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.
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP, is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. Like them, the Republican Party is a big tent of competing and often opposing ideologies. Presently, the Republican Party contains prominent conservative, centrist, populist, and right-libertarian factions.
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 and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Texas, a seat he has held since 2002. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Senate majority whip for the 114th and 115th Congresses, and previously served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee from 2009 to 2013.
The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the 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 United States (1974–1977). Rockefeller Republicans were most common in the Northeast and industrial Midwestern states, with their larger moderate-to-liberal constituencies, while they were rare in the South and West.
Samuel Dale Brownback is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party was the United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom from 2018 to 2021. Brownback previously served as the Secretary of Agriculture of Kansas (1986–1993), as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district (1995–1996), as a United States senator from Kansas (1996–2011) and the 46th governor of Kansas (2011–2018). He also ran for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.
Kay Bailey Hutchison is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she was a United States Senator from Texas from 1993 to 2013.
Olympia Jean Snowe is an American businesswoman and politician who was a United States Senator from Maine from 1995 to 2013. Snowe, a member of the Republican Party, became known for her ability to influence the outcome of close votes, including whether to end filibusters. In 2006, she was named one of America's Best Senators by Time magazine. Throughout her Senate career, she was considered one of the most moderate members of the chamber.
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 within the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans.
The 1996 Republican National Convention convened at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996. The convention nominated former 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.
Alan Kooi Simpson is an American politician and member of the Republican Party, who represented Wyoming in the United States Senate (1979–97). 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.
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 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 rank among the highest in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s. In 1961, beginning with Illinois, states began to decriminalize same-sex sexual activity, and in 2003, through Lawrence v. Texas, all remaining laws against same-sex sexual activity were invalidated. In 2004, beginning with Massachusetts, states began to offer same-sex marriage, and in 2015, through Obergefell v. Hodges, all states were required to offer it. In many states and municipalities, LGBT Americans are explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and access to public accommodations. Many LGBT rights in the United States have been established by the United States Supreme Court, invalidated state laws banning protected class recognition based upon homosexuality, struck down sodomy laws nationwide, struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, and prohibited employment discrimination against gay and transgender employees. Public opinion is overwhelmingly supportive of same-sex marriage. A 2022 Grinnell College National Poll found that 74% of Americans agree that same-sex marriage should be a guaranteed right while 13% disagree. According to General Social Survey, support among 18-34 year olds is near-universal.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected to the office of president or vice president as well as the only president to date from Michigan. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and was appointed to be the 40th vice president in 1973. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency, but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.
Dale Carpenter is an American legal commentator and Professor of Law at the SMU 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 Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governor of Texas. The party is headquartered in Austin. The RPT is legally considered to be a political action committee. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling the supermajority of Texas' U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, both houses of the state legislature with majorities, the governorship, the supermajority of the State Board of Education, and every other executive and judicial office elected statewide.
Black conservatism in the United States is a political and social movement rooted in communities of African descent that aligns largely with the American conservative movement, including the Christian right. Black conservatism emphasizes social conservatism, traditionalism, patriotism, capitalism, and free markets. What characterizes a "black conservative" has changed over time, and the people listed below do not necessarily share the same political philosophy.
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.
