I guess if Troy King is still in the closet, he can be on the Alabama GOP steering committee. BINGO!You may have read last week that top RNC leaders voted unanimously on a resolution stating that the national party "will not partner with the networks nor sanction any primary debates" if they they plan to sponsor and broadcast a documentary on Hillary Clinton. They're talking about excluding CNN and NBC (including Spanish labguage networks CNN en Espanol and Telemundo) from the Republican debate season, meaning Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes fans will have to look elsewhere in order to hear moderator Mark Levin trying to sabotage Chris Christie's presidential campaign. “It seems that Republicans don’t get it,” DNC press secretary Michael Czin said in a statement. “If they truly want to connect with a broader audience, they need an agenda that fights for the middle class and is inclusive. Sadly, it appears that with today’s vote, their approach is to actually speak to even fewer voters.”And fewer voters many Republicans hope their party ignores goes beyond progressives and Hispanics. The GOP in Alabama has no interest in hearing from gay Republicans-- or evengay-friendly Republicans. And the state party's bylaws may soon reflect their hysterical homophobia.
A proposed amendment to the state's Republican Party bylaws would allow the removal of the Alabama College Republicans chairwoman, who spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage in June, from the party's steering committee.Following the Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act in June, chairwoman and University of Alabama student Stephanie Petelos spoke to AL.com about the generational divide between party leadership and young conservatives on the issue.She told Buzzfeed the comments reportedly infuriated party leaders, who began attempting then to remove her from the steering committee.They struck a deal in which Petelos would not speak to the press on the issue, and committee members would stop trying to oust her.The proposed amendment, sponsored by Don Wallace of Tuscaloosa and Bonnie Sachs of Double Springs, states no one can continue to serve on the steering committee if they publicly advocate a position contrary to the platform adopted at the Republican National Convention.To be reinstated, the individual must publicly rescind his or her comments, the amendment states. Today, Petelos would only offer a brief statement to AL.com regarding the issue."The only thing I have to say is that I had an agreement with GOP leaders to not discuss the gay marriage issue further, and they agreed to drop the issue and stop trying to remove my position," Petelos said. "So I am going to continue upholding my agreement with them."In Petelos's June comments to AL.com, she said she was frustrated with the harsh and religious rhetoric coming from GOP party leaders.She also said even more young conservatives would come out in favor of same-sex marriage if not for fear of retribution from party leaders."I think a lot of people would be actively for it if they didn't live in fear of backlash from party leaders," she said. "We don't want to go against the party, we love the party. We're just passionate about a whole list of other issues, that's why we're involved."Petelos also praised the SCOTUS decision and demonstrated support for marriage equality on social media sites.Though Petelos would not comment further on the situation, other Alabama conservatives have come to her defense.Chris Brown, a former chair of the Young Republican Federation of Alabama who served on the steering committee for four years, said he doesn't necessarily agree with Petelos's views but finds the response to her comments "disturbing.""I'm tired of the bullying they're doing to a 23-year-old girl," Brown said. "They're trying to intimidate and scare her."Brown said he believes some current party leadership is comfortable with the current state of the party, and isn't receptive to young conservative groups like College Republicans and the Young Republican Federation of Alabama's attempts to diversify the party."We're trying to reach out and bring in more young people, women, minorities through our affiliated organizations, but our state party doesn't seem to be accepting in the same way," Brown said. "As our party grows, we need to be respectful of other people's opinions."