PRESS
RELEASE from Log Cabin Republicans
Premature HRC Endorsement Undermines Fight for Equality
(Washington, DC) - Log Cabin Republicans firmly disagree with the Human Rights Campaign's pre-emptive presidential endorsement before the GOP candidate has even been determined.
"By
prostrating themselves before Barack Obama eighteen months before the
2012 election, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has effectively told the
president that he doesn't have to do anything more to earn gay and
lesbian votes. Given his lackluster record in the fight for 'Don't Ask,
Don't Tell' repeal, LGBT Americans were counting on HRC to hold the
president's feet to the fire on his other campaign promises, not to
become a branch of his re-election campaign," said R. Clarke Cooper,
Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director. "This endorsement also sends
the wrong message to potential Republican nominees. There are several
possible candidates who deserve to be fairly judged on their own
merits, and the dialogue on equality issues for the 2012 campaign has
barely begun. This decision makes it clear that Joe Solmonese's
greatest priority is an invitation to drinks at a Democratic White
House, not securing votes for ENDA, DOMA repeal, or tax equity. Such a
pre-emptive endorsement is a mistake and will undermine equality
efforts."