The Republican Unity Coalition (RUC) was an organization of the United States Republican Party created as an outgrowth of the George W. Bush campaign in the 2000 presidential election. Formed by Bush family friend Charles Francis, it described itself a "grasstops" organization with a Board of Advisors that included the late former President Gerald Ford, former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming, philanthropist and banker David Rockefeller, and Mary Cheney, daughter of the former Vice President, [1] and former U.S. Senator John Danforth of Missouri.
It was a gay/straight alliance, [2] that believed, according to its credo, the Cody Statement, [3] that the Republican Party must become a big tent and reach out to non-traditional Republicans. Specifically, it sought to include gay and lesbian Americans who shared the basic Republican emphasis on personal liberty, self-responsibility and a strong national defense. The RUC submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the case of Lawrence v. Texas , signed by former Senator Simpson and written by University of Minnesota law school professor Dale Carpenter and Eric Jaffe, former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas.
Former Senator Simpson said he is "proud to have helped arrange for former President Gerald Ford [4] during Ford's retirement years, to become the first U.S. President to become a member of a gay rights organization." In a private letter to Francis, Ford wrote he supported the RUC amicus brief and "gay equality before the law". [5]
However, after Bush called for a Federal Marriage Amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2003 and supported the "Marriage Protection Act" covering the federal courts, [6] the organization's activity and support quickly collapsed. The founding members felt Bush had "squandered a precious chance to broaden the GOP". [7] While the organization has not formally declared itself as defunct, its political action committee, Unity PAC, was relieved of reporting obligations by the Federal Elections Commission in a July 25, 2006 notice, due to several years of inactivity. As of January 2008, its website has been shut down.
Melquíades Rafael Ruiz Martínez is a Cuban-American lobbyist and former politician who served as a United States senator from Florida from 2005 to 2009 and as general chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007. Previously, Martínez served as the 12th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George W. Bush. Martínez is a Cuban-American and Roman Catholic. He announced he was resigning as general chairman of the Republican National Committee on October 19, 2007.
John Cornyn III is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served on the Texas Supreme Court from 1991 to 1997 and as the attorney general of Texas from 1999 to 2002.
The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the United States Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to-liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vice President of the U.S. (1974–1977). Rockefeller Republicans were most common in the Northeast and the industrial Midwestern states, while they were rare in the South and the West.
Former Republican U.S. Senator and 2012 and 2016 U.S. Presidential candidate Rick Santorum is opposed to homosexuality, seeing it as antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family. Santorum does not believe the right to privacy under the United States Constitution covers sexual acts, and criticized the US Supreme Court ruling in the case of Lawrence v. Texas that ruled to the contrary. Santorum has stated that the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which ended in 2011, should be reinstated and has voiced his opposition to same-sex parenting. Santorum's views provoked criticism from Democratic politicians and other groups, but have been supported by some conservative Christians.
The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans, by educating the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other.
The 1996 Republican National Convention convened at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996. The convention nominated Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, for president and former Representative and secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp, from suburban Buffalo, New York, for vice president.
The 1988 Republican National Convention was held in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, from August 15 to August 18, 1988. It was the second time that a major party held its convention in one of the five states known as the Deep South, coming on the heels of the 1988 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was the Republican whip in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995, as majority whip from 1985 to 1987 and minority whip from 1987 to 1995. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democratic Party co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.
Mary Claire Cheney is the younger of the two daughters of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States and 17th United States secretary of defense, and Lynne Cheney. She is involved with a number of political action committees. She married her wife, Heather Poe, in 2012, and was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case in 2013.
The 1976 Republican National Convention was a United States political convention of the Republican Party that met from August 16 to August 19, 1976, to select the party's nominees for president and vice president. Held in Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, the convention nominated President Gerald Ford for a full term, but only after narrowly defeating a strong challenge from former California Governor Ronald Reagan. The convention also nominated Senator Bob Dole from Kansas for vice president, instead of Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, who did not seek nomination for a full term. The keynote address was delivered by Tennessee Senator Howard Baker. Other notable speakers included Minnesota Representative Al Quie, retired Lieutenant Colonel and former Vietnam prisoner of war Raymond Schrump, former Democratic Texas Governor John Connally, Providence, Rhode Island mayor Vincent Cianci and Michigan Senator Robert P. Griffin. It is the last national convention by either of the two major parties to feature a seriously contested nomination between candidates.
Susan Molinari is an American politician, company executive, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. A member of the Republican Party, she sat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 to 1997, representing Staten Island for three terms. Molinari, who was considered a rising star in the party, was selected to deliver the keynote address at the 1996 Republican National Convention. However, the next year, she resigned from Congress to become a television journalist for CBS News. Later, she became a vice president for public policy at Google from 2012 to 2018.
Kenneth Brian Mehlman is an American social entrepreneur and businessman. He serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. He oversees the firm's responsible investment efforts, leading the firm's Environmental Social Governance programs. Prior to joining KKR, Mehlman spent a year as an attorney and partner at law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In January 2017, Mehlman announced that he would act as chairman of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Policy Advisory Board.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.
Dale Carpenter is an American legal commentator and Professor of Law at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. He formerly served as the Earl R. Larson Professor of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law at the University of Minnesota Law School for sixteen years. As a professor, Carpenter specializes in constitutional law, the First Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection clauses, sexual orientation and the law, and commercial law.
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Abraham George, succeeding Matt Rinaldi who finished his term in 2024. The party is headquartered in Austin, and is legally considered to be a political action committee. It is currently the state's ruling party, controlling the majority of Texas's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, both houses of the state legislature, and all statewide elected offices.
From January 21 to June 3, 1980, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1980 United States presidential election. Retired Hollywood actor and two-term California governor Ronald Reagan was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the Republican National Convention held from July 14 to 17, 1980, in Detroit, Michigan.
William Patrick Huizenga is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2011, representing the state's 4th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Huizenga served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009. He currently represents much of Southwestern Michigan, including Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, and Holland.
Fred S. Karger is an American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog, and former actor. His unsuccessful candidacy for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US presidential election made him the first openly gay presidential candidate in a major political party in American history. Karger has worked on nine presidential campaigns and served as a senior consultant to the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
LGBTQ+ conservatism in the United States is a social and political ideology within the LGBTQ+ community that largely aligns with the American conservative movement. LGBTQ+ conservatism is generally more moderate on social issues than social conservatism, instead emphasizing values associated with fiscal conservatism, libertarian conservatism, and neoconservatism.
