I am greatly amused that the Log Cabin Republicans, made up of gay Republicans, is objecting to the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to replace Leon Panetta as Obama’s secretary of defense. The reason? He’s got a track record of being anti-gay.
As President Barack Obama is set to nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) as defense secretary, the Log Cabin Republicans have released a full-page ad in the Washington Post opposing him.
The ad by the conservative gay rights group criticizes Hagel’s record on issues of LGBT equality.
In 1998, Hagel called James Hormel, then President Bill Clinton’s choice for U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg, “openly, aggressively gay.” He characterized Hormel’s sexual orientation as an “inhibiting factor” that would prevent him from doing “an effective job.”
Hagel recently apologized, saying his 1998 remarks were “insensitive.” Hormel has said the former senator’s remarks seemed politically timed but accepted them as a “clear apology.”
The Log Cabin Republicans’ ad says Hagel’s apology is “too little, too late,” and includes a timeline of the senator’s record on gay rights. It points out that in 1996, he said he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages. In 1999, he also said he opposed repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the military that was repealed in 2010.
Okay, let me get this straight. If you’re a former Republican senator but you’re nominated by a Democrat for a cabinet position, the anti-gay positions that you’ve apologized for make you the wrong choice. But if you’re a Republican running for office now, your currently anti-gay positions are not a reason to vote against you. Sure, that makes sense. I mean, they’ve got a point about Hagel’s past anti-gay statements. But given that they support a party that makes anti-gay policies a centerpiece of their agenda, it’s more than a tad bit hypocritical.
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slc1
January 11, 2013 at 9:37 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Apparently, the fact that they supported Rmoney, whose current positions are indistinguishable from those they attribute to Hagel is of no consequence. More then a little hypocritical.
dingojack
January 11, 2013 at 9:42 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Okay, let me get this straight.”
Ooh I see what you did there…
.
:) Dingo
shouldbeworking
January 11, 2013 at 9:44 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It’s not hypocritical at all. Hegel has joined the dark side of the farce so all of his previous statements and deeds are now significant, whereas before, they were not noteworthy.
MikeMa
January 11, 2013 at 9:55 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
You would think that the Log Cabin hypocrites would have experienced enough self-loathing to prevent this kind of ridiculous nonsense. I guess not.
fifthdentist
January 11, 2013 at 10:05 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
But … Obama!
acroyear
January 11, 2013 at 10:16 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Log Cabin” Republicans are proof that tribalism and money are more important than rights and equality.
thisisaturingtest
January 11, 2013 at 10:52 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Wow, that is weird. Most Republicans who object to Hagel do so because he doesn’t agree with mainstream Republican thought. Log Cabin Republicans object to him because he does (or at least used to).
Dennis N
January 11, 2013 at 11:03 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
There is only one sin to organized Republicans. That is being or working with a Democrat. All else is forgiven.
speed0spank
January 11, 2013 at 11:05 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
When pressed on the issue the LCR admitted that someone else gave them the cash tomrun that ad which makes it even more absurd.
speed0spank
January 11, 2013 at 11:06 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
to run the ad*
My tablet keyboard and I do not get along very well.
vmanis1
January 11, 2013 at 11:30 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
It’s necessary to remember that LCR is the moderate gay Republican group (and in fact they have done some good work on both marriage equality and DADT repeal).
GOProud is the real wacko gay Republican group.
regexp
January 11, 2013 at 11:32 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Much like the Human Rights Campaign – the LCR has decided that extreme partisanship is more important than fighting for equal rights. No one I know gives or pays attention to the HRC anymore. And the gay republicans I know are rather ticked off at the LCR at the moment (of course they were already ticked off over the Romney endorsement). It boggles the mind why anyone thinks this is a winning strategy.
regexp
January 11, 2013 at 11:34 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@vmanis1
That was true five to ten years ago when they were fighting for the overturn of DADT. And when they withheld their endorsement over Bush. But when they endorsed Romney – they stopped bing a moderate group of gay men and women and decided to go extreme.
dingojack
January 11, 2013 at 11:38 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Just for those of you playing at home who are a little confused, let me translate vmanis1′s post above:
moderate = extremist self-hating wingnut; wacko = outspoken centre-right activist.
Well, provisionally, until any supporting evidence is presented.
Dingo
velociraptor
January 11, 2013 at 12:14 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
What the hell is it with the LCRs? It amazes me that they would align with a movement of which a significant amount of supporters loathe them and wish to deny them basic human rights. Do they feel that they have enough money and privilege that they are above the mere ‘proles’ of the LGBT community?
Kapos. All of them.
dingojack
January 11, 2013 at 12:22 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
velociraptor – Kapos da tutti kapos.
Dingo
Modusoperandi
January 11, 2013 at 12:29 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Now all Obama has to do is nominate every single current Republican for the job.
Raging Bee
January 11, 2013 at 1:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Is LCR really organized, funded and run by gay Republicans? Or is it just another sockpuppet for rich reactionaries, like the Tea Party, libertarians, etc. turned out to be?
baal
January 11, 2013 at 2:04 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@ regexp, U haz trolling? The Human Rights Coalition is still relevant and can pull senators to give speeches at their conventions. .
As to Hagel, I don’t care for his conservative views but the Real Reason(TM) he’s getting attacked from the (putative) left as well as the right is that he is on board with reducing the size of the military. The military – industrial complex doesn’t like that and is making the pols dance in opposition to Hagel.