I’m being hit up again for money from an organization that I frequently criticize. Log Cabin (Republicans) has me on their mailing list… and I’m sure many of you are on it, too. So I received the expected “2006 Membership Drive” email this week. In the email, President Guerriero highlights the following:
Grassroots Growth—Log Cabin saw record membership growth with 8,000 new members and twenty new chapters.
Around the Nation—Log Cabin successfully mobilized nearly 10,000 fair-minded Americans to let members of Congress know they should overturn the military’s discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
My question is “says who??” Both Log Cabin and Human Rights Campaign are uber-secretive when it comes to disclosing who their funds are coming from and where they are going. Interesting, since both are Federally-registered lobbying organizations. One would think they would have at least an ethical, if not legal, responsibility to be transparent with their money inflow and outgo.
If Log Cabin is asking me to help them, they have to understand that this relationship with their members must be a two-way street.
The reason I am posting this is to solicit your feedback as readers. I am considering re-contributing to Log Cabin this year to become re-engaged with the organization. And I have two simple goals in mind: (1) As a contributing member, I can have more influence on the organization to “Put the Republican Back in Log Cabin” (TM) — that’s my catchy slogan for 2006! And (2), to formally press the organization as well has have a place of standing with the Federal Elections Commission and the IRS to demand accountability and fiscal transparency.
The downside to my evil plan? I’m a tightwad.
The Comments section is now open…..
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
UPDATE (from GPW): I’m very suspicious of the 8,000 new members number. Political organizations tend to lose, rather than gain, members in non-election years. Not only that. I attended Log Cabin’s convention last year and it seemed exactly the same size as the previous Log Cabin convention I had attended — in 1998 when the group had a much smaller membership.
Bruce, I think you should do it.
It’s the only way to get other people to take your concerns seriously. What else can you do – threaten to join that OTHER major gay conservative organization? There isn’t one. Log Cabin is it.
I’m trying to help get an Oregon chapter of Log Cabin off the ground, even though I have zero experience in political organizing. (And I’ve only been a Republican for a couple of years!) This isn’t a situation where we can afford the luxury of demanding that the organization be exactly as we would like it before we join. I like to think that conservatives are pretty good about taking responsibility and solving the problem, rather than getting stuck on ideology and principle; wouldn’t you agree?
We are at a very critical time right now. Increasing acceptance of gay people in conservative circles, together with the moonbatification of the Democratic Party, provides a unique “window of opportunity” for queer conservatives and moderates. But we risk losing it all if we get hung up on the small stuff.
Please consider joining forces with Log Cabin. Your voice is valuable – and there’s a lot at stake here.
Well, since you’re asking, uh, no. You should not “join” LC(R), regardless of the validity of your reasons for wanting to do so. Truth is, Bruce, it won’t make a lick of difference and you’d only be helping them increase both the size of their membership and their bank account, albeit minimally. And I think you realize that.
For you to re-up with LC(R) would be like me re-registering as a Democrat. Completely and utterly pointless. Surely, the best way to expedite the demise of political organizations like these doesn’t involve supporting them.
Anyhow, there’s my 2 cents to help get the ball rolling.
Bruce, here in Michigan we have an active, vibrant, very Republican oriented LCR state chapter and three locals in this Blue State Land. Ok, so I lied. Hell, they can’t find a volunteer to run it.
The LCR and LEF are about as interesting, novel and worthy of support as are the other Republican dinosaurs like the Ripon Society, Republican Women for Choice and others.
Do you relaize that in 9/10ths of the US political community, the Log Cabin Republicans are viewed as jokes. They have no credibility unless they read their own press releases.
According to one poster from Boston on the NYTimes gay rights board, there used to be a very vibrant LCR chapter here in Boston. The Republican party largely ignored it, and the chapter, out of frustration, dissolved itself.
The current head of the national LCR is a cute boi, but I consider him analogous to Don Quixote, tilting at windmills.
Bruce,
You are willing to accept a congressman who while quite homophobic, still has basic conservative values.
But when it comes to LCR, you don’t seem to apply the same set of standards. Do you really have to agree with everything LCR has done provided it’s overall agenda and values match yours?
If you want to see an example of politics without compromise, look no farther than the loony left you often describe. Are they really a model you want to emulate?
Bruce, if you want to spy on LCR, go for it, but don’t expect them to listen to you! and don’t give them much! National LCR does not deserve it.
Ummm…NO!….I’d rather we buy Saxby more treats or just hand it to a needy anyone else. Please, don’t make me have to hide that envelope and burn it….whoops, sorry greenies, I meant recycle it 🙂
I was a very active member and for one year, a board member of my local chapter. I stopped all money and was very clear with the president of my chapter why. Members don’t get to vote on National leadership. Chapter presidents do. I’m not sure if one or two other board officers do as well. All I know is my only way to change things at the top is to put pressure on locally. That’s the reason why I refuse to contribute Nationally OR locally and it’s why I made a point to communicate well my reasons to my chapter president.
Contact the chapter and tell them you’d be willing to contribute and become an active member if National leadership changes direction.
Don’t do it. You are just wasting your money. They won’t listen to you anymore if you give money or don’t. This group will not change untill they have a complete overhaul of thier leadership. If you want to donate money then give to a canadiate you beleive in who’s running during this election year.
Come on back. As a very active red state LCR member we need all of the conservatives that we can get. As Asher in #1 said, what’s the alternative? And #2 Glisteny, if LCR does go away, who is going to provide a vehicle to press our concerns with the Party? Many here are not happy with LCR but the comments page of a blog is massively less effective than whatever you think LCR is doing now.
Steer clear of LCR. I’ve got two reasons for you:
1. As for the Dont ask dont tell BS…ANY gay citizen that WANTS to serve in the military CAN! I was in the JAG branch as a legal specialist and the official word is “Homosexuality is not a bar to military service.” The problems arise with conduct. Sure a hetero military couple can kiss in public where that would get a gay couple kicked out…but lets get real….gays join the military to serve their country and if they believe in military service strongly enough, they can keep their conduct private. For me serving for my country was more important than getting a hummer in a hummer. What makes me ill are all the gay organizations protesting the dont ask policy knowing full well that even if the policy didnt exist, they still would not be inclined to serve. Thousands of gay men and women proudly serve in the military. There are no policies that prevent them from doing so. This is a liberal issue and it needs to stay out of a “Republican” organization.
2. LCR couldnt even bring themselves to endorse our President. You may not like all of W’s policies, but he was our party candidate. We are either Republican or not.
12 – Sure, any gay individual can serve… they just can’t list their partner as next of kin to be informed in the event of death or injury, nor may they marry or enter into a civil union or domestic partnership back home, or any of a hundred other tangible or intangible actions that your average straight servicemember takes for granted, which facilitate his or her service to our country (or do you doubt that having an established family at home makes a person fight harder when abroad?) Repealing DADT is a worthy objective, and trust me, LCR’s been putting in the man hours on the issue.
Bruce – I’d say give it a shot. For one thing, getting inside again would let you see what’s really going on. You’ve got to know that tons of LCR’s influence comes from the sort of conversations that, for obvious reasons, don’t exactly make press releases, yet still they have an impact. What do you care about more, getting things done or having the ability to claim credit for them (even to doubting conservatives like yourself?) For another, you’ve got a lot of good ideas and insight that it really is sad to see wasted, rather than put directly to those who could act on them. LCR makes mistakes, but then, it is easy to be ideologically pure when you’re outside of the political game. Get back in, and see what happens.
What has LCR done to hurt the gay community? Are we to believe that LCR is an anti-gay Republican operative organization? If not, shouldn’t we work to bring it into the fold? Let’s be constructive!