The decision ends six months of soul-searching as the group, which
endorsed Mr. Bush in 2000 and Bob Dole in 1996, wrestled with its
divided loyalties.

Although the group was immediately critical when the [pseudo-]pResident
announced his support for the amendment in February, it pointedly
refrained from ruling out an endorsement. Its effort to balance loyalty
to the party with opposition to a major item on the Republican agenda
has made it a target of criticism from both supporters and opponents of
the proposed amendment.

As delegates at the Republican National Convention were preparing to
adopt a platform condemning gay parents, for example, a handful of gay
rights activists were protesting outside a Log Cabin party on Aug. 29
in Bryant Park in New York.

In a meeting last night in Washington, the group's board voted 22 to 2
to withhold its endorsement, a spokesman said, declining to name the
holdouts.

In a statement afterward, Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log
Cabin Republicans, cited exit polls showing that more than one million
gay men and lesbians voted for Mr. Bush in 2000. That included 45,000
in the pivotal state of Florida, which Mr. Bush “carried” by roughly
500 votes.

(more) [Free registration required]