General Gay & Lesbian Biographies, Politics & Gay Rights, U.S. Politics & Government - 1945 - 1989, General & Miscellaneous U.S. Political Biography, Political Parties - United States

Party Crasher

Name: Party Crasher
Author: Richard L. Tafel
ISBN: 9780684837642

by Richard L. Tafel

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Overview

In Party Crasher: A Gay Republican Challenges Politics as Usual, Richard Tafel, head of the Log Cabin Republicans, issues a challenge to some of America's most sacred political institutions. Using personal anecdotes as well as the stories of other gay and lesbian Republicans, Rich Tafel succeeds in humanizing the struggle he and others have undertaken in their efforts to have their party deal fairly with gays and gay issues, as well as their campaign to make gays aware of the benefits that can accrue from having political alliances with others besides traditional left-leaning Democrats. The book is laid out in three sections: "Life," "Liberty," and "The Pursuit of Happiness." In the part entitled "Life," Tafel shows that gay political ideologies are a product of the rejection gays experience. The next section, "Liberty," shows how those ideologies play themselves out in the course of day-to-day American politics, and Tafel warns of the dangers gays face in being taken for granted by the Democratic Party while being written off by the Republicans. In "The Pursuit of Happiness," Tafel argues that political strategies alone aren't enough to advance the cause of gay rights - spiritual values and morals, he says, must be at the heart of the gay strategy. Here he challenges both those within the gay community who reject moral language and spirituality and those in organized religion - particularly those in his own Christian faith - who view sexuality simply as a matter of choice, and a choice to be condemned if it is not the straight and narrow.

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Editorials

David Brooks

...[T]he question is: Is it even possible to be a gay Republican, or are the two labels inimical? In his lively book,...Richard Tafel argues that the breach can be healed...
— The New York Times Book Review

Advocate

Your own politics aside...you should read Party Crasher if only because he makes a convincing case that Democrats take lesbians and gays for granted.

Kirkus Reviews

Tafel's part memoir, part moral manifesto challenges gay politics to find freedom from the backstabbing of Clintonian-styled Democrats through the reputedly big tent of the GOP, as well as to create an ethical center from which to promulgate a libertarian view of an America receptive to gay people. Tafel is an ordained Baptist minister and executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay political organization. One cannot doubt the sincerity of his tone in his calls for the Republican Party to return to its roots of individual freedom, nor does he fail to delineate the remarkable successes of the gay Republican political agenda. The strength of this volume thus lies in Tafel's clear moral vision and unapologetic call for personal responsibility in an age of blame. Unfortunately, Tafel succumbs too readily to history-lite, psychobabble, and an endless litany of "Profiles in Gay Republican Courage." He rehashes political struggles and gay history with the in-depth reporting of an Eagle Forum–endorsed sixth-grade textbook, and in some bizarre post-Freudian, discombobulating of the Oedipal complex, he interprets gay people's political identities as a mirror reflection of their coming-out experience. Though attacking identity-based politics as an emotional sideshow, Tafel himself certainly falls victim to the desire to show just how hard it is to be a gay Republican—especially at liberal Harvard Divinity School. Tafel is at his best when he wisely points out the folly of a gay political strategy that puts all its eggs in one Democratic basket, and his calls for a moral compass should resonate loudly for both the gay and straight communities. Certainly, Tafel's voice must be heardand reckoned with if real political change is to be effected for gays and lesbians. A book with important ideas for the gay community to consider, marred by easy-to-digest prose reminiscent of a light feature in USA Today.