(April 17, 2009) Ex-McCain aide to call for gay marriage support (CNNpolitics.com)

[agatha]

From CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash


At a gathering of a gay Republican group, Steve Schmidt will make the case Friday that the Republican Party should support same-sex marriage.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Steve Schmidt, a key architect of John McCain's presidential campaign, is making his first public return to Washington a bold one.

Schmidt will use a speech Friday to Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group, to urge conservative Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage, CNN has learned.

"There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage," Schmidt will say, according to speech excerpts obtained by CNN. "I believe conservatives, more than liberals, insist that rights come with responsibilities. No other exercise of one's liberty comes with greater responsibilities than marriage."

Schmidt makes both policy and political arguments for a Republican embrace of same-sex marriage.

On the policy front, Schmidt likens the fight for gay rights to civil rights and women's rights, and he admonishes conservatives who argue for the protection of the unborn as a God-given right, but against protections for same-sex couples.

"It cannot be argued that marriage between people of the same sex is un American or threatens the rights of others," he says in the speech. "On the contrary, it seems to me that denying two consenting adults of the same sex the right to form a lawful union that is protected and respected by the state denies them two of the most basic natural rights affirmed in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence — liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"That, I believe, gives the argument of same sex marriage proponents its moral force," Schmidt will say.

Politically, he will say that becoming more open and accepting is critical to reversing an alarming trend for Republicans — a shrinking coalition. He will note that Republicans should be especially concerned that McCain got crushed by Barack Obama among voters under 30, who are generally more accepting of gay couples and at odds with the GO



more here (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/tag/cnn-senior-congressional-correspondent-dana-bash/)

[Meg]

"On the contrary, it seems to me that denying two consenting adults of the same sex the right to form a lawful union that is protected and respected by the state denies them two of the most basic natural rights affirmed in the preamble of our Declaration of Independence — liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I need to give this guy the biggest hug ever!!!! =D>=D>=D>

[devildog]

See? Not all Repubs are evil hatin' bigots! :D

[Horizon]

I'm very suspicious of the intent behind this. Is he speaking from his heart, or trying to save a sinking ship?

There would be no time like the present for the GOP to "come to their senses" on this.

[CGP]

I'm very suspicious of the intent behind this. Is he speaking from his heart, or trying to save a sinking ship?


It's politics, so I am not even really concerned about what the intent is!

But the plan is a wise one.

Going forward, any political party strongly linked with homophobia & heterosexism will becoming increasingly ugly in a secular, civilized, progressive society.

I was about to post this story, but happy to see it already posted!

Senior GOP Consultant Backs Gay Marriage (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/04/17/senior_gop_consultant_backs_ga.html?wprss=44)

(Washington Post, 4/17/09)


Steve Schmidt, a top adviser to Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) 2008 presidential campaign, today laid out the case for gay marriage, warning that the GOP will continue to lose young voters and the Northeast as long the party opposes it.

At a meeting in Washington of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights GOP group, Schmidt dismissed conservative arguments that allowing gay marriage would weaken the institution, as well as objections from religious conservatives, warning that they could turn the Republican Party into a "sectarian" party.

"For the party to be seen as an antigay, that is injurious to its candidates in places like California and Washington and New York," Schmidt said.

He called heterosexual marriage "a tradition,"not a "creed."

"It is not how we define ourselves as Americans," Schmidt, who first declared his support for gay marriage in March, said.

His support of gay marriage not only puts Schmidt to the left of the McCain, who has said he believes that marriage should be between a man and woman, but President Obama, who took the same stance during his presidential campaign.

Despite a flurry of states looking to legalize gay marriage, particularly in the Northeast, Schmidt's view remains in the distinct minority within his party, although McCain's daughter 24-year-old Meghan McCain also recently declared her support for gay marriage. A spokeswoman for Sen. McCain declined to comment on Schmidt's remarks.

Many major GOP party figures do not even favor civil unions, which Obama and most Democrats support.

Schmidt said his sister, who is a lesbian, motivated him to take his stance on gay marriage, which Schmidt said McCain was aware of during the presidential race.

Taking a new position on gay marriage could be critical to Republicans expanding their reach, Schmidt said, though he acknowledged he was unlikely to find many from his party rallying behind the cause.

