A political consultant and fund-raiser for the past decade, Charles Moran knows his way around the California Republican Party. As a politically active gay man he also knows his way around the larger LGBT movement in California. Moran is bringing his expertise together as the finance director for Republicans Against 8, a group dedicated to defeating Proposition 8, which would overturn the California supreme court's recent ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Despite the conventional wisdom, Moran thinks there are many Republican voters who will enthusiastically vote down the proposition as long as someone reaches out to them.
Advocate.com:Let's start with the basics. Has the Republican Party endorsed Yes on 8?Charles Moran: The California Republican Party has endorsed Proposition 8 -- no giant surprise there, given a lot of the personalities and looking at the people who are pushing Proposition 8. That said, we're finding, in a lot of cases, whenever the party does make an endorsement, it is not lockstep. Rank-and-file members do not feel the need to be bound like that. And obviously, the gay and lesbian movement in California needs to be able to reach out to people who may be disaffected with the Republican Party in their endorsement to Proposition 8. Our response is: If you're voting for John McCain and you believe in individual rights and personal responsibility and the freedom to make decisions, and that's why you're voting for John McCain, then you should also be voting for no on 8. We don't see the correlation between being a Republican and voting yes on 8.
The little trick there is McCain has come out in support of 8. Is that a difficult position for you to sell?It's been obviously troubling for us, and we wish the senator had either not endorsed or endorsed in the other direction. The endorsement was solicited from the Yes on 8 campaign, who actually announced it. The McCain campaign did not announce it. It was kept fairly hush-hush for quite a while. Sen. McCain has endorsed Yes on 8, but is he barnstorming around the country announcing it, toting his support of Proposition 8? Absolutely not. It's something that's basically being used as a tool by the Yes on 8 campaign. I wouldn't necessarily characterize McCain's endorsement of Proposition 8 as a ringing cultural war clash between the Yes on 8 and No on 8 people. He has been with us in the past on a number of issues when we really needed him there. He has not come out and done anything for the Yes on 8 people except fill out their questionnaire. If that's all he is going to do, I'm quite fine with that.
What is your strategy as an organization?There is a segment of the Republican population that is not OK with repealing rights. And right now that's where we are. The Republicans were at the forefront of giving women the right to vote, giving blacks the right to vote, ensuring equal participation in our system. Proposition 8 would be taking away rights, and there are Republicans out there that are not OK with this message. What we've done is identify that segment. Generally, they are women between 30 and 60 years old that live in the central coast region of the state who come from more moderate political leanings. We've shown we can move these women from yes votes to undecided or undecided to no. We're not talking about a huge number of people here, but it is enough. And every percentage point we can move in[to] the no category is one step closer to an overall statewide victory.
How are you reaching out to these people?We are going to be doing mail, phone, and targeted web ads, stuff online -- that really is the most effective way to do it. We have a very select group of people we know we can move, and that's what we're focusing on.
How coordinated are you with the larger No on 8 movement?There are about 22 different organizations that are part of the No on 8 campaign, and we are as official as any of the others are. The great thing about this exercise is it's really given us an opportunity to show the gay community there are Republicans out there that don't support discrimination. Sometimes it feels like it is easier to be gay and Republican than it is to be Republican and gay. This has really given us an opportunity to get to know our LGBT colleagues since we're all in it for the same thing here. The reception we're getting from other organizations has been pretty positive.
Are you surprised by the money gap between the Yes on 8 and No on 8 campaigns? Is there something your group can do to help that?You can't say you're not going to focus on the money race. Being a fund-raiser, it is basically the bulk of what I'm spending my time doing. From the numbers I'm seeing, there is basically a 3-2 advantage (between the Yes on 8 campaign and No on 8 campaign). This is being used as a clarion call for the yes campaign across the country. I understand the money is pouring in and in huge chunks, like $1 million checks from [conservative Catholic group] the Knights of Columbus or whatnot -- those checks will keep coming in on the yes side. But quite honestly, they are also coming on the no side. There are a lot of people stepping up, knowing this is a battleground. If we get No on 8 in California, it is going to make it a lot easier for gay and lesbians across the country to advance their own marriage initiatives.
Is it hard and uncomfortable? Yes. But we're doing what we need to do. Yes on 8 is going on TV soon, and we'll see what kind of ads they are going to throw up. As we get closer to the election I think you are going to see the fund-raising numbers pick up. How does Republicans Against 8 fit into this? The main thing is we're not draining the No on 8 resources. We have our own financing operations, with Republicans giving to Republicans. We have been able to reach out to our communities and our finance base. We are getting those contributions, and we are holding events. We're really doing what we need to pull off our operation. We're stepping up to make sure we have the finances there.
Do you define yourself as a McCain supporter?I do. I have a lot of admiration and respect for the senator. I plan on voting for him in the November election. There are things I disagree with him on, but in the grander scheme of things I believe America can be and will be more prosperous under a McCain-Palin administration than if we were under an Obama-Biden administration.
Because No on 8 is so basic to a lot of LGBT people
in California, particularly people with families, how do
you reconcile that for someone who says, "I could
never vote for someone who doesn't respect
my family, especially when there is somebody on the
ballot who has said No on 8"?
I'll say to them, Barack Obama has come
out and said he is a No on 8 supporter, but at the end
of the day, he doesn't support equal rights for
marriage. Is he a lot closer to where our eventual goal is?
Yes. But neither Senator McCain or Senator Obama
support gay marriage for Americans. If you say
"Oh, I can't compromise," well, how are you
voting for Barack Obama, who has said publicly he
doesn't support gay marriage?
That argument rings hollow to me, because if you can't compromise yourself and vote for John McCain, and you're a strong supporter of gay marriage, you're not getting anything from Barack Obama either. Every time a gay rights supporter like myself leaves the Republican Party it gives the [far-right] wingers one more voice. One day our goals will be met. But it is a fight over time. I want to take the Republican Party back to the place it used to be, where the social policies were not the dominant campaign. We're not going to see what we saw in 2004 and 2006. It is a different Republican Party.
Where do you see the vote on Proposition 8 going? Is it going to be close?I think we are going to be victorious, but we are going to have to consistently push. There is a lot of organizing on the Yes on 8 campaign, and they are going to work just as hard as we are, but we have the truth on our side. We will be victorious in this election, but it is not going to happen by complacency.
