Amid spontaneous
chants of "Four more years!" California governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared Thursday night at a Los
Angeles fund-raiser for the California chapter of the
gay political group Log Cabin Republicans. "I love
being here with my friends," the governor said in a
brief speech that emphasized his support for "the
values of tolerance, understanding, respect, equality, and inclusion."
Schwarzenegger, who was elected in a special
recall election in 2003, is campaigning for reelection
against Democratic challenger Phil Angelides, the
two-term state treasurer. "I got 80% of the votes from you
[gay Republicans] for that [election]," the governor
noted. "The other 20% never forgave me for my movie
Hercules in NewYork."
Contrary to some press reports, however, none of
the money raised on Thursday went to Schwarzenegger's
campaign. The event raised money for Log Cabin and its
related 501(c)3 arm, the Liberty Education Forum.
The governor's upbeat speech was punctuated with
humor and peppered with broad but firm assertions of
Schwarzenegger's backing of LGBT equality. "We need to
address problems rather than attacking people," he
said, referring to antigay political tactics by conservative
members of his own party. "What we need is a sense of
tolerance that is stronger, not weaker."
Not mentioned by the governor--or any
other speaker to take to the podium at the event,
dubbed "The Courage to Lead"--was Schwarzenegger's
2005 veto of a bill passed by the state legislature that
would have established marriage equality in
California. Nor did the governor trumpet the many
pro-gay bills he has signed into law since taking office or
discuss pending legislation that would require the state's
public schools to include gay historical figures in
their curricula.
Whatever his record so far, the governor needs
to know gay Republicans support him, said Log Cabin's
national president, Patrick Guerriero. "It's likely
this man is going to be reelected and have a heavy
impact on the future of equality for LGBT citizens,"
Guerriero told TheAdvocate. "In light of that, LGBT Californians
must continue their dialogue with the governor."
Schwarzenegger was joined at the
event--held at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel,
just steps from Graumann's Chinese Theater and the Walk of
Fame--by his wife, Maria Shriver. California's
first lady, a lifelong Democrat, often forgoes
appearances at partisan fund-raisers. "She goes to very
few of these events," Schwarzenegger said, "but when I told
her it was the Log Cabin Republicans, she said, 'I
love those Republicans--I'm coming.'"
Log Cabin California leader Jim Arnone presented
Schwarzenegger with the group's President Ronald
Reagan Award. Reagan, the other California governor
who began his career as an actor, helped inspire the
formation of the Log Cabin Republicans in 1978, when a
group of gay Republicans urged the recent ex-governor
to speak out against the Briggs initiative, a ballot
measure that would have barred gays from teaching
in the state's public schools. Reagan's
opposition was instrumental in the measure's defeat.
Guerriero addressed the crowd briefly, saying he
had thrown out his prepared speech "a few minutes
ago," and instead spoke about maintaining integrity in
the face of attacks "from both the far right and the
far left."
"We have values and we stick by them," said
Guerriero, who will leave his Log Cabin post in
September. "We do have work to do to educate our
fellow Republicans, but we have to do it with integrity and
dignity and class."
State Republican Party chairman Duf Sundheim,
who has been working to maintain support for the
governor from both gay and antigay party members,
appeared onstage to introduce the elected officials and
candidates in the room but made no personal remarks.
The last speaker of the evening was gay
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry.
"I've come out two times in my life," he said: the
first time telling his parents he's gay, the second
time on Thursday, accepting Log Cabin's American Visibility
Award as a proud Republican. "It's my fervent hope
that no one suggests electroshock therapy tonight."
When people ask why he's a Republican, Cherry
quipped, "I always say I was born in Orange County
[Calif.], so I was registered at birth." He added, "I
don't follow the established orthodoxy of any party. I
kind of like to think for myself."
Schwarzenegger did not remain for the award
presentation to Cherry but did spend more than an hour
at the event, including an appearance at a VIP
reception with Shriver. Dressed in a fashionable, mid-length
black dress with a dramatic belt and looking quite at
home in the mostly gay male crowd, Shriver went from
table to table before her husband's speech,
introducing herself. Both she and the governor remained for
some time after his speech, shaking hands, signing
programs, and posing for photos.
Once the governor departed, so did a ragtag band
of protesters outside the hotel. The antigay
protesters were reportedly organized by the Campaign
for California Families, an offshoot organization backed by
Colorado-based activist James Dobson. The right-wing
preacher supports his Focus on the Family organization
largely with fund-raising campaigns that attack gay
Americans and their families. (The Advocate)
