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Log Cabin Republicans Stoop
to New Low in Gore-Bashing

Gay GOP Group Attempts Linking Gore to God Hates Fags

HRC: Republican Candidates Nationwide are Gay-Baiting

Compiled By GayToday

Al Gore (right) with Fred Phelps (left) in a photo published on the God Hates Fags Web site

Washington,D.C.--In a desperate attempt to smear Vice President Al Gore, the Log Cabin Republicans have stooped to a new low by aligning themselves with the propaganda mill of the virulently anti-gay Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church.

Within the past few weeks, Phelp's website, www.godhatesfags.com has posted a link called: Al Gore Information. The link connects to an article and shows pictures of members of the Phelps family posing with the Gores in the 1980s.

"Instead of focusing on Phelps, the Log Cabin Republicans should be taking on their party leaders for the unprecedented gay-baiting by Republican candidates in political races across the country," said David Smith, Human Rights Campaign Communications Director.

The Log Cabin Republicans released a press statement yesterday highlighting Phelp's propaganda and questioning the Vice President's commitment to equality for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community because, among other things, Phelps claims to have received invitations to the last two Clinton Administration inaugural events.

"Al Gore's got a lot of explaining to do," said Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans.

Though Westboro Baptist Church was incorporated in 1967, the group did not stage its first anti-gay protest until 1991. According to their Web site, they have staged "20,000" protests across the nation and around the world since then. At the funeral of gay murder victim Matthew Shepard, they held up signs reading "No Fags in Heaven" and "God Hates Fags."

Anyone familiar with Democratic politics in Kansas knows that Fred Phelps Sr. was a political operative in the state and ran for governor in 1990, 1994 and as recently as 1998.

In 1998, he received 15 percent of the vote in the primary. He also ran for U.S. Senate in 1992. As a result, Phelps' name would likely be on all Democratic mailing lists for Kansas.

Newspapers commonly report funny mishaps with political mailing lists where individuals receive fundraising letters or invitations signed by their opponents.

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Related Sites:
God Hates Fags: Al Gore Page

Human Rights Campaign

Log Cabin Republicans

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The Anti-Defamation League published a report in September 2000 on Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. According to ADL, Westboro Baptist fliers emphasize the race or religion of these individuals, suggesting that Westboro Baptist members' biases extend beyond their abhorrence of homosexuality.

"What appears to be anti-gay rhetoric is often a vehicle for Westboro Baptist Church's anti-Semitism, hatred of other Christians, and even racism, though in the 1980s Fred Phelps received awards from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Bonner Springs branch of the NAACP for his work on behalf of Black clients."

To give an understanding of the tone of the Phelps group's rhetoric, including Gore-bashing, the following is taken from a flier posted on their website about the bombing of the USS Cole:

"October 16, 2000 How many of these 17 dead sailors were filthy dykes and fags? Clinton/Gore perverts have filled our military with blasphemous fag beasts"

Human Rights Campaign research indicates, say its officials, that the Vice President has had no interaction with this hate group since it began its anti-gay hysteria. "Everything the Vice President has said in support of equality for members of the gay and lesbian community stands in direct contrast to the Rev. Phelps' hate-filled messages."

The Human Rights Campaign's David Smith said:

"Instead of focusing on Phelps' anti-gay propaganda, the Log Cabin Republicans should be try to combat the unprecedented gay-baiting by Republicans that is going on in political races across in the country, including: on behalf of Republican Senate candidates, George Allen in Virginia and Conrad Burns in Montana; and Republican House candidates, Jim Rogan in California, Anne Northrup in Kentucky and Derek Smith in Utah. Now, that is an issue that should be of concern to gay Republicans."