To say the least, Republican Senate hopeful Steve Sauerberg is running a "non-traditional" campaign. The first hint came when he blitzed national left-leaning websites such as The Nation and Talking Points Memo with banner ads promising to "Defeat Liberal Dick Durbin." Following that odd tactic, Sauerberg is now raising eyebrows among the GOP base with his decision to hire gay activist Christopher Barron as his press secretary. Barron was the national political director of the Log Cabin Republicans when they faced off against President Bush over a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The response to Barron's hire over at the conservative Illinois Review has been one of shock and dismay. Here's "IR editor" Fran Eaton on the hire:
Sauerberg's choice of staff is ... perplexing. And seems to be a clear message to Republicans - and conservatives - that he's not interested in their principles, opinions, and dare we say ... votes!
In the comments section, Eaton further details her opposition to Barron, as well as her fear of gays and lesbians gaining "more rights":
This is a major error in personnel selection. Barron isn't just a no-face, no-name spokesman. His place on the campaign is major, especially with issues that affect us all such as same sex unions, sexual orientation agendas in our public schools, as well as more rights for gays, lesbians, transgenders and bi-sexuals.
(More after the jump ...)
In a follow-up post, Eaton says social conservatives are literally "steaming" over the hire. In one example, she quotes prominent anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera saying:
"Log Cabin activists are working hand-in-hand with the rest of the homosexual lobby to radically redefine the institution of marriage and demonize tradition-minded voters who adhere to Judeo-Christian teachings that homosexuality is wrong."
The ire caused by Sauerberg's choice seems to have as much to do with Barron's anti-Bush efforts as his sexual orientation. As Archpundit explains: among the Illinois Review crowd, if "there is one major thing worse than being gay, it’s embarrassing the child king."
While Sauerberg does seem to be angering all the right people at the moment, I should remind our readers that he's an arch-conservative on major issues like the war, health care, and education. His campaign strategy is to paint "Liberal Dick Durbin" as the ultimate bogeyman of American politics. Indeed, Sauerberg's now taken to blaming him for practically all of the country's ills. We'll be cataloging his desperate attacks on Durbin as the election year progresses.
Post new comment