Back in March, John McCain sat in the Straight Talk Express, fielding questions from reporters about his views on gay and lesbian issues. As the coach coursed through Iowa, the Arizona senator mostly dodged and weaved.
Had he ever dressed in drag during college? "No. At the Naval Academy, it was frowned on." Did he have an opinion on Vice President Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, having a child? "No opinion." What did he think about recent comments by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that homosexual acts were "immoral"? "He said he regretted those statements ... so I don't want to say I wished I had said them." What would he do if one of his own daughters said she was gay? "That's one that really is a family matter."
Though the exchange was not satisfying for the press, it aptly summarized McCain's approach to gay and lesbian issues. With rare exception, he has avoided engaging in the politics of sexuality through much of his political career, evidently because he doesn't really see much role for government in these matters. As he put it, "I've never talked about people's private lives or their personal conduct."
During his 2000 run for the White House, he fused this sentiment with sharp attacks on the right-wing evangelical elements of his own party, whom he dubbed "agents of intolerance" for stoking the culture war. "Political intolerance by any political party is neither a Judeo-Christian nor an American value," he said at the time in Virginia Beach, a military community that is also home to evangelist and erstwhile Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson. "We are the party of Ronald Reagan, not Pat Robertson."
As he prepared for the 2008 campaign, McCain attempted to rebuild some of the bridges he had burned to the party's religious base, though he has had little tangible success. At Pastor Jerry Falwell's invitation, he spoke at Liberty University, where homosexual relations can begrounds for expulstion. In 2006, he supported an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to ban gay marriage, which failed at the ballot box.
In the Senate, McCain has been an ardent opponent of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, arguing his case on federalist grounds. "The constitutional amendment we're debating today strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans," he declared in 2004. "It usurps from the states a fundamental authority." McCain has declined to take sides in the debate over civil unions in New Hampshire, though in the past, he has voted against the inclusion of sexual orientation in hate-crime laws. He also supports the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military and opposes ENDA, because he thinks it could "open a floodgate of litigation." That said, there is little doubt that a McCain presidency would avoid any crusades against gay and lesbian rights. For this reason, among others, Focus on the Family's Dobson has also promised not to vote Republican if McCain wins the party's nomination.
Had he ever dressed in drag during college? "No. At the Naval Academy, it was frowned on." Did he have an opinion on Vice President Cheney's lesbian daughter, Mary, having a child? "No opinion." What did he think about recent comments by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that homosexual acts were "immoral"? "He said he regretted those statements ... so I don't want to say I wished I had said them." What would he do if one of his own daughters said she was gay? "That's one that really is a family matter."
Though the exchange was not satisfying for the press, it aptly summarized McCain's approach to gay and lesbian issues. With rare exception, he has avoided engaging in the politics of sexuality through much of his political career, evidently because he doesn't really see much role for government in these matters. As he put it, "I've never talked about people's private lives or their personal conduct."
During his 2000 run for the White House, he fused this sentiment with sharp attacks on the right-wing evangelical elements of his own party, whom he dubbed "agents of intolerance" for stoking the culture war. "Political intolerance by any political party is neither a Judeo-Christian nor an American value," he said at the time in Virginia Beach, a military community that is also home to evangelist and erstwhile Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson. "We are the party of Ronald Reagan, not Pat Robertson."
As he prepared for the 2008 campaign, McCain attempted to rebuild some of the bridges he had burned to the party's religious base, though he has had little tangible success. At Pastor Jerry Falwell's invitation, he spoke at Liberty University, where homosexual relations can begrounds for expulstion. In 2006, he supported an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to ban gay marriage, which failed at the ballot box.
In the Senate, McCain has been an ardent opponent of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, arguing his case on federalist grounds. "The constitutional amendment we're debating today strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans," he declared in 2004. "It usurps from the states a fundamental authority." McCain has declined to take sides in the debate over civil unions in New Hampshire, though in the past, he has voted against the inclusion of sexual orientation in hate-crime laws. He also supports the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in the military and opposes ENDA, because he thinks it could "open a floodgate of litigation." That said, there is little doubt that a McCain presidency would avoid any crusades against gay and lesbian rights. For this reason, among others, Focus on the Family's Dobson has also promised not to vote Republican if McCain wins the party's nomination.
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