The Republican Party remains bigoted against gays and "isn't worth saving," according to Jimmy LaSalvia, founder of the conservative gay advocacy group, GOProud, who recently quit the party.
"The bottom line is the Republican Party has lost its way and I've determined that it's so far gone that it isn't worth saving. We can't save it. Let's pull the plug on the patient. It's brain-dead," LaSalvia told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"Let's come together to make our country better instead of trying to fix something [that] isn't fixable."
LaSalvia built GOProud as a national group of gay and straight Americans, promoting "freedom by supporting free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights." Conservative commentator Ann Coulter is on the advisory council.
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But
LaSalvia announced Monday that he has given up his GOP party affiliation and registered as an independent, accusing Republicans of supporting fringe groups that promote homophobia.
"There's an industry in Washington and they're a sliver of the Republican Party . . . that makes their living demonizing gay people and the leaders of the party are paralyzed with fear