UPDATED: Gay Republican Group GoProud Shutting Down
Last edited Wed Jun 4, 2014, 09:22 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: LiberalLand
June 3, 2014
GOProud, the gay conservative organization that once boasted Andrew Breitbart on its advisory board, is folding its tent. Continued resistance from other conservative groups, and group founder Jimmy LaSalvias very public split with the GOP in January, proved too difficult for the organization to overcome.
On Sunday, GOProud Executive Director Matthew Bechstein admitted that the groups brand is broken, and future efforts to achieve gay acceptance within the conservative project will require a new organizational identity.
LaSalvia and Chris Barron seemed to have momentum when they split from the Log Cabin Republicans, which they saw as too liberal, and formed GOProud in 2009. Endorsements from conservative stars like Brietbart and Anne Coulter lent the group some measure of legitimacy, boosting the groups access and fundraising. In 2011, Breitbart even threw them a Big Gay CPAC party.
But Breitbart resigned from the GOProud advisory later that year when LaSalvia outed a gay staffer of Texas Governor Rick Perry, whose campaign had issued a homophobic TV ad. Responding to boycotts by family values conservative groups, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference ended GOProuds participation in the conference a few months later. GOProud has been in decline ever since.
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Read more: http://www.alan.com/2014/06/03/gay-republican-group-goproud-shutting-down/
GOProud Denies, Then Admits It Is Closing Down
http://www.bilerico.com/2014/06/goproud_denies_then_admits_it_is_closing_down.php
UPDATE:
Republican LGBT group GOProud denies that its shutting down, just re-branding
The Republican LGBT group GOProud denies that it is closing its doors for good, but is rather engaging in a re-branding effort to distance itself from past controversies. The Bilerico Project reported, however, that the denials are just a sop to anxious donors while the current directors of the group attempt to distance themselves from a PR disaster.
On Sunday, Bilericos Andy Markle wrote that when founders Chris Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia left GOProud, donors fled.
Finding it difficult to continue without securing more funding, GOProud will be shutting down immediately, said Markle.
The organization may rebrand and regroup later, but for now, the organization will no longer be functioning, he said. Co-director Matthew Bechstein stated in an interview that the brand is broken and a rebrand is necessary.
GOProud immediately denied the story, publishing a statement on its website and on Facebook that quoted Bechstein as saying, The truth is, GOProud has had some preliminary discussions about rebranding. That is, changing our name. As with any organization when new challenges arise, we react with necessary adjustments.
There have been concerns among our members and investors, about whether or not we can continue to grow and be effective without severing ourselves from past controversies. Nonetheless, at this point nothing has been decided. We are still discussing all the possibilities, and would be months away from instituting any real changes, he said.
Bechstein admitted to spinning the truth to Bilericos Bill Browning on Monday, saying hed issued the comforting statements so I wouldnt scare our members and thwart our fundraising efforts. He was only trying, he said, to mitigate a disaster.
According to the Advocate, Bechstein is trying to have it both ways, claiming that GOProud will be the same organization, but will operate under a different name and with a modified agenda.
The organization, founded in 2009, has seen its share of controversy, from outside criticism and within its own ranks, wrote the Advocates Sunnivie Brydum. Last year, GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia left the organization and the Republican Party, slamming GOP leaders in an interview with The Advocates editorial director, Lucas Grindley.
However, as Bilerico noted, While Bechstein claims that filing dissolution paperwork with the federal government would necessitate immediate subsequent reorganization, this is not a requirement from the government. The group will simply be dissolved. Any new group formed would have to file independent paperwork as needed depending on how they reorganize.
The attempts to spin the groups dissolution as a sign of growth, Bechstein admitted to Bilerico, were a ruse. When news broke via Markles article that group was shutting down, Bechstein (p)anicked that the news had broken before all participants had been informed and rushed to print a denial.
Let me be clear, no matter what happens, our grassroots infrastructure and our daily activism will continue throughout any possible transition, Bechstein said to Bilerico on Monday. We do not plan to stop working. What has made this organization strong in the past is the support and devotion of our membership, I dont expect that to waver in the future.
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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/04/republican-lgbt-group-goproud-denies-that-its-shutting-down-just-re-branding/
Posted with permission
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)On a side note I love your avatar.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)in the Canyon of Heroes. (Ex-Noo Yawker now living in San Jose. )
iandhr
(6,852 posts)Hoping our guys are ready to kick some LA ass!!!
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)self-loathing was never a good look for Republicans anyway
iandhr
(6,852 posts)Last edited Tue Jun 3, 2014, 06:57 PM - Edit history (1)
this group made a pretty enthusiastic endorsement of the Republican candidate.
tblue37
(64,982 posts)I have begun to notice such things lately, after discovering that my own posts and email messages were falling victim to the mischievous little autocorrect imp. I can usually spot an autocorrect malapropism in someone's post.
fixed it
closeupready
(29,503 posts)Pathetic. K&R
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)"Endorsements from conservative stars like Brietbart and Anne Coulter lent the group some measure of legitimacy,"
Are you kidding me? ''..lent the group some measure of legitimacy'' I wonder what ''measure'' they were thinking about? I don't get Right Wing Gays .. is it because they're greedy? Did mommy and daddy always vote Republican? Are they just self loathing enough to vote against their own best interests? Are there any black Log Cabin Republicans and now defunct GOPROUD's?
Tarheel_Dem
(31,211 posts)crock. Just more rich self absorbed a$$holes who don't want "those people" benefitting from their "hard earned tax dollars". I guess shame is too much to ask from them.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)kcdoug1
(222 posts)bunch of morons
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)liberal N proud
(60,302 posts)Really? That would make them another group voting against their own best interest. Or was GOProud just GOP attempt to lure gays into the fold?
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)You find a number of self-roasters in any political group.
dembotoz
(16,740 posts)DeadLetterOffice
(1,352 posts)will require a bloody miracle.
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)JoeyT
(6,785 posts)rpannier
(24,304 posts)They'll have to find a new uber conservative organization to hate them while they grovel for scraps
on note: Interesting as it was on the same date that Jews for Hitler Closed it's doors in the 1930's. :sarcasm
blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)undiegrinder
(79 posts)If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.
olddad56
(5,732 posts)maybe because their wives have don't have a clue.