On The End Of GOProud

Tim Mak writes at the Daily Beast:

Reports began trickling out in the press this week that GOProud had decided to close up shop. In truth, the original organization functionally folded a year ago, The Daily Beast has learned. And the attempts to reboot GOProud are being actively mocked by the men who founded the group. The decline of GOProud is a prime example of what happens to an organization that rises to prominence through confrontation—and never bothers to do the grunt work needed to sustain the outfit, once the outrage dies down. It was feisty and controversial—a Tea Party, of sorts, to the more establishment-minded Log Cabin Republicans. It was an organization running on a shoestring budget that elbowed its way into the conservative conversation. [snip] For many supporters of GOProud, being called a “troll” was a badge of honor. Their goal from the start was to plant a flag in the ground: There are gay conservatives, and here we are. Others, even those sympathetic to the group, accused it of being a vanity project for its cofounders, Christopher Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia, a platform for the two to pick fights.

Nailed it. Read the full piece. (Tipped by JMG reader Robin)

HomoQuotable - Jimmy LaSalvia

"Today, I joined the ranks of unaffiliated voters. I am every bit as conservative as I’ve always been, but I just can’t bring myself to carry the Republican label any longer. You see, I just don’t agree with the big-government ‘conservatives’ who run the party now. The other reason I am leaving is the tolerance of bigotry in the GOP. The current leadership lacks the courage to stand up to it – I’m not sure they ever will. I have worked hard to help to create an atmosphere on the right where conservatives can openly support gay Americans and even support same-sex marriage. In that effort, we have won, but there is more work to do to root out the anti-gay and other forms of bigotry in the party. So, now I feel huge sense of freedom. I am an independent conservative. That sounds much better than ‘gay Republican.’" - Former GOProud president Jimmy LaSalvia, writing on his blog. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Teabagistan Vs GOProud

"Jimmy LaSalvia of or formerly of GOProud is on Facebook letting everyone know Ken Cuccinelli is the 2013 equivalent of David Duke. Because two dudes not being able to buy a china pattern together is the same as not being able to vote, being forced to use separate bathrooms, and being attacked by fire hoses and dogs in the streets. His GOProud partner, Chris Barron went on twitter to declare he voted in Virginia for the Democrat, Terry McAuliffe. When I have pointed out before that GOProud really isn’t a part of the Republican coalition, I was met with calls of homophobia. But they have never been a part of the coalition. It’s worth remembering that today the founders of GOProud equate a small government conservative to a Grand Dragon of the KKK because his Christian faith is, in their mind, equivalent to the Klan. It’s also worth pointing out that folks affiliated with this group have routinely assailed conservatives for their purity tests — conservatives who routinely vote in the general election for the Republican; an action they themselves won’t do." - Erick Erickson, writing for Red State.

Tweet Of The Day - Jimmy LaSalvia

Does he think we forgot that GOProud endorsed Romney?

GOProud To Capital One: Fire Alec Baldwin

Led by former GOProud head Jimmy LaSalvia, two dozen wingnuts outfits are calling on Capital One to fire Alec Baldwin for "homophobic speech."

“We urge all Americans to ask themselves, ‘What’s in your wallet?’ We hope they will reject Alec Baldwin’s homophobia by cutting up those Capital One cards in their wallets,” said gay conservative strategist and GOProud co-founder Jimmy LaSalvia of RightWingNews.com.

Joining LaSalvia in spearheading the effort with his colleague at RightWingNews.com, John Hawkins. LaSalvia and Hawkins issued an open letter signed by several prominent conservatives to Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank. The group has also launched an online petition.

“It's still a free country and Alec Baldwin can do as much gay bashing as he likes on Twitter, but it's hard to understand why Capital One would choose to publicly condone his homophobia by keeping Baldwin on as its spokesman,” said Hawkins. “If Capital One is not going to do the right thing, then Capital One doesn’t deserve our business.”

Other homocons signing the letter are Log Cabin head Gregory Angelo, fired Romney advisor Richard Grenell, and Gay Patriot blogger Bruce Carroll.

REMINDER: LaSalvia doesn't mind anti-gay epithets when they come from HIM.  Here's a blast from the past.

