eva young
Eva Young is President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with her cat, Kiddleleewink. You can also read her other blog here.
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March 14, 2005

From the Advocate:

The announcement of Solmonese's hiring brought praise not only from Democrats on the Hill but also from some of the most moderate Republicans. "Ensuring that every American is treated fairly and equally has no partisan boundaries, and I'm pleased that Joe is committed to working with Republicans as the new head of HRC," said Republican senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Added Republican Rob Simmons of Connecticut: "Since I've been in Congress, HRC has always displayed a long-standing commitment to bipartisanship. I have very little doubt that Joe will aggressively maintain this tradition, and I look forward to working with him."

It would be interesting to get Arlen Specter's take on Solmonese.

From Steve Miller's Culture Watch:

Update: Log Cabin put out a press release. At first, taking the headline at face value, I feared they were in fact sending a congratulatory message. But it's actually pretty snide:

The selection of an experienced Democratic activist will allow HRC to solidify and strengthen Democratic support for equality. As the leading voice for moderate and conservative gay Americans, Log Cabin recognizes our unique responsibility to make new allies in the Republican Party," said Log Cabin Political Director Chris Barron.

"Log Cabin is expanding its commitment to work with people in the Heartland, conservatives in red state America, and with people of faith. In addition, we are pursuing an aggressive legislative agenda that includes Social Security reform...."

Well, it's good that somebody is going to focus on something beyond solidifying MoveOn.org's support for gay equality!

Realistically Log Cabin Republicans doesn't have the budget or person power to be an effective lobbying organization. Historically they have always excelled at a high profile press strategy.

So I'm happy to see that moderate Republicans in congress are expressing an interest in working with Solmonese. I'd like to see HRC become a leaner and more effective organization. Far too much money is spent raising money for HRC - and this distracts from HRC's core mission.

As I said earlier, Solmonese should make it a point to attend Log Cabin Republicans upcoming convention in the Big Easy.