HUFFINGTON
09.30.12
THE PINK ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
crats began endorsing gay rights
in their national platform and in
local elections. Then, in 1992, Pat
Buchanan riled up the crowd at
the Republican National Convention by declaring a “cultural war”
against liberals, atheists, feminists and “the homosexual rights
movement.” A social conservative
movement had been building on
the fringes of the party, and Bu-
chanan’s speech marked its arrival
in the mainstream consciousness.
A few years later, when Senator Bob Dole ran against Bill Clinton, Log Cabin successfully pressured Dole to make sure that the
‘96 convention would be free of
such displays of anti-gay sentiment. But by then the social conservative movement had birthed
a number of powerful leaders and
lobbying groups of its own, among
them the Family Research Council, the American Family Associa-
Around
midnight,
confetti
rained down
and small
sparkling
disco balls
were tossed
into the
crowd.