Bush Meets With Gay Republicans
By GLEN JOHNSON
.c The Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - George W. Bush met with a dozen gay Republicans Thursday
as he kept up his courting of support from outside his party's conservative
core. ``I'm a better person for the meeting,'' he declared.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee assured conservatives his social
views were intact, his opposition to ideas such as gay marriage unshaken by
the hourlong session at his campaign headquarters.
The gays he met with, selected by his campaign, were upbeat. ``The goal was
not to change his mind. It was to start a conversation,'' said Steve
Gunderson, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin.
Bush has been portraying himself as a different kind of Republican - much as
Bill Clinton and Al Gore painted themselves as a new breed of Democrat in
1992. And in that light, there could be political gain in spotlighting the
meeting - even though gay voters generally support Democrats by margins of
2-to-1 or greater.
But there is danger, too, said David Rohde, a political science professor at
Michigan State University.
``You don't want to risk alienating your base vote, and that represents a
particular problem for Bush, because if Pat Buchanan is the Reform Party
nominee, then the Republican base vote has someplace else to go,'' Rohde
said.
Indeed, Bush was barely back at the Texas Governor's Mansion, where he was
crowning the state's new ``Bluebonnet Queen,'' when conservative Gary Bauer
warned that Bush was running the risk of driving conservatives to Buchanan.
The former presidential candidate told The Associated Press in an interview:
``I don't think it does broaden (the base) when you take that approach.
That's the approach that we tried in the last two presidential elections. We
end up shooting ourselves in the foot.''
Bauer also criticized one idea broached at the meeting, having a gay
Republican speak at this summer's Republican National Convention.
``I think it would be bizarre to pick somebody to speak at the convention
based on their sexual preference, because once you go down that road, why
don't you pick a transvestite?'' Bauer asked.
Gore spokesman Doug Hattaway was quick to pile on from another direction,
saying, ``Bush owes too much to anti-gay leaders like Pat Robertson and Jerry
Falwell to deliver anything for the gay and lesbian community.''
Bush aides dismissed a Buchanan challenge. They told reporters there were
none of the ``strategic underpinnings'' in place for a successful third-party
campaign, such as an issue not being addressed by the major party candidates
or an overwhelming personality running.
Advisers noted that Bush has edged ahead of Gore in many of the latest polls
taken since Bush and his Democratic rival, Vice President Gore, virtually
cinched their nominations on March 7.
The campaign sees that as proof the scars from Bush's rough primary campaign
have healed. In fact, Bush said he planned to meet May 9 in Pittsburgh with
his chief rival for the nomination, Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Bush is hoping for a McCain endorsement, ``but I don't know if it will happen
as a result of the meeting,'' he said.
During a news conference after the get-together with the gays, Bush also:
Criticized the Clinton administration for its handling of the Elian Gonzalez
case. He said the administration had succumbed to publicity and pressure from
Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Responded to criticism from Gore that Bush's health record in Texas and his
recently announced health care plan amounted to ``political malpractice.''
Bush said, ``This is a good plan and yet, rather debating merits, the way
this man wants to run his campaign is to say anything.''
The gay meeting stemmed from criticism Bush received during the primary
campaign, when he refused to meet with the gay Log Cabin Republicans group.
He later clarified that he was opposed to meeting with the group's leaders,
who supported McCain.
Bush has been trying to moderate his conservative image with proposals on
education, the environment and health care for the poor. And the campaign
selected a group of gay leaders in part to help put a human face on Bush's
campaign pledge to be a ``compassionate conservative.''
Among those attending were David Catania, a member of the Washington, D.C.,
City Council, Gunderson and the leaders of several Log Cabin chapters.
The participants said they told Bush their personal stories and talked about
employment problems, AIDS funding and issues such as the atmospherics of the
party convention.
Bush emerged touched but unchanged in his core beliefs, including his belief
that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
``It's important for the next president to listen to people's real-life
stories,'' the governor said. ``These are people from our neighborhoods,
people with whom all of us went to school. ... I appreciate them sharing
their stories with me. I'm mindful that we're all God's children.''
Cat
