Q Toon: Lost

GOProud has vanished. The ultra-conservative gay Republican group was to Log Cabin Republicans what the Tea Partisans are to Establishment Republicans -- hardline, doctrinaire, and bitchy.

They outed a Rick Perry pollster in December 2011; they endorsed Mitt Romney, who opposed same-sex marriage; they got into social-media fights with all comers; and they called conservative activist Cleta Mitchell a “bigot,” not especially helpful considering she was on a board that would decide whether they could sponsor the Conservative Political Action Conference, a longtime GOProud goal.

The group split away from the Log Cabineers, who had failed to issue knee-jerk endorsements of Republican candidates who actively opposed gay rights. GOProud's legislative agenda for 2011 was virtually indistinguishable from that of other conservative Republican groups; only its opposition to a federal antigay marriage amendment separated it from the Family Research Council. Even the "Defending Our Community" section of their platform referred to opposition to gun control.

I've had second thoughts about sending this cartoon to Q Syndicate rather than the one about marriage equality in Wisconsin posted here on Tuesday. The Wisconsin cartoon has gotten a lot of positive response in spite of my concern that few readers outside of Wisconsin would recognize that it was based on the seal on the Wisconsin state flag.

But I worry that while readers may pick up the reference to the search for a missing airplane in this week's cartoon, they won't have any awareness of GOProud. GOProud may have seen themselves as Dorothy Parker, but in the end, they were Baby Jane Hudson.

Q Toon: Who Let the Dogs Out?

The Republican Party of Texas banned gay interest groups from having booths at the party's convention in Fort Worth this past weekend.

“It’s simply unconscionable that more than a dozen years since Log Cabin Republicans took the fight for gay equality against the homophobic fringe of the Party, the Texas State GOP still doesn’t get it,” LCR National Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo said. “We are your friends and neighbors; we are your colleagues and family members; above all else, we are loyal Republicans, and deserve a literal seat at the table at the Texas State GOP Convention."

And while the Log Cabin folks are ecstatic that the convention removed some of the most hateful language from the party platform, they do remind one of the guy who explained that the reason he was beating himself over the head with a two-by-four was that "It feels so good when I stop."

This Week's Toon: Boycotting CPAC

The Conservative Political Action Cabal (CPAC) gathers for its annual convention this week without several of its prominent members. Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Liberty Council, National Organization for Marriage, and other group have objected that one of the conference's sponsors is GOProud, the far-right, but still quite gay, Republican group.

Now it turns out that it's not just an anti-gay thing, however.

Who would believe that organizer Grover Norquist (of "drown the federal government in a bathtub" fame) has ties to Muslim Brotherhood? Who would believe that a panel on freedom of religion is being co-sponsored by (shudder!) an Islamic group? That's too much for many in the conservative - libertarian - tea partisan - Southern Baptistocracy alliance to bear, and even more are streaming to the exits.

How's that Biggy Tenty thing workin' out for ya?

What GOProud Stands For, Part II

In yesterday's blog post, I made an offhand remark in an attempt to describe what sort of LGBT activists GOProud are:

GOProud advocates that gay and lesbian couples deserve tax cuts just like everybody else, and that gays and lesbians who want to serve in the military have a right to purchase glocks at gun shows.

Today, Pam's House Blend reports that GOProud has unveiled its legislative agenda for 2011. Aside from the explanation of their views of "Defending Our Constitution" and a couple other LGBT concerns which they try to piggyback onto major conservative issues, their agenda is nearly indistinguishable from that of the Republican Right's most virulent homophobes.

1 – TAX REFORM
– We support replacing the current tax code with the Fair Tax. Until then, we support death tax repeal; domestic partner tax equity; cuts in the capital gains and corporate tax rates to jump start our economy and create jobs; and a fairer, flatter and substantially simpler tax code.

2 – HEALTHCARE REFORM
– Free market healthcare reform. Allow for the purchase of insurance across state lines - expanding access to domestic partner benefits; emphasizing individual ownership of healthcare insurance – such a shift would prevent discriminatory practices by an employer or the government.

3 – SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
– The only way to permanent solvency in the Social Security system is through the creation of inheritable personal savings accounts. Personal savings accounts would give gay and lesbian couples the same opportunity to leave their accounts to their spouse as their straight counterparts.

4 – RESPECTING THE PROPER ROLE OF THE JUDICIARY

5 – HOLDING THE LINE ON SPENDING
– Standing up for all tax payers against wasteful and unnecessary spending to protect future generations from the mounting federal debt.

6 – FIGHTING GLOBAL EXTREMISTS
– Standing strong against radical regimes that refuse to recognize the basic human rights of gays and lesbians, women and religious minorities.

7 – DEFENDING OUR CONSTITUTION
– Opposing any anti-gay federal marriage amendment. Marriage should be a question for the states. A federal constitutional amendment on marriage would be an unprecedented federal power grab from the states.

8 – ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
– Package of free market reforms to encourage and support small businesses and entrepreneurship. Such reforms would create jobs for all Americans – including gay Americans.

9 – REVITALIZING OUR COMMUNITIES
– A package of urban related reforms; expanding historic tax preservation credits; support for school choice.

10 – DEFENDING OUR COMMUNITY
– Protecting 2nd amendment rights.

Q Toon: Religious Conservatives Boycott CPAC

"Family Values" groups (defined as groups which actively seek to devalue my family) are boycotting next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the inclusion of GOProud, a group of gay ultraconservatives. While the boycotters are primarily from the religious right (e.g., Family Research Council, Eagle Forum, American Family Association, Liberty Council), they also include some not expressly religious groups, such as the Media Resource Center and the Center for Military Readiness.

GOProud is a group created because the Log Cabin Republicans were insufficiently ideologically pure (as evidenced by their endorsement of then-maverick John McCain over George W. Bush in 2000). GOProud advocates that gay and lesbian couples deserve tax cuts just like everybody else, and that gays and lesbians who want to serve in the military have a right to purchase glocks at gun shows.

Having thus secured their position as the conservative movement's house faggots, the controversy now is over allowing them to sit at the dinner table.

I didn't label all my metaphors in the first panel of this cartoon, so I hope I haven't confused everybody by holding off identification of the runaway until panel 2, and "home" until panel 4.

Gay Republicans Speak Out!

And here's this week's Q Syndicate cartoon:

A fairly new gay Republican group, GOProud, will address this year's CPAC convention. As stunning as that news is -- the Log Cabin Republicans haven't been particularly welcome at Republican events -- GOProud will not be discussing any sort of commonality of any conservative and LGBT viewpoints.

No, the gay Republicans will talk about how conservatives can harness the power of the internet, cell phone apps, and social networking to carry forward the conservative agenda.

There hasn't been a harebrained scheme like this since the National Association for the Advancement of Conservative Colored People taught the Ku Klux Klan how to start fires and tie knots.