The Libertarian Party is reminding gay
voters that Libertarians are sexual orientation-blind, and
criticizing Democrats for pandering to gay voters.
The move comes after Senate Democrats
failed on Tuesday to advance repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,”
17-year-old law that prohibits gay troops from serving openly.
In
a statement released Thursday at the group's website, Libertarian
Party Chairman Mark Hinkle suggested that the gay community had
squandered its influence by backing Democrats.
“Exit polls indicate that Democrats
get over 70% of the LGBT votes in federal elections,” he said.
“Those voters must really love the Democrats' rhetoric, because
they certainly aren't seeing any action.”
Hinkle added that despite having
complete control of the federal government, Democrats have not kept
their promises to the gay community.
“They could have repealed 'Don't Ask,
Don't Tell,'” he said. “They could have gotten rid of the
Defense of Marriage Act [the federal gay marriage ban, DOMA]. But
they didn't do either of those things. That's a complete and total
betrayal of all the promises they made to gay and lesbian voters for
years.”
Hinkle went on to suggest that
Democrats only want to appear supportive of gay rights.
“After a carefully orchestrated
failure in the Senate, the Democrats are now blaming Republicans for
blocking the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' Of course, three
Democrats just voted against it too, including Majority Leader Harry
Reid. Reid claims he voted for procedural reasons, but the whole
situation seems calculated to look like they're trying to help, while
making sure they don't actually help.”
Wes Benedict, executive director of the
party, added that Libertarians are sexual orientation-blind.
“The Libertarian Party neither
supports nor opposes gay relationships,” he said.
The White House has said it was
“disappointed” with Tuesday's vote against repeal of “Don't
Ask” and that President Obama would continue to work with Senate
leaders to repeal the policy.