Who are LGBTQ Republicans, and what are their politics? These questions lie at the heart of Neil J. Young’s analysis in Coming Out Republican: A History of the Gay Right. Focusing on the history of LGBTQ Republicans and their political organizations, Young’s thoroughly researched book provides a fresh perspective on a group that is often overlooked and misunderstood because of the Republican Party’s anti-LGBTQ politics and the LGBTQ community’s overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal-leaning political orientation. As a constituency of mostly upper- and middle-class White gay men, they are best described as gay Republicans. Moreover, their race, gender, and class privileges shape their individualistic, libertarian politics that facilitate linking sexuality to Republican partisanship. Young shows that, despite not fitting well within their party or the LGBTQ movement, gay Republicans have shaped the modern Republican Party, conservatism, and the fight for LGBTQ rights in important ways.Although gay Republicans lack demographic diversity, they are not politically monolithic. Young brilliantly traces their diverse politics from the early days of the homophile movement in the 1950s to the Trump era. Gay Republicans are united by an ideology that centers individual rights and privacy from the state, a commitment to bipartisan political mobilization, and a willingness to critique the politics of the LGBTQ movement.On the one hand, gay Republicans have openly embraced their sexuality and organized to advance LGBTQ issues since the postwar era. During the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, “as officials tried to shut down the bathhouses they believed spread the disease, gay Republicans fought to keep the baths open and defended their right to do what they wanted with their bodies” (189). In doing so, they pushed radical views about sexual freedom and government interference in gay people’s lives. Gay Republicans were also on the forefront of the same-sex marriage fight, advocating for assimilation and monogamy with hopes that it would improve lesbians’ and gay men’s standing in society. Finally, they were influential in the decades-long fight to end the military ban on lesbian and gay military service, including the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in 2010. Thus, Young’s analysis demonstrates how gay Republicans embraced their sexual identities and contributed to major LGBTQ policy debates.On the other hand, a key theme of the book is that gay Republicans’ political activism has shaped modern conservatism, right-wing politics, and the Republican Party to their own detriment. Young links the lives of closeted gay Republicans to the formation of conservative political organizations, including Young Americans for Freedom (35), the American Conservative Union (ACU) (52), and the National Conservative Political Action Committee (134). These organizations critically shaped the religious right’s political mobilization and facilitated their insurgency and takeover of the Republican Party. Moreover, they have helped social conservatives maintain their power and influence. For example, the ACU and Young Americans for Freedom are the organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is the “largest and most influential annual convening of the American Right” (287). Arguably, Donald Trump’s political career started with his speech at CPAC in 2011. What most people don’t know, however, is that gay Republicans were responsible for inviting him and organizing the trip behind the scenes. While Trump’s ascendance was controversial among gay Republicans, some organizations endorsed him due to his pledge to appoint conservative Supreme Court judges (324). In doing so, gay Republicans supported elements of Trump’s agenda that directly harm LGBTQ people. Young’s analysis shows that gay Republicans have a long history of supporting a political agenda that reinforces their marginal position in the Republican Party and, more broadly, promotes policies that harm LGBTQ people.Young’s research points to an unresolvable tension between the politics of gay Republicans and the politics of many LGBTQ activists and organizations. Gay Republicans consider themselves outliers within a movement that they perceive is dominated by a “left-wing establishment,” and they have often taken an antagonistic approach to their politics within the LGBTQ movement. They often point out the Democratic Party’s hypocritical action (and inaction) on gay civil rights and liberties issues, such as closing bathhouses during the HIV/AIDS crisis, supporting the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and opposing same-sex marriage, and failing to deliver on federal civil rights legislation. More recently, alt-right gays have embraced flamboyance and outlandish personas to critique political correctness and express White male grievances. As Young points out, much of their rhetoric contributed to and foreshadowed what was to come in the Republican Party. In many ways, the contestation between gay Republicans and the broader LGBTQ movement is a microcosm of how conservatives criticize liberal politics for focusing on identity politics.Relatedly, the politics of race and gender constitute a primary cleavage that contributes to the divide between gay Republicans and organizations within the LGBTQ movement, manifesting in policy conflict over issues such as affirmative action, immigration politics, and abortion. Gay Republicans argue that these are not “gay issues” and criticize mainstream LGBTQ organizations’ support for them as evidence that the movement is beholden to identity politics. Gay Republicans, on the other hand, take an identity-blind approach to their politics, which is made possible because they are well-resourced White men. Similarly, in contemporary politics, gay Republicans use right-wing rhetoric about “gender ideology” to attack transgender people, left-wing politics, and the Democratic Party. However, unlike straight Republicans who oppose LGBTQ rights, gay Republicans call for separating the politics of sexuality and gender identity or separating “LGB from TQ.”By delving into the politics of gay Republicans, Coming Out Republican also reveals the possibilities for LGBTQ politics when the Republican Party is more inclusive. For example, Young discusses how Republican support for LGBTQ issues pushes the Democratic Party to support those issues. Gay Republicans are often the actors who influence politicians in their party to take these positions. Likewise, when Republicans have supported LGBTQ issues at the state level, they have performed well with LGBTQ voters and, at times, helped pass civil rights legislation. Broadly, this evidence shows that the two major parties can compete for the support of LGBTQ voters, and, when they do, pro-LGBTQ policies are more likely to become law.Overall, Coming Out Republican makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the gay Right in American politics. The breadth of the analysis is impressive and helps unpack the complex politics of gay Republicans. This is a must read for scholars of LGBTQ politics and history, racial and ethnic politics, and American political parties.
Andrew Proctor (Thu,) studied this question.