By Michael Crawford

The Republicans has released its 2008 GOP Party Platform and let’s just say they don’t love The Gays.

Here are a couple of the anti-gay highlights:

On the Military:

Personnel policies

The all-volunteer force has been a success. We oppose reinstituting the draft, whether directly or through compulsory national service. We support the advancement of women in the military and their exemption from ground combat units. Military priorities and mission must determine personnel policies. Esprit and cohesion are necessary for military effectiveness and success on the battlefield. To protect our servicemen and women and ensure that America’s Armed Forces remain the best in the world, we affirm the timelessness of those values, the benefits of traditional military culture, and the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service.

(emphasis added)

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By Juan Ahonen-Jover, Ph.D.
Ken Ahonen-Jover, M.D.
Founders, eQualityGiving

Cross-posted at Bilerico

Open Letter to Log Cabin Republicans

First, congratulations on your upcoming convention and the historic choice of Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) now faces the important decision of endorsing, or not, the McCain-Palin ticket.

We applaud that LCR supports all Equality Goals, including marriage. We also applaud that in 2004 they had the good judgment not to endorse George W. Bush.

But should LCR endorse the McCain-Palin ticket? See after the jump.

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By Rod McCullom
Cross-posted at Rod 2.0 Beta

Denial is more than a river in Egypt. During the same week Michelle Obama, Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton speak out for gay rights at the Democratic National Convention, a draft emerges of the new, anti-gay platorm of the Republican Party. Oh, and the capital gains tax-lovin’ homocons at the Log Cabin dismiss the platform as "symbolic." Priceless. The Associated Press reports:

The platform draft calls for constitutional bans on abortion and gay marriage, two steps McCain does not support.

It would put the party on record as accepting that economic activity contributes to global warming, in line with McCain’s views.

But the platform is loaded with caveats about the uncertainty of science and the need to "resist no-growth radicalism" in taking on climate change. …

Sharp divisions still exist in the party on social issues, but there appeared to be little taste for complicating McCain’s chances by mounting a symbolic platform fight as the document is hashed out in Minneapolis. "This isn’t a hill we’re going to die on," said Scott Tucker, a spokesman for the gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans.

Log Cabinette Tucker continues his denials over at Blog Cabin. You know, the same blog that never reported its off-the-record "backdoor" diplomacy with John McCain. Tucker’s revisionism is quaint. "Yes, the GOP party platform again includes anti-gay things that it shouldn’t," Tucker says. "As we said in this Associated Press article, the party platform isn’t the hill we’re going to die on. Party platforms are largely symbolic. That doesn’t mean that they don’t matter at all. They do. But sometimes you have to pick your battles."

Here is some straight talk for Scott Tucker, the Log Cabin Republicans and other gay McCain groupies: The Reopublican presidential nominee is just not that into you. What "battles" will you fight? McCain supports the marriage bans in California and Arizona and opposes pro-gay legislation such as ENDA or expanding hate crime definitions. The Log Cabinettes are quick to remind us that McCain opposes a federal amendment but he sure did campaign for the Arizona marriage amendment that ultimately failed. These are not “symbolic” gestures, these are positions and legislation that affects millions of gay men, lesbians and transgenders. Barack Obama opposes state and federal marriage amendments and supports increased rights for our community. ‘Nuff said.

At least we know the Republican Party’s position on "gay rights".