Tag: 2020 election

In the wake of the Log Cabin Republicans’ endorsement of Donald Trump for reelection, several prominent members of the organization have resigned, and they are not going quietly. The endorsement came in the form of an op-ed penned by LCR chair Robert Kabel and vice-chair Jill Homan for the Washington Post last Thursday. The duo cited Trump’s promise to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in ten years as well as an announced plan to end the criminalization of homosexuality around the world. Of course, they also touted his much-ballyhooed tax cuts and other economic initiatives like ‘opportunity zones’ they say have helped create new LGBTQ-owned businesses. But the Washington Post reports that former board member Jennifer Horn sent a letter to Kabel and Homan on Monday announcing her resignation. In the missive, she argued that Trump’s “regular verbal assaults against women, immigrants, elected members of Congress, party members who do not agree with him on policy or principle and his willingness to stoke racial anger and unrest in order to advance his own political ambitions all subvert the founding principles of our great nation.” She also made note of the Trump administration’s “efforts to roll back civil rights protections” through the Justice Department. Further demonstrating her opposition to Trump, Horn recently served as campaign manager for Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, who has announced he will challenge Trump in the Republican primaries. Additionally, Robert Turner, a former president of the DC chapter of Log Cabin Republicans, has also left the group. In a social media post, Turner called the endorsement “a step too far,” adding that it left him “sad.” Jordan Evans, the only openly transgender elected official in the GOP, wrote her own op-ed for The Advocate where she called out the Trump administration for “hollow words, fairweather friends and a seemingly endless number of cuts for us to endure.” Evans said in granting the endorsement, Log Cabin Republicans “turn a blinder to the plights and fears of our colleagues in the queer movement and embrace an administration that has consistently antagonized the LGBTQ+ community through an endless array of rollbacks and rule changes.” Evans listed numerous agencies where attacks on the LGBTQ community have occurred in the past two and a half years, including the Department of Defense, HUD, Health and Human Services, Education and more. Since taking office, Donald Trump and his administration have been disastrous for the LGBTQ community from initiating a ban on transgender military service members to allowing healthcare professionals to refuse to treat LGBTQ people and more. Trump was asked about his record on LGBTQ issues today, specifically in regard to his administration’s decision to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that says transgender Americans could be fired from their jobs simply because of their gender identity. The Donald immediately pointed to the Log Cabin endorsement (although he struggled to remember the group’s name) saying he’s “done very well with that community.” GLAAD took note of the comment and clapped back via Twitter pointing to 123 times LGBTQ people have been targeted since he took office. https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1163901936854339586 (sources: Washington Post,HRC, Advocate)