Associated Press (via the Augusta Chronicle)
ATLANTA --- As the campaign for governor heats up, gay rights has emerged as a polarizing issue in the Republican primary.
Courting the gay vote can be radioactive in a statewide race in
Georgia, particularly in a Republican primary where the electorate
tilts heavily to the right.
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Karen Handel and Nathan Deal have been
feuding furiously over whether Handel flip-flopped on her support for
domestic partner benefits. The back-and-forth is intensifying, with the
election less than 40 days away.
It's widely expected the seven-person Republican primary on July 20
will result in a runoff between the top two finishers. Deal and Handel
are fighting to make the cut.
At the center of the dustup is Handel's stance on taxpayer-funded domestic partner benefits.
Handel says she opposes the benefits and in 2006 -- when she was
running for secretary of state -- voted against expanding them as
chairwoman of the Fulton County Commission.
But e-mails sent from Handel's account in 2002 to the head of the
Georgia Log Cabin Republicans appear to tell a different story.
"I do support domestic partner benefits, and confirm my position here," Handel wrote to Marc Yeager on July 29, 2002.
Yeager provided copies of his e-mails with Handel to The Associated Press and several other media outlets.
Handel said the e-mail was actually written by Matt Montgomery, the
campaign manager in the Fulton County race, and that it misstated her
position.
"I never had any kind of idea or feeling that I was communicating with someone other than Karen," Yeager told The AP.
Handel, he said, also told him in conversations that she supported
domestic partner benefits. He's convinced her position on the issue has
changed with her political aspirations. Fulton County is home to a
large and politically active gay community. Voters that are critical to
winning a race there can be a liability in a statewide contest.
"It's frustrating because it makes you cynical about the whole political process," Yeager said.
Montgomery did not return a call seeking comment but told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he wrote the message.
Deal's campaign has been attacking Handel for what they say is her
"liberal gay rights record." They've accused her of supporting gay
adoptions, which she has denied. And they have seized on the e-mail
exchange with Yeager, saying it demonstrates she's willing to say
anything to get elected.
Handel fired back that Deal was employing scare tactics in an effort to win.
"This is an age-old strategy where you yell 'gay' and say 'who hates gays the most,' " she said.
Handel's campaign later pointed to a pair of votes Deal made soon after entering Congress.
In 1993, Deal voted against an amendment that sought to require the
Defense Department to ask individuals entering the armed forces if they
are homosexual. The next year, Deal supported an amendment to weaken a
measure that would have prevented any educational agency receiving
federal funds from advocating homosexuality as a positive alternative
lifestyle.
Handel spokesman Dan McLagan said the votes showed Deal's hypocrisy.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said Deal voted the same way as former
House Speaker and conservative commentator Newt Gingrich on the "arcane
amendments."
