Hello everybody!

As a child I was a big fan of the Republican Party, just like as people
root for baseball teams such as the Dodgers. This continued on until 2004
when George W Bush strategist Karl Rove decided to utilize discrimination
to help his clients electoral chances in over 10 states by making it harder
for same sex couples to have equal marriage rights. The irony is Log Cabin
Republicans declined to endorse Bushs second term, but they decided to
endorse Romney at the last minute.

I held my nose in 2004 and even in 2008 when McCain decided to throw raw
meat on the balcony and support Sarah Palin. This time since I first
registered to vote in 1998, I cannot vote for my political partys nominee
for president. Mitt Romneyused to be a decent choice and now he lied down
with dogs in his quest to obtain power. I knew Romney could not be trusted
ever since the 2010 California governor campaign of Meg Whitman.

It is not just LGBT issues that make me disgusted about Mitt Romney. My
decision to support Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnsondoes rely upon
more issues than the idea of equality for all Americans even for those who
are not heterosexual or do not fit gender norms. President Obama and Mitt
Romney both believe in the individual mandate which makes health care more
expensive for those who buy their own insurance or those who do not need
insurance.  Both candidates believe in the NDAA which supports indefinite
detention of Americans, the war against marijuana, the much loathed TSA and
the Patriot Act.

Just as how Proposition 8 brought forth the National Organization for
Marriage, I made it a crusade to oppose any candidate who signs their
pledge. What does the NOM pledge that Romney signed entail? One, it asks
for Romney to get a Federal Marriage Amendment enshrining discrimination in
our constitution. Two, it asks for Romney to appoint anti-gay federal
judges to make sure that LGBT people do not get equal protection under the
law. Three, defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court, which is already
failing under the house Republicans defense. Four, establish a presidential
commission on religious liberty to make sure the side advocating for
discrimination gets extra protections under the law. Lastly, make sure that
residents of District of Columbia can have the ability to vote on repealing
equal marriage in their state.

I find it delusional that people like American Foundation for Equal Rights
attorney Ted Olson, part of the bipartisan legal duo fighting Proposition 8
is supporting Romney. Fine, I can respect that he may be great on the
majority of issues Ted believes in, but Romney will create more obstacles
in Teds case. It would be like running a marathon with both shoes tied
together. It would have been better for homo conservatives and their
straight allies to support Gary Johnson instead of Romney in states such as
California and Illinois so we can teach the Republican Party a lesson that
they need someone that supports equality in 2016.

Romney used to be great on equality; it helped him in his campaign for US
Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994. Many of us thought he would have been a
great ally on our side, but now he became our opponent. People thought
Senator Kerry was a flip flopper, but Mitt Romney knows how to flip flop
better than a figure skater on many issues not just LGBT equality such as
how he used to advocate for abortion rights and even invested in a firm
that processed the aborted unborn from abortions.

It might be a great advancement for Mitt Romney to possibly support reforms
such as the Employment Non Discrimination Act, but the rhetoric used in his
campaign makes me very uneasy for me to trust him. If Romney wants to
overturnthe Obama executive order allowing for hospital visitation for same
sex couples, the magic 8-ball will likely state NOT LIKELY when it deals
with other equality reforms being considered in a future congressional
session or Romney's executive office. Even if Romney sincerely wants to
support the Employment Non Discrimination Act, he is not likely to do so
because he does not want to depress his discrimination supporting base
voters.  Also, it is very difficult for any rational person to trust Mitt
Romney.

I may not have rose colored glasses that the Log Cabin Republicans have
about Romney. I do understand that they want to retain their clout in the
Republican Party no matter how minimal it may be, but I am honestly scared
about the possibility of either major candidate becoming president where
Romney is the one I am most worried about. I am not encouraging people to
vote for Obama, instead I want people to LIVE FREE and vote for Gary
Johnson for President.



Matt


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