Author Topic: The End of GOProud  (Read 978 times)

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The End of GOProud
« on: June 08, 2014, 09:11:17 pm »
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/06/07/The-End-of-GOProud



 by Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron 8 Jun 2014, 9:17 AM PDT

When we founded GOProud in 2009 people thought we were nuts.  We wanted to provide a strong voice for gay conservatives and their conservative allies. We had this crazy idea that you could have a group that represented gay and straight people that was authentically conservative. We had this crazy idea that maybe there was room for one gay group that would talk about the issues that REALLY impact gay Americans--jobs, the economy, taxes, retirement security, and healthcare--and do some from a strongly conservative place.

We set out to challenge conventional wisdom and show the world that all gays aren’t left-wing liberals AND all conservatives aren’t anti-gay homophobes.

We also set out to do it our way.

We learned a lot from a lot of people over our four years at GOProud, but one of the most important lessons we learned was from our late friend and ally Andrew Breitbart. Andrew was a conservative trail-blazer who preached the importance of not ignoring pop culture, Andrew wanted to take the conservative fight to every corner of this country and every medium. Andrew also taught us another valuable lesson. For most of our time in politics were constantly told “you can’t say that,” “you can’t do that,” “you might offend someone,” “what will people think,” and “that’s not the way we do things.” Then along came Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart did it his way--loud, fearless, and in your face.  He inspired people like us to forget all of the old rules in politics--speak your mind, fight like hell and don’t waste one second worrying about what other people think about you.

And that is exactly what we did and it is exactly why we were so successful.

There are those who criticized us for being "too controversial"--the truth is the success of GOProud was premised on controversy. Indeed, the very idea of GOProud--a group of gay conservatives and their conservative allies--was controversial.

Like our friend Andrew, and like our friend and ally Ann Coulter, we understood that fighting the conventional wisdom and speaking your truth will always ruffle feathers. We are proud, that over the years, we ruffled a lot of feathers on the left and the right.

Nearly everything we did was innovative and pushed the envelope, and there is a ton of evidence of our success. For instance, one of the first things we did was to champion a proposed concealed carry reciprocity amendment to the infamous federal hate crimes bill in 2009. We said that if you truly want to prevent people from becoming victims of violent crime, then allow them to lawfully defend themselves!

The gay-left was relentless in their attacks on us. We had the audacity to embrace a word that they used as a derogatory term for gay conservatives--‘Homocon.’ That’s what we named our signature annual event, and then liberal heads exploded when we asked Ann to headline our first ‘Homocon’ in New York in 2010.

Later that year, we made history as the first national gay organization to run a television ad against Democrats. Our ad embraced pop culture by parodying ‘The Real Housewives" television show, and we ran it on Bravo and Lifetime to target gay and women voters. Top Washington consultants poo-pooed our strategy, then they were silenced when "The Real Democrats of Washington" ad was rated the best of the 2010 election cycle by Frank Luntz’s focus group on the Hannity Show.

Our 2012 "Homocon" event was at the GOP Convention in Tampa. Did we host a traditional convention reception with wine and cheese and white table clothes? No. In true GOProud style, we rented out the largest gay nightclub in town and our 900+ guests danced the night away as male and female go-go dancers fired off confetti cannons! We showed the country that conservatives are hip and fun!

The most famous of our successes was the “controversy” surrounding GOProud’s sponsorship at CPAC. Over the 3 1/2 years that issue raged, we made many many friends in the conservative movement, Andrew being one of them. Those relationships, from across the movement, confirmed for us that the work we did made an very important contribution toward building a stronger, modern conservative movement that is culturally diverse and connected.

This week the news broke that the new leadership is closing GOProud. We are incredibly proud of the work we did in our four years at GOProud and incredibly honored to have gotten to work side-by-side with so many amazing friends and allies within the conservative movement. For us, the end of GOProud is certainly bittersweet. But the end of the entity is not the end of the mission, nor is it the end of the work that gay and straight conservatives will continue to do to build a stronger movement and a better country.

