Gays 'Welcome' In Bush Campaign
George W. Bush held his first meeting with gay supporters Thursday, and tried to send a message of inclusion and tolerance after courting the religious right to help secure the Republican presidential nomination.
In one of the more unlikely pairings of the campaign season, Bush sat down Thursday with an invited group of 12 gay Republican activists, and emerged from the meeting saying, he was "a better person" for hearing their stories.
"I welcome gay Americans into my campaign," said Bush after the hour-long talk at his Austin campaign headquarters. "These are people from our neighborhoods, people with whom all of us went to school. I appreciate them sharing their stories with me. I'm mindful that we're all God's children."
The meeting was potentially risky for Bush, since many gay leaders have rejected the Texas governor's policies, and his conservative allies have charged homosexuals with undermining family values.
While Bush assured supporters on the right that he's remaining true to his core conservative views - including his opposition to gay marriage - some social conservatives attacked the Texas governor for even talking to a gay group.
Gary Bauer, the former GOP presidential candidate and founder of the Campaign for Working Families, said the meeting had "elevated the gay rights agenda to a level of recognition within the Republican party that contradicts our long-standing commitment to pro-family values."
Bauer said "The Republican Party overwhelmingly opposes the political agenda of the gay rights movement," and urged Bush not to "cave into a special interest group."
Bush spokesman Scott McClellan defended the meeting. "There are some disagreements on certain issues. But this meeting is another example of Governor Bush's inclusive record as a different kind of Republican, one who reaches out to people from all walks of life and unites them."
Members of the group that met with Bush termed the talks a success.
David Catania, a city councilman from Washington, said, "We went in with the hope and expectation that we would raise his consciousness on certain issues. We think we've done that."
Former Wisconsin congressman Steve Gunderson said, "The goal was not to change his mind. It was to start a conversation."
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Bush's Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore, advised the gay community to pay more attention to Bush's actions than to his words.
Thursday's gathering was the latest move by Bush to moderate his image after veering hard to the right during his contentious primary battle with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Earlier this week, the Texas governor unveiled a multi-billion dollar plan to expand health care for poor Americans. He also recently proposed new initiatives on the environment and education - areas in which Democrats have traditionally held the high ground.
Gore reacted angrily to Bush's encroachment on supposedly Democratic turf.
"He keeps saying he is a reformer with results. Where are the results? They are not in Texas," the vice president told a meeting of the nation's newspaper editors Wednesday.
Gore said Texas ranks first among the 50 states in toxic emissions into the air, water and ground, and last in the percentage of persons with health insurance, only about one in four.
He accused Gore of "political malpractice" on the health care issue.
Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer defended the governor's record, saying he had presided over improvements in Texas health care and accepted - without signing - the state legislature's second attempt at a patients' bill of rights.
"The worse Al Gore is doing in the polls, the more he attacks and misrepresents the governor's record," said Fleischer. "Pretty soon, Al Gore will say he invented health care."