How's that gay and ultra-conservative working out?

[dreadgeek]

So Ann Coulter was at Homocon, an event sponsored by the more conservative gay Republican group, GOProud and said, as only she could, that homosexuals are not deserving of marriage.

After a series of jokes about conservative that sounded -- and were received -- more like a stand-up act then a political speech, Coulter told the assembled (and predominantly wealthy) conservative gay crowd why they should oppose same sex marriage, adding, "I should warn you: I've never failed to talk gays out of gay marriage."

And then she did.

First, she ran down the stereotypical stand-up comedian's list of reasons, including that lacking the legal right to marriage allows the less-committed partner to weasel out of it. But in a more serious note, she parroted the losing arguments of the lawyers supporting California's Prop 8 and told the crowd that the reason she opposes (and they should oppose) same sex marriage is that it is strictly for procreation.

Whole article here.

Now, I'm not one to try to bring unnecessary--read any--attention to Ms Coulter but since these were her comments and since GOProud invited this woman to speak at their conference it set me to wondering: what ARE these people thinking? So I went to their web site and here, more or less, is their policy agenda:

GOProud’s Conservative Agenda

The so-called “gay agenda” is defined by the left through a narrow prism of legislative goals. While hate crimes and employment protections may be worthy goals, there are many other important priorities that receive little attention from the gay community. GOProud’s agenda emphasizes conservative and libertarian principles that will improve the daily lives of all Americans, but especially gay and lesbian Americans.

1 – TAX REFORM - Death tax repeal; domestic partner tax equity, and other changes to the tax code that will provide equity for gays and lesbians; cut in the capital gains and corporate tax rates to jump start our economy and create jobs; a fairer, flatter and substantially simpler tax code.

2 – HEALTHCARE REFORM – Free market healthcare reform. Legislation that will 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 - Bringing basic fairness to the Social Security system through the creation of inheritable personal savings accounts.

4 – DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL REPEAL – Repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

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

6 – FIGHTING GLOBAL EXTREMISTS – Standing strong against radical regimes who seek to criminalize gays and lesbians.

7 – DEFENDING OUR CONSTITUTION – Opposing any anti-gay federal marriage amendment.

8 – ENCOURAGING COMMUNITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP – Package of free market reforms to encourage and support small businesses and entrepreneurship in the gay community.

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.

Here is who they say they are:

Mission

GOProud represents gay conservatives and their allies. GOProud is committed to a traditional conservative agenda that emphasizes limited government, individual liberty, free markets and a confident foreign policy. GOProud promotes our traditional conservative agenda by influencing politics and policy at the federal level.
What we believe

We are conservatives who believe in limited government, individual liberty, free markets, a strong national defense and a confident foreign policy. We believe that every individual should be equal under the law. Click here to learn about our federal legislative priorities.
What we do

GOProud advocates for federal public policy initiatives consistent with our mission. We support policies that promote the power of individuals, limit government’s reach, enable economic growth through free market principles, and strengthen America’s position in the world. We support candidates for federal office who share our priorities.


However, here is what I found *the* most interesting on the web site. Their own take on Ms Coulter's speech:

“No one should be surprised that Ann was controversial and no one should be surprised at the histrionics from the left about her appearance. The truth is that if the left showed half as much outrage over Iran’s brutal treatment of gay people as they did about our party in New York, we might take their criticism seriously. Unfortunately, while Louis Farrakhan and members of the New Black Panther party broke bread with one of the most brutal anti-gay dictators in the world, the gay left was more focused on attacking a cocktail party.”

I'm not one to pull out Uncle Tom because, quite honestly, I think that phrase is overused. However, in this case, I think it is warranted. One cannot help but visualize some late-middle aged white gay man who makes John Waters look butch, camping it up for Ann in the green room and playing the non-threatening queen who, with the sacrifice of his dignity, makes conservatives feel good about their bigotry. Mighty accepting of Ann Coulter to take these queers money and then stand up and tell them that she doesn't think they deserve marriage rights.

Cheers
Aj