Chris Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia are the founders of GOProud, formerly a national organization for gay conservatives and their allies.
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Oceander

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2014, 10:08:01 pm »
Why is GOProud being disbanded?

Offline Chieftain

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2014, 10:09:46 pm »
Why is GOProud being disbanded?

Queer peer pressure??

 :smokin:

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2014, 10:10:54 pm »
Queer peer pressure??

 :smokin:

from whom?   :smokin:

Offline Atomic Cow

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2014, 10:15:30 pm »
Good riddance.

Their goal was either to destroy the GOP from within, or move it more to the left, which is the same thing.
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Oceander

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #5 on: June 08, 2014, 10:19:15 pm »
The news item from the GOProud website puts a little more context into things:

Quote
GOProud reacts to claims it is "shutting down for good."

June 2, 2014

(Washington DC) Today, GOProud– a national organization of gay and straight Americans seeking to promote freedom by supporting free markets, limited government and respect for individual rights –made the following statement in response to a recent article that was published about GOProud “shutting down for good:”

“The truth is, GOProud has had some preliminary discussions about rebranding.  That is, changing our name.  As with any organization- when new challenges arise, we react with necessary adjustments.”  Said Matthew Bechstein, Executive Director of GOProud. 

“There have been concerns among our members and investors, about whether or not we can continue to grow and be effective without severing ourselves from past controversies.  Nonetheless, at this point nothing has been decided.  We are still discussing all the possibilities, and would be months away from instituting any real changes.

“The fact is, in order to continue promoting the conservative principles upon which this organization was founded, change is needed.  One of the changes under discussion is a switch to a different legal type of organization- basic paperwork that requires dissolution and immediate subsequent reorganization.  Technically, as some argue, this would be a legal “closure.”  But if it were to actually happen, it would only be momentary and certainly not the end of our organization.  Rather, I would see it as progress- making the necessary adjustments that allow us to fulfill our goals.”

“Let me be clear, no matter what happens, our grassroots infrastructure, and our daily activism will continue throughout any possible transition.  We do not plan to stop working.

“What has made this organization strong in the past is the support and devotion of our membership, I don’t expect that to waiver in the future.  We are a family, and families stick together through periods of change.”  Concluded Bechstein.

Offline Luis Gonzalez

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #6 on: June 08, 2014, 10:30:12 pm »
Good riddance.

Their goal was either to destroy the GOP from within, or move it more to the left, which is the same thing.

So, what you're saying is that you can't be gay and conservative, or a Republican... is that about right?
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, i have others." - Groucho Marx

Offline Chieftain

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #7 on: June 08, 2014, 10:45:14 pm »

Offline truth_seeker

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #8 on: June 08, 2014, 10:52:20 pm »
Good riddance.

Their goal was either to destroy the GOP from within, or move it more to the left, which is the same thing.
Have you heard of the Log Cabin Republicans? They date to the Reagan years.

My Mother was in a Republican Women's group. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians have Republican groups.

Do you oppose Republicans being inclusive enough to have groups , and to win elections?

Or are you content to cling to a shrinking demographic, and continue losing ground?
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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2014, 11:10:19 pm »
Have you heard of the Log Cabin Republicans? They date to the Reagan years.

My Mother was in a Republican Women's group. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians have Republican groups.

Do you oppose Republicans being inclusive enough to have groups , and to win elections?

Or are you content to cling to a shrinking demographic, and continue losing ground?


To cite a quotation that, in this context, simply reeks of irony (on multiple levels):

"All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer."

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #10 on: June 08, 2014, 11:13:39 pm »
Luis wrote (regarding something Atomic Cow posted):
[[ So, what you're saying is that you can't be gay and conservative, or a Republican... is that about right? ]]

Well, I'd have to respond...."yes, that's about right".

One simply isn't going to find many homosexual conservatives.

There may indeed be a few -- but I'll reckon many that are, don't wear their sexual orientation on their sleeves for all to see.