ACLU Hires Jimmy LaSalvia

Homocon Jimmy LaSalvia has landed a new gig after leaving GOProud earlier this year.

As part of the broad-based effort to involve conservatives in the movement to encourage the freedom to marry, the ACLU has hired conservative strategist Jimmy LaSalvia. LaSalvia is the founder and former executive director of GOProud and will work with the ACLU to do outreach to gay conservatives, particularly within the Tea Party. "The Republican party stands for freedom, for limited government intrusion in our personal lives and for freedom," said Schmidt. "The issue of marriage equality is the Republican Party’s best chance to stand on the right side of history, create a meaningful legacy of fairness, and maintain relevance with young voters. I am proud to help the ACLU make all couples equal in the eyes of the law in all 50 states."

We can only presume that the ACLU was unaware of LaSalvia's history of promoting faked anti-gay hate crimes that he blamed on the gay left.

Homocon Tweet Of The Day

Wanna Be Head Of GOProud?

They're taking applications.

After 4 years as GOProud's full-time executive director, GOProud Co-Founder Jimmy LaSalvia announced that he will leave that position at the end of June 2013. GOProud's Board of Directors has begun a search for a new executive director. Those interested in applying for the position should send their resume, a cover letter, and a writing sample to Lisa De Pasquale, Board Chair, at info@goproud.org.

Please list your qualifications. Be specific, cite examples, show your work.

GOProud Leaders Step Down

Co-founders Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron are stepping down as the leaders of GOProud, but claim that the homocon group will go on and thrive without them at the helm.  Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed:

"It's time. We don't want it to get stale," LaSalvia said, who along with Barron founded GOProud four years ago as a more conservative, grassroots alternative to the Log Cabin Republicans. "The reason why GOProud has been so successful is because we have brought new ideas and new energy to the arena. At some point, what was the outside-the-box thinking all of the sudden becomes the box, and so now, that's the way that GOProud does things. It's our box. It seems crazy to everyone else, but, for us, it's like standard operating procedure. It's time for someone else to come in and shake things up," Barron added.

Both are remaining on GOProud's board of directors. The group is seeking a new executive director. I'm betting that without the regular news-making asshattery from LaSalvia and Barron, GOProud will just fade away. Another upside: fewer faked hate crimes.

NY Post Slams Gay Left

Noting the criticism of Sen. Rob Portman's reversal on marriage from the left, the New York Post today published an editorial titled "When Yes Isn't Enough."

Never mind that embracing gay marriage in the GOP carries a risk while it’s completely safe for a Democrat. Or that another prominent flip-flopper on the issue — Barack Obama — also invoked personal experience (conversations with his daughters about friends with same-sex parents). Or that a good part of the effort to persuade opponents to shift has been based on the slogan, “We are your children.” Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of the conservative gay-rights group GOProud, explains the attacks on Portman this way: “It just goes to show that the gay left hates conservatives no matter what their position on marriage.” We’ll leave it at this: What kind of activist asks people to have a change of heart, and then berates them when they do?

The Post and LaSalvia conveniently fail to note that Portman's support also came with a call for the Supreme Court to "stay out" of marriage equality.  Since LaSalvia is a Tenther, we presume that he feels the same way.

Jimmy LaSalvia Quote Headlines HuffPo

Today's front page headline at Huffington Post comes from GOProud's Jimmy LaSalvia, who appeared at a well-attended CPAC panel titled “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the Coalition, Bringing Tolerance Out of the Closet.”  Michelangelo Signorile reports:

“I’m embarrassed to call myself a Republican right now,” Jimmy LaSaliva, co-founder and president of the gay conservative group GOProud, said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md. At the packed panel, attended by younger CPAC members, including quite a few conservative gays and lesbians, conservative commentators and activists on the panel who support marriage equality, including CNN pundit Margaret Hoover and Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, made the case for gay marriage as conservative value.

Asked why GOProud endorsed candidates like Mitt Romney, who supported an constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, said that was old news. “Mitt Romney is as relevant as Mike Dukakis is now,” he said. “So let’s not talk about the past. I know that it’s embarrassing to call yourself a Republican right now. I’m embarrassed to call myself a Republican right now. The question is, 'Are we going to be able to build new coalition that can win, that includes gay people, or not? Are they going to become the Dixiecrats or are they gong to go on and win elections?'”

Hit the second link for an audio clip of Signorile's interview with LaSalvia.

UPDATE: Here are LaSalvia's opening remarks at the panel.

Jimmy LaSalvia At CPAC

NOTE: GOProud remains banned from sponsoring or attending CPAC as a group, but Jimmy LaSalvia did wrangle an invite to sit on a panel from a homocon-friendly organization.  His presence has some attendees pulling out their hairplugs, so there is that.

Homocon Tweet Of The Day

Jimmy LaSalvia five months ago:  "GOProud is the first and only organization representing gay Americans to endorse Governor Romney’s Presidential bid. We need a president with the experience and expertise to turn the economy around. Someone who knows how free markets work. Mitt Romney is that candidate." (Tipped by JMG reader TeeJay)

Submitted Without Comment

MSNBC Host Chris Hayes: I Won't Attend CPAC If Ban On GOProud Stands

"I wrote to [CPAC head] Al Cardenas who runs the ACU in a letter yesterday and asked whether the policy [not allowing GOProud to participate] is still in effect. If it isn't, I told him, I'm psyched to go and if it is, well, I'll wait until it changes, which is, really, just a matter of time.

"Now I should be clear, GOProud is not an organization I share much with ideologically, or even, truth be told, like all that much. They come out of the [Andrew] Breitbart wing of the conservative movement that seems to relish nothing more than pissing off liberals.

"GOProud is not really the point. The point is the principle, which is: it's not OK to ban organizations for reasons of pure bigotry. But the ACU does this because there's a powerful constituency within conservatism that won't have it any other way. It may not even be a majority of conservatives at this point, as a number of conservatives have said to me, but the bigots have enough juice that they call the shots." - MSNBC host Chris Hayes, saying he'll turn down his CPAC invite if the ban on GOProud stands. (Via Chris Geidner)

GOProud At The Anti-Abortion March

GOProud Haz The Fake Outrage

Shortly after Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner reported this morning on GOProud's feeble half-change of heart on same-sex marriage, another Buzzfeed staffer fired out the above tweets, which he almost immediately deleted. But that wasn't good enough for Chris Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia, who spent the day angrily forwarding screenshots to everybody in Teabagistan.  The "story" has already been picked up by Daily Caller, Instapundit, Pajamas Media, and Michelle Malkin's Twitchy.  What a terrible, horrible outrage that somebody said something nasty to GOProud on the Twitters!11!!

Come with me into the time machine:

There are dozens of more examples, of course.

GOProud: We Now Support Marriage

Buzzfeed reporter Chris Geidner has a "major" announcement from GOProud.

After declining to take a position on the issue for years, GOProud, the group for gay conservatives, told BuzzFeed Friday it is coming out in support of same-sex marriage equality. "We support same-sex marriage, civil marriage," GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia said. The move follows a decision by the GOProud board earlier this month to expand the group's mission to include state-level work. It also comes after, LaSalvia noted, the re-election of a president who supports same-sex couples' marriage rights, while some in the Republican Party are urging their party to reassess their position on the issue.

But when marriage equality comes at the hands of "judicial activists" - GOProud is against that.

At the same time, the group is pushing strongly for a state-level, political efforts — not judicial decisions — and LaSalvia warned that "a sweeping decision" in the Supreme Court case challenging California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex couples' marriages "will create a backlash" — including the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment being "brought to the forefront again."

Here's a bit of GOProud's official position.

GOProud believes that stable, loving, committed relationships are the cornerstone of our society and should be protected and encouraged for all couples — including gay and lesbian couples. We believe that the decision about how to best do this is one that should be made at the state level and that these decisions are best made by the people directly or through their elected representatives — not by unelected judges.

Read GOProud's full press release.

RELATED: At the above-mentioned GOProud board meeting, openly heterosexual right-wing columnist Lisa De Pasquale was elected chairperson.

ALSO RELATED:  No word yet on whether GOProud will continue their practice of faking anti-gay hate crimes.

Uh, Wut?

Homocon Tweet Of The Day