to paint any and all Republicans as bigoted in a fear-mongering effort to shore up the president’s base. That is unfair and highly unfortunate for our community.

Gingrich’s point was that it’s “perfectly legitimate” that voters who are primarily concerned with LGBT equality should support Obama, not Gingrich or one of the other Republican candidates. By rushing to defend his positions on “job creation, national security and a better future,” these groups are admitting that the dignity of LGBT people is not their primary concern. If it were, they might have made at least one reference to Gingrich’s numerous anti-gay positions, proposals, and statements that should more than justify concern from all voters, conservative or otherwise. Apparently, voters who care about their own ability to live, love, and work without fear of discrimination do “a real disservice to the truth” by refusing to “judge each character fairly.”

Watch the exchange between Gingrich and the voter:

Yesterday, we here at Think Progress highlighted a new “It Gets Better” video from members of the New Jersey congressional delegation, which was, in fact, the first time any elected Republicans had taken part in the anti-bullying campaign. We commended Reps. Leonard Lance, Jon Runyan, and Frank LoBiondo for joining the chorus affirming LGBT youth, but we also pointed out that all three have opposed LGBT equality in the past and suggested that they turn their words into action to end stigma against LGBT people. The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) have attacked us for this suggestion, alleging that we are trying to “score political points by taking potshots at Republicans”:

R. CLARKE COOPER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: It is deeply frustrating to see liberal activists attacking Republican Members of Congress for stepping forward to support gay youth. Like the celebrities, sports teams and other public figures who have participated in the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign, these Republican leaders have a powerful voice, and the New Jersey delegation’s video sends the critical message that regardless of our political affiliation, harassment in our schools is a serious problem. The Center for American Progress, which until recently was led by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, has led the attacks on Representatives Lance, LoBiondo, and Runyan as antigay, despite Lance and LoBiondo’s leadership in supporting the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. It seems as though liberals care more about the chance to score political points by taking potshots at Republicans than they care about capitalizing on a chance to really make things better for our youth.

The bullying young people are facing is directly influenced by the stigma perpetuated by lawmakers who cast their votes in ways that deny the LGBT community equality in society. By trying to deprive gays and lesbians of marrying who they love and not supporting any anti-bullying legislation, all three of the Republicans in this video have demonstrated that they want to maintain that second-class status and the consequences that come with it. Reps. Lance and LoBiondo’s support for ENDA should be applauded, but not misconstrued as representative of their broader voting record on LGBT issues. If all three Republicans have truly turned over a new leaf, we hope that they will demonstrate this soon by coming out for full LGBT equality and cosponsoring bills accordingly.