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #11 on: June 08, 2014, 11:15:03 pm »
Luis wrote (regarding something Atomic Cow posted):
[[ So, what you're saying is that you can't be gay and conservative, or a Republican... is that about right? ]]

Well, I'd have to respond...."yes, that's about right".

One simply isn't going to find many homosexual conservatives.

There may indeed be a few -- but I'll reckon many that are, don't wear their sexual orientation on their sleeves for all to see.

Diogenes are you?  You've searched high and low and haven't found any?  Or are you just letting your ideological undies show?

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #12 on: June 08, 2014, 11:15:25 pm »

To cite a quotation that, in this context, simply reeks of irony (on multiple levels):

"All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer."

The context used in that quote is describing an 'idiosyncrasy', or other acts of strangeness.   Nothing to do with sexual orientation.

But I get the multiple level irony.   LOL!
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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2014, 11:17:37 pm »
The context used in that quote is describing an 'idiosyncrasy', or other acts of strangeness.   Nothing to do with sexual orientation.

But I get the multiple level irony.   LOL!

exactly.  "queer" didn't always have the poverty of meaning to which it's been reduced these days.

Offline Carling

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #14 on: June 09, 2014, 01:24:38 am »
The far right social conservatives still think they can win this societal battle.  I don't understand why, but for some reason the far right isn't for limited-government when it comes to imposing social norms by law.
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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2014, 01:27:55 am »
The far right social conservatives still think they can win this societal battle.  I don't understand why, but for some reason the far right isn't for limited-government when it comes to imposing social norms by law.

They don't necessarily expect the law to be enforced/changed...in favor of their personal ideology, as much as they want their leaders to be of that creed and conviction.

For some reason, they think a moral high ground translates to winning elections.


.....in this current culture, btw.    :whistle:
"It aint what you don't know that kills you.  It's what you know that aint so!" ...Theodore Sturgeon

"Journalism is about covering the news.  With a pillow.  Until it stops moving."    - David Burge (Iowahawk)

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living" F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #16 on: June 09, 2014, 01:38:38 am »
They don't necessarily expect the law to be enforced/changed...in favor of their personal ideology, as much as they want their leaders to be of that creed and conviction.

For some reason, they think a moral high ground translates to winning elections.


.....in this current culture, btw.    :whistle:

What moral high ground?  Making "reparative therapy" (aka gay conversion therapy) enforceable public policy is moral?  Using the overwhelming force of the federal government to meddle in areas - marriage, for example - that it does not have the Constitutional power to touch is moral?

They don't expect the law to be enforced?  So why are they so upset about Obama's choice to not enforce certain laws he doesn't like?  And if it's really not that important to them, then why make it a plank in their political platform?

As far as I'm concerned, that's not very moral.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 01:40:21 am by Oceander »

Offline Luis Gonzalez

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #17 on: June 10, 2014, 01:08:47 pm »
Luis wrote (regarding something Atomic Cow posted):
[[ So, what you're saying is that you can't be gay and conservative, or a Republican... is that about right? ]]

Well, I'd have to respond...."yes, that's about right".

One simply isn't going to find many homosexual conservatives.

There may indeed be a few -- but I'll reckon many that are, don't wear their sexual orientation on their sleeves for all to see.

So, someone's sexual orientation makes them incapable of understanding and supporting sound fiscal policies, what constitutes a foreign policy, the concepts of Federalism and State's rights?

So... can an atheist be a conservative?
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, i have others." - Groucho Marx

Offline Luis Gonzalez

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Re: The End of GOProud
« Reply #18 on: June 10, 2014, 01:10:40 pm »
They don't necessarily expect the law to be enforced/changed...in favor of their personal ideology, as much as they want their leaders to be of that creed and conviction.

For some reason, they think a moral high ground translates to winning elections.


.....in this current culture, btw.    :whistle:

One could easily make the argument that government is inherently immoral, so looking to government for mortal leadership is rather inefficient.
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, i have others." - Groucho Marx