"Social attitudes are changing very quickly on this issue, and I think there is a momentum behind the idea that same-sex couples ought to be respected," he said. But, he added, "I don't believe that any short amount of time the majority of Republicans are going to support same sex marriage."

[ImmaSlave4U]

John McCain's top adviser from the presidential campaign urged fellow Republicans on Friday to warm up to gay rights and warned that the GOP risks becoming the "religious party" with its opposition to same-sex marriage.

Steve Schmidt, in his first political appearance since the election, spoke at the Washington, D.C., convention for the Log Cabin Republicans -- a grassroots group for gay and lesbian Republicans.

He urged Republicans, in the near-term, to endorse civil unions and stop using the Bible as rationale for gay-marriage opposition.

"If you put public policy issues to a religious test, you risk becoming a religious party," he said. "And in a free country a political party cannot be viable in the long-term if it is seen as a sectarian party."

Schmidt, whose sister is a lesbian and who supports same-sex marriage, said he understands the Republican Party probably won't reverse its resistance to same-sex marriage anytime soon.

But he suggested that the party will be increasingly marginalized if it sustains that opposition long-term.

"If the party is seen as anti-gay, then that is injurious to its candidates" in Democrat-leaning and competitive states, he said.

President Obama also stops short of supporting gay marriage -- he supports civil unions -- but states across the country are moving toward extending such rights to gay couples.

Schmidt predicted gay marriage will create a bigger and bigger divide between the GOP and the electorate in the years ahead. He said that as young voters age, they may adopt conservative views on the economy and national security -- but they will not abandon liberal, social beliefs.

This would put the Republican Party at odds with a swath of voters, Schmidt said.

"I believe Republicans should re-examine the extent that we are being defined by positions on issues that I don't believe are among our core values," he said, while still calling social conservatives an "indispensable part of the conservative coalition."

Schmidt's position is not new. Schmidt recently asserted his support for same-sex marriage rights in March during an interview with the Washington Blade, a newspaper that covers gay and lesbian issues.

But Schmidt's advice to his party took a different tone than the social platform trumpeted Thursday by McCain running mate Sarah Palin -- the Alaska governor gave an out-of-state political speech for the first time in months Thursday, to an anti-abortion group in Indiana.

There she chastised Obama for supporting abortion rights and defended her abortion opposition.

Schmidt also said Friday that Republicans need to reach out, not only to gay voters, but young voters and Hispanics.

"The rapid growth of the Hispanic-American population for instance could soon cost Republicans the entire southwest if we don't recover our previous share of the vote," he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/17/mccain-strategist-warns-gop-risks-religious-party/

[Jester]

"There is a sound conservative argument to be made for same-sex marriage," Schmidt will say, according to speech excerpts obtained by CNN. "I believe conservatives, more than liberals, insist that rights come with responsibilities. No other exercise of one's liberty comes with greater responsibilities than marriage."

There it is. All it takes is a smart conservative to make this issue citing the core of the Republican party, rather than pretending supporting gay marriage is at odds with their beliefs. I believe this is what i said during the Meghan McCain thread. The one where I was immediately savaged.

[Jobu86]

There it is. All it takes is a smart conservative to make this issue citing the core of the Republican party, rather than pretending supporting gay marriage is at odds with their beliefs. I believe this is what i said during the Meghan McCain thread. The one where I was immediately savaged.

Oh please, play the victim more. You were "savaged" for saying "I hope Meghan McCain gets tossed by the wayside" for mediocrity. Everyone seemed to agree with you until that.

[Jester]

Oh please, play the victim more. You were "savaged" for saying "I hope Meghan McCain gets tossed by the wayside" for mediocrity. Everyone seemed to agree with you until that.

I stand by that. She presented no argument for another Republican to jump on board. That is not the *future* as you guys were saying. Statements like Schmidt's are the statements that can make a real difference.

[mavfin]

http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/discussion/showthread.php?t=44831

This is from March. Good stuff, though, even if it took CNN three weeks to notice.

[Jobu86]

I stand by that. She presented no argument for another Republican to jump on board. That is not the *future* as you guys were saying. Statements like Schmidt's are the statements that can make a real difference.

Whatever. I don't have a problem with that opinion. But you saying you got "savaged" for stating the same opinion as this guy is BS, the responses to your post saying that were: "This makes perfect sense" "Bingo" and such. Stop trying to suggest a double standard where there is none.