From: mike@gordian.com (Michael A. Thomas)
Subject: Re: Okay, what makes a Gay or Lesbian turn Republican?
Organization: Gordian; Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 20:07:49 GMT

In article <1992Nov7.040108.14412@wam.umd.edu>, lovegod@wam.umd.edu (Donald Andrew Agarrat) writes:
> I think that it's something genetic.  There is the homosexual  
> gene and the Republican gene.  Surely one overpowers the other!
> 
> Seriously, what were the experiences that led you to being a  
> Republican?

  G*d, this is *so* inane and *so* presumptuous. Maybe stupid 
sophmoric questions are genetic too. I really think you need to
work on your condescending attitude. 
  On the off chance that this is not rhetorical, there are many
reasons why one might be gay and republican. Almost everybody
grows up in a family which has its tilt one way or the other.
This alone is probably the single largest reason why people
vote one way or the other: tradition, and comfortability with
what one has been taught growing up. This goes for the entire
political spectrum, IMHO. Being gay does not give an automatic
dose of introspection and politization, even though maybe it
ought to.
  Once in a while, some people do start thinking about politics 
and they get to look at the political scene. In America, there
really is only two parties that most folks look at: the Dems
and Repubs. The first mistake that everybody seems to make is
that they are monolithic and defined political philosophies 
and that all people within that whole think alike (you seem
to be part of that infantile view of politics). Nothing can
be further from the truth. Just as it is idiotic to label all
Dems as Teddy Kennedy womanizing boozers, it dishonest to
call all repubs Spawn of the Great Satan (Pat Robertson).
  When one does finally start looking beyond the actual
players and looking into the melange of philosophies one 
finds many (conflicting) things:

  Republicans:
  1) less government, but not sure why
  2) government with the greatest good in mind 
  3) government should stay out of peoples lives
  4) government should intervene to save us from ourselves
  
  Democrats:
  1) more government, the savior of all of man's problems
  2) government with the greatest good in mind
  3) government should stay out of some personal aspects of our lives
  4) government should intervene to save us from ourselves

There is actually very little of these (very simplified, admittedly)
that directly effect GLBO's. Our plight is involved with the "social"
or civil liberties stances of each party. In both parties the social
stances are typically divided into two parts:
  1) Authoritarian	(regardless of what the "authority" is)
  2) Liberal 		(in the classic sense)  

One can find instances of both types of person in each party but
the authoritarian wing of the republicans (aka the theocracy
scum like Robertson) have become especially loud and obnoxious
lately. They are our enemy, and must be defeated. 
  Back to the original question, the reason a thinking person
might be a republican is almost exclusively from the economic
standpoint: less government is a better thing. This aspect is
completely separate from the social aspect. Unfortunately, the
republicans and democrats are a package deal -- you cannot
separate politicians into their social and economic parts and
vote seperately on each part. 
  From this, one must weigh whether the bad parts overwhelm the
good parts and what the alternative (ie the Dems) is. In this
particular election, and this has been brewing for the last
12 years, the social fascists where given front stage and the
evil they represent is unequivocable. They have to be stopped
at all costs. There wasn't much weighing to be done.
  For myself, having grown up here in OC (republican central)
it is very difficult for me to think of voting for democrats.
Their economic philosophy (which I consider to basically be
the economics of looting) is reprehensible. Their social stances
are generally better, but *far* from optimal -- their complicity
with the WOD is a very good example. 
  Fortunately for me, I found the libertarians which are basically
socially tolerant and fiscally sane -- a combination which neither
party has embraced in a long, long, time. However, had I not found
the libs I would have most definitely voted against the republicans
(in fact, I did that when I didn't have the choice). Bill Clinton 
was my second choice in the presidential election.
  I just hope he delivers on the social promises of tolerance
and inclusion, and doesn't screw up the economy too bad.
-- 

		Michael Thomas	(mike@gordian.com)
	"I don't think Bambi Eyes will get you that flame thrower..."  
		-- Hobbes to Calvin
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