Party
Crasher : A Gay Republican Challenges Politics As Usual by
Richard Tafel
As the executive
director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a political action
committee for gay conservatives, Richard Tafel is used to
criticism and scorn. "I've been demonized and been called
names by those on the right who have never taken the opportunity
to get to know me," he says. "And I've been caricatured
and demonized by those on the gay left who also would rather
despise what they think I am than find out who I really am." Party
Crasher reveals a fascinating individual, an ordained minister
(mentored by Harvard Divinity's Peter
Gomes) comfortable debating scripture with fundamentalists and a
political activist unwilling to accept the common wisdom that gays
and lesbians should give their allegiance to the Democratic party.
While always friendly towards queer campaign contributions, Tafel
notes, the Dems have failed to follow through on many of their
promises. Far from allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in
the military, he reports, the Clinton administration has been
responsible for expelling more homosexuals from the armed forces
than any other in American history. And then there was Clinton's
trumpeting to the religious right of his approval of the Defense
of Marriage Act, which refused federal recognition for same-sex
unions. Tafel rejects the identity politics that lead to such
unproductive alliances, favoring instead an emphasis on individual
rights and responsibility in which political commitment is based
on a desire to personally do the right thing rather than be
"accepted" or "loved." "If you want to be
embraced," he warns, "get a boyfriend or a dog. But
don't get involved in politics because you need a hug; you'll just
get hurt."
Party Crasher is filled with anecdotes of
Tafel's encounters with people at all sorts of points on the
political spectrum, such as the time that the radical group Queer
Nation invited him to a college campus to criticize homophobic
activities by members of the college's Young Republican chapter,
or his perspective on the controversy surrounding the 1996 Dole
presidential campaign's rejection of a Log Cabin contribution. And
there are several profiles of other gay Republicans (heavily
skewed towards men, it's true, but as Tafel says, openly
Republican lesbians are even more rare than their gay male
counterparts). There's something in this book to upset just about
everyone's preconceptions, but what comes through most is Richard
Tafel's passion and commitment for social justice and genuine
acceptance of everybody's differences. --Ron Hogan
