Florida Doctors Dump Log Cabin GOP, Launch Successful New Gay GOP Group
In 2009, medical Dr. Ben Lewis-Bullard, founded a new decidedly right wing Gay Republican Club that became the 3rd largest GOP Club in Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, Florida.
Previously, Bullard was the Vice-president of local Log Cabin GOP Club, but like several younger gay members he was distraught by the group’s conspicuous deficiency in promoting GOP economic principles, and their regular focus on getting along with the Fort Lauderdale “Dolphin Gay Democrats” and promoting their socialist causes.
Consequently, after several Log Cabin board members began supporting non-Republican candidates, Bullard formed the Sunshine Gay Republicans with his partner Dr. Ron Bullard; and Internet Blogger, Nick Stone. Ben and Ron were recently married in Washington, DC and purchased a new home in Fort Lauderdale together. Ben took his partner’s name, “Bullard” in marriage.
What made Ben Bullard’s bold leadership so unique was his ability to bring large numbers of younger straight and Gay Republicans together at the same events, compared to the more isolationist, low-profile, AARP-generation Log Cabin GOP group.
His leadership induced the first ever former County GOP Chair, Commissioner Chip LaMarca and his wife, to march in the 2010 Gay Pride Parade.
During the 2010 mid-term elections, the Sunshine Republicans sponsored several robustly attended campaign socials with the Young Republicans. In fact, the Sunshine Republicans were a regular feature in the Karen Harrington campaign to oust incumbent US Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, an Obama big spender.
As trailblazers, the new gay GOP Club’s campaign activities were so unique given that Harrington was essentially both a pro-business and Religious Right GOP nominee. Nonetheless, Harrington never hid her affection and public association with a Gay Club, and even had a wine and cheese social with Bullard’s group in her campaign headquarters. Her consistent visible support with a gay group hardly caused a ripple of protest from the local Religious Right who gave her the GOP nomination.
Many other high ranking straight GOP activists routinely attend the Sunshine Republican monthly meetings. And that includes staff members from Florida Governor Rick Scott’s campaign committee, officers of the Florida State Federation of Republican Women and several successful Tea Party candidates.
Among the Sunshine Republicans’ other noteworthy achievements is the proliferation of monthly op-eds that are published in South Florida’s two GLBT newspapers. Additionally, the new President, Nick Stone, is a successful policy-oriented blogger of Drawnlines.com, and does regular blog casts to which many Republicans, both gay and straight, pay attention.
Perhaps the best measure of this groups’ success is a study done by Keen News Services, which is owned by Lisa Keen, a former senior editor of the Washington Gay Blade in Washington, DC. According to Keen’s exit poll analysis of gay precincts in South Florida, 48 percent of gay voters went Republican in 2010 and only 47 percent went Democrat. In fact, Keen says that South Florida led the nation in gay votes for the GOP.
Those are staggering statistics as the GLBT community normally goes heavily Democratic by at least a 3-1 margin.