The Republican Party promises to be more inclusive and open the “big tent.” Judging by the actions of the Washington State Republicans, the tent appears closed to the GLBTQ community.
A campaign by the state party and the conservative Freedom Foundation has tried to paint a prominent businesswoman and Democratic donor as homophobic and racist. Possibly because they were stung by losses in 2012, the groups pressured Thurston County Democrats to return donations and refuse future funds. To justify this, they trumpet highly edited video made to give the appearance of intolerant speech and behavior.
This is destined to fail because the donor, businesswoman JZ Knight, is a longtime advocate of same- sex marriage and GLBTQ rights. Knight has operated a successful New Age spiritual retreat center for more than 20 years. She has employed openly gay men and women for years. Knight’s real “crime” is supporting local Democrats who want to protect civil rights and the middle class.
These incidents shed light on the Republican playbook. Democratic donors will now be attacked as racist, homophobic or smeared in other ways. Not everyone agrees with Knight’s spiritual beliefs, but that doesn’t make her a homophobe or a racist. Her students, employees and others know she supports GLBTQ rights.
If this works here, we will see more of these scare tactics on a national level. When the right wing sets the agenda by attacking the messenger and the message, we allow it to intimidate the media and the public. Not this time.