Former RNC Chair To GOP: Same-Sex Marriage Is A Conservative Value

var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};Ken Mehlman, the former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman who propelled George W. Bush to re-election, is telling the GOP that same-sex marriage equality is consistent with conservative values. And he’s apparently putting his money where his mouth is.

Mehlman, who was Bush’s field director in 2000 and then drove anti-gay Republicans to the polls in 2004 by ensuring gay marriage bans were on the ballots in many states, himself came out as gay just two years ago and has been attempting to right what many in the LGBT community still see as his unforgivable sin.

WATCH: Mehlman: How Can GOPs Reach Out To Gays When Their Policies Restrict LGBT Rights?

Preferring to work behind the scenes, Mehlman was instrumental in helping same-sex marriage become law in New York, where he now makes his home, and lobbied for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

The 46-year old former Bush and GOP strategist is the founder of Project Right Side, which bills itself as a “non-profit providing research and analysis to improve the political climate for gay and lesbian issues across the political spectrum.”

“Some misperceive the issue of marriage equality as exclusively progressive,” Mehlman writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Tuesday evening. “Yet what could be more conservative than support for more freedom and less government? And what freedom is more basic than the right to marry the person you love? Smaller, less intrusive government surely includes an individual deciding whom to marry. Allowing civil marriage for same-sex couples will cultivate community stability, encourage fidelity and commitment, and foster family values.”

Mehlman’s WSJ op-ed, “Making the Same-Sex Case,” (subscription) touts polling data that most Democrats, progressives, and LGBT people are familiar with, including, “A majority of Americans favor civil marriage for same-sex couples,” the “marriage-equality issue is more important to supporters than to opponents,” a “majority of independents favor marriage equality,” and “Republicans are increasingly supportive of legal protections for gay Americans.”

Like most GOP strategists, Mehlman attributes this month’s widespread GOP losses to “a failure to embrace some of America’s fastest-growing constituencies” — an utterly insincere perception that “America’s fastest-growing constituencies” see as nothing more than strategy. Hispanics and the LGBT community are absolutely not going to be won over by GOP “outreach” or “messaging.”

But unlike many in the GOP, Mehlman offers reasons why embracing minorities, like the LGBT community, is the right thing to do. Which is far different than any Republican has done post-election. Mehlman admitted, since coming out, “one of the things I’ve learned is how many people were harmed by the campaigns in which I was involved.”

Mehlman offers his GOP friends important words, the same ones we’ve been saying for years:

Same-sex couples today lack the estate-tax protections, Social Security spousal benefits, and joint-filing options available to heterosexual couples. This can mean the difference between staying in the family home or losing it when a partner dies. In 29 states, individuals can be fired based on their sexual orientation. Conservatives believe that individuals should be judged at work based on performance, so shouldn’t we fix this?

Conservatives don’t need to change core convictions to embrace the growing support for equal rights for gay Americans. It is sufficient to recognize the inherent conservatism in citizens’ desire to marry, to be judged on their work, and not to be singled out for higher taxes or bullying at school. These objectives can be achieved while also protecting religious liberty, as demonstrated by states enacting civil marriage with exemptions for religious institutions.

Mehlman isn’t telling the GOP anything new. But that he — the highest ranking Republican Party official to come out as gay — is the messenger hopefully will allow some on the right to actually hear, and accept, his call for equality.

 

Related:

Romney Wanted Gay Former RNC Chairman To Lead Campaign Claims Politico

On Our Radar – Out On The Street: LGBT Friends In High Places.

Mehlman “wasn’t ready to admit to anyone that he was a supporter of gay rights”