Dear Mr. President...

I just printed out the following letter to be mailed later today, and I encourage other Bush supporters to send your own thoughts to the White House -- though it's unlikely that Dubya himself will see your letter, they do get read by staffers. Make yourself heard. (I also suggest keeping it brief and highlighting your key points with bold or colored type -- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue gets a lot of mail!)

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

 
Dear Mr. President,
 
I am a gay American who once vowed that I would never vote GOP on the national level, and who voted against you in 2000. This year, I was honored to support you with my vote and I wish to express my deep admiration for your leadership in these challenging times. I also have three requests for you.
 
1) I realize that our relations with Saudi Arabia are complicated by the world’s dependence on Saudi oil and by the presence of Islam’s holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. However, in the years since 9/11, I have made the acquaintance of numerous ex-Muslims who have convinced me that Salafism is a real and terrible threat to democracies both established and developing. I urge you to be wary and uncompromising in diplomatic relations with the Saudis.
 
2) In the past few years it has also been my privilege to meet and correspond with pro-democracy dissidents from Iran. You have already said in clear terms that the U.S. will oppose the nuclear ambitions of the mullahs, and I hope that in your second term you will be much more vocal in supporting the overthrow of Iran’s Islamic regime.
 
3) As a conservative gay man, I appreciated your public opposition to those in the Republican party who would ban even civil unions. I believe that civil-union laws, enacted by state legislatures or by popular referendums, are a fair and reasonable way to protect the special value of traditional marriage while still affording some basic legal protections to same-sex couples. I ask that you continue to endorse the development of civil-union legislation by individual states.
 
With best wishes and warm congratulations,
 
Robert L. McGee

posted by Throbert | 11/04/2004 07:52:00 AM |

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