Color them conservative.

GOP presidential hopefuls scramble to appeal to the party's most antigay factions

If you thought the Republican Party could not get any worse on gay issues, think again. Early entrants in the 2000 presidential sweepstakes are falling over each other to earn the support of antigay voters who control crucial early primaries.

Former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, wealthy publisher Steve Forbes, former vice president Dan Quayle, ex-American Red Cross president Elizabeth Dole, and former Family Research Council president Gary Bauer are vying to inherit the mantle of Pat Buchanan, the zealously antigay campaigner who made strong showings in the primaries in 1992 and 1996.

The early front-Framer, Texas governor George W. Bush, who has yet to announce his candidacy, has drawn fire from the announced candidates for describing himself as a "compassionate conservative." Alexander called the term "weasel words," and at the January 21 meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, Bauer, surrounded by supporters in BAUER POWER T-shirts, declared he was the only "Reagan Republican" in the group.

For Bush, the term "compassionate" apparently does not apply to gay men and lesbians. A top Bush aide said the governor would support legislation barring same-sex couples from adopting children or becoming foster parents. "Governor Bush believes that the best home for a child is in a traditional home with a mother and a father present and should be the first choice for a child in need of a home," a Bush spokeswoman told the Houston Voice January 21.

"It is an example of George Bush pandering to the right wing," said Dianne Hardy-Garcia, executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. "We have told people, that we shouldn't expect anything from George Bush. He has never been a stand-up guy for our community." At this point it appears the same could be said for the entire GOP presidential field.