In 1998, when I attended the Log Cabin convention in Dallas as president of the Log Cabin Republican Club of Northern Virginia, I brought with me The Virginia Plan, a report I had written and our board had unanimously approved, for consideration at the convention’s strategy session. Alas, that that session was limited to remarks by LCR’s then-Executive Director. I distributed the plan and received feedback from several club leaders, but none from the national office.
Our board approved a second plan in February 1999 which I hand delivered to the then-chairman of LCR national. He never got back to me.
This year, while no longer a club officer in Log Cabin, I found that I enjoyed greater respect at the convention in New Orleans than I had at a similar conclave nearly seven years earlier in Dallas. A number of national officers indicated that they were familiar with the blog. In his speech at the banquet Saturday night, LCR President Patrick Guerriero noted that “blogs” were one of the sources of Log Cabin’s criticism. As I reported earlier, someone close to the national office asked that I “write good things.” He knew we had an impact.
This blog has earned the attention of the Board, something which I could not accomplish as president of a chapter which grew from 10 members at its founding in June 1997 to just under 60 a year later. And we owe it all to the guy with the guts to found GayPatriot, the guy with the guts to speak openly for gay conservatives who, while not always agreeing with the president, did generally admire him and supported his reelection. We owe it all to our founder, the GayPatriot.
I knew this weekend that every time I identified myself as GayPatriotWest to someone at the convention and that individual recognized the blog, I would not have been called a “celebrity” had GP not invited me on board six months ago.
Largely because of him, the Log Cabin leadership is paying more attention to gay Republican critics of the organization. And the world can better see the diverse views of gay conservatives.
So many readers have e-mailed (or Instant Messaged) me to express concern for this blog’s founder. They miss his wit — and his insight. And, like me, they are grateful for what he has accomplished.
So, thanks, GP. We miss you — and want you back.
-Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com