The Log Cabin Republicans are again attacking former GOP Senator Chuck Hagel over his “long history of anti-gay positions,” and have placed a full-page ad in today’s Washington Post. The group, in a press release, states:
The Washington Post ad addresses Chuck Hagel’s recent apology by stating, “Chuck Hagel’s Apology: Too Little, Too Late.†Hagel’s apology was submitted after his anti-gay remarks opposing the Ambassadorship of James Hormel for being “openly, aggressively, gay” surfaced in the media. In Hagel’s apology to Politico he said his comments did not reflect the “totality of [his] public record.”
However, in actuality, the “totality” of Hagel’s public record on gay issues is dismal:
- In 1996 Hagel said he supported the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law defining marriage as one man and one woman. He also supported a state constitutional amendment barring gays from marrying.
- In 1998 Hagel opposed the nomination of James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg, arguing that an “openly, aggressively gay” man should not be selected to represent the U.S.
- In 1999 Hagel opposed repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, saying, “the U.S. armed forces aren’t some social experiment.”
- In 2005, in reaction to a federal judge’s ruling that Nebraska’s voter-passed ban on same-sex marriage violated the constitutional rights of lesbians and gay men, Hagel opposed the decision saying, “I am hopeful the federal appeals court will recognize the rights of Nebraskans to determine their own laws governing marriage and reverse this decision.”
“At Chuck Hagel’s request, we looked into the ‘totality’ of his public record on gay rights, and it did nothing to assuage our concerns that his anti-gay record makes him the wrong choice to oversee the ongoing integration of gays and lesbians in the military,” stated Gregory T. Angelo, Interim Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. “Until his name surfaced as a potential nominee for Secretary of Defense, he has stood firmly and aggressively against not only gay marriage, but also against gay people in general. Log Cabin Republicans helped lead the charge to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is extremely invested in seeing that we don’t lose any ground due to a lack of sincere commitment to gay people and their families on the part of the incoming Defense Secretary.”
Today’s ad is Log Cabin’s second to condemn Hagel, following a December 27th advertisement in The New York Times.
No word on how the Log Cabin Republicans are paying for the ad, and there was great controversary over how they funded the last anti-Hagel ad.