GOP Chair Long Opposes Same-Sex Marriage

The Republican National Committee last week elected a chair that many Republicans see as a harbinger of change for the GOP, even though the new leader has steadfastly opposed gay rights initiatives.

Michael Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, won the position Jan. 30, ousting former RNC Chair Mike Duncan after six rounds of balloting. The final round of balloting was between Steele and South Carolina GOP Chair Katon Dawson.

During his acceptance speech, Steele told GOP officials that it was “time for something completely different.” He also said that under his leadership, the RNC would “cede no ground” on “matters of principle.” Steele did not indicate which principles he considered non-negotiable.

Prior to his election as chair, Steele headed GOPAC, a political action committee that provides support to Republican candidates running for office.

The RNC did not respond to the Blade’s request to comment on Steele’s election. But in an interview Sunday on FOX News, moderator Chris Wallace noted that Steele helped found in 1993 the Republican Leadership Council, which sought to bring into the party people who are more liberal on social issues. Steele left the organization last year, reportedly because he took issue with the organization’s practice of endorsing candidates in Republican primaries.

Wallace asked Steele whether the GOP should reach out to people who support gay rights and abortion rights. Steele said that reaching out to such people is “an important opportunity” for the Republican Party.

“Within our party, we do have those who have that view, as well as outside, and my partnership … was an effort to build a bridge between moderates and conservatives,” he said.

The comments follow a series of statements Steele made in recent months that were seemingly intended to soften the party’s hard-line approach toward social issues.

In December, Steele was asked in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network about his position on a federal marriage amendment, which would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage. He said that he’s personally against the amendment but would support it if it were reintroduced in Congress.

“As chairman of the party, it is in the platform,” he said. “We will support it and if members of Congress introduce the bill, then we will be the advocates for that legislation. Personally, I do not like messing around with the Constitution.”

And in a November interview with National Public Radio, Steele was asked how he would bring together different strands within the Republican Party, including groups such as Log Cabin Republicans and GOP opponents of Proposition 8.

Steele responded that he would “be taking a lot of Maalox and a lot of Excedrin.” Steele also said that in developing a new voice for the Republican Party, he would be “addressing the Log Cabins” and “recognizing fundamentally that despite the difference that we may have on some or all of these issues, there is a common thread that unites us to identify … as Republicans.”

But during his 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, Steele often spoke against same-sex marriage.

At a gathering of religious leaders at Hope Christian Church in Lantham, Md., Steele said that marriage is a covenant exclusively for one man, one woman and God.

“Marriage is not a purely human institution,” he said, according to a 2006 Baltimore Examiner report.
“Marriage defines not only the relationship between a man and a woman but also their journey through life. They should not be brow-beaten into thinking something that goes counter to what the people in the community aspire to.”

In 2005, he also appeared at a rally before the Maryland State House, according to the Baltimore Sun, where 1,000 people came to support a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. The ban ultimately died in the state legislature.

“We are here to affirm that marriage is only between a man and a woman,” Steele was quoted as telling the crowd. “We need to make it clear where Maryland stands.

Patrick Sammon, a former president of Log Cabin Republicans, said he was “delighted” that Steele was elected as chair because “he’s an inclusive leader who will bring new energy and a new vision to the GOP at a critical time.”

“After two straight election defeats, it was clear that more of the same was not the answer, and I think it’s clear members of the Republican National Committee understood that fact,” Sammon said. “I think that Michael Steele understands that you win elections by addition not subtraction.”

Bob Kabel, the gay chair of the D.C. Republican Party, said Steele was “exactly the right person for the time” for the GOP.

“He is the most open-minded, most welcoming of all the candidates,” Kabel said. “He will meet with Log Cabin Republicans. He will meet with any group … and welcome their ideas and also be inclusive as far as working toward our common goal.”

As chair of the local party organization, Kabel was able to cast ballots in the RNC chair election.
Kabel said he voted for Steele in each of the six rounds of voting.

Kabel, who’s known Steele for 10 years, called himself one of Steele’s “first supporters.”

But Jon Hoadley, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, said Friday in a statement that he was concerned about how Steele often encouraged his party to take anti-gay positions.

“We should carefully consider his record as the Republican Party moves forward,” Hoadley said.
“Each time that he has promised voters a new tone in politics, he has also taken steps to solidify the anti-LGBT positions of his own party.”

Kate Runyon, executive director of Equality Maryland, said Steele as lieutenant governor of Maryland was “not directly supportive of LGBT rights, per se,” but his personal opposition to the FMA was a “positive” aspect to his record.

“I guess if he’s going to stand strong with not tampering with the Constitution, that would be a positive change from the Republican Party,” she said. “I would hope, though, that he over time would see the importance of the value of equal rights for all people.”

Sammon said that while Log Cabin doesn’t agree with Steele on every issue, the organization looked forward “to working with him to rebuild the party.”

Sammon said he “absolutely” believed Log Cabin would be able to make inroads with the Republican Party with Steele as chair.

Log Cabin didn’t endorse a candidate in the race for RNC chair. Sammon said that was because Log Cabin “wanted to be in position to work with whoever was elected chairman and we didn’t think that an endorsement was going to be helpful to doing that.”

(by Chris Johnson)

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