Former RNC head Ken Mehlman has said
voters will increasingly reject politicians who oppose gay marriage.
In an interview published Friday at
Salon.com,
Mehlman, who came out gay in 2010, also said he regrets not speaking
out against a 2004 push for gay marriage bans.
After Mehlman came out, many gay
activists criticized him for working against the interests of the gay
community, particularly as manager of President George W. Bush's 2004
re-election campaign. That year, eleven states approved gay marriage
bans with the backing of the GOP.
“At a personal level, I wish I had
spoken out against the effort,” Mehlman said. “As I've been
involved in the fight for marriage equality, one of the things I've
learned is how many people were harmed by the campaigns in which I
was involved. I apologize to them and tell them I am sorry. While
there have been recent victories, this could still be a long struggle
in which there will be setbacks, and I'll do my part to be helpful.”
Mehlman added that “supporting equal
rights, including the rights to civil marriage, is a net positive for
winning elections, as well as the right thing to do.”
“By contrast, opposing equal rights
is a net negative that gets problematic to more voters each year.”