CNN refuses to air gay Republican ad

Cable news giant CNN has informed the gay political group Log Cabin Republicans that it will not air its new television advertisement, which calls for inclusion of gays and their issues in the Republican Party platform. The ad is in response to the rejection of a Log Cabin "unity plank" by the party's platform committee last week and the adoption of language calling for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the outlawing of all legal recognition of gay relationships. While other cable and local broadcast outlets are airing the ad, CNN claimed that its images are "too controversial." "We are deeply disappointed that CNN has refused our voices the opportunity to be heard," said Log Cabin executive director Patrick Guerriero. "Last week we told the Republican Party that you cannot sugarcoat the vicious and mean-spirited platform. Today we want CNN to know that you cannot sugarcoat the politics of fear and intolerance that lead to hate." The 30-second commercial is being broadcast during the Republican National Convention in New York City and on cable stations nationwide. The ad begins with footage from President Ronald Reagan's 1992 speech at the Republican National Convention in Houston, in which he said, "Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears." The commercial offers a choice for the GOP: Follow President Reagan's lead by uniting Republicans on common beliefs or follow Jerry Falwell, Pat Buchanan, and Rick Santorum's lead by dividing the GOP with an intolerant social agenda based on fear and exclusion. The ad closes with images of the Reverend Fred Phelps holding a sign that reads "God hates fags" at the funeral of hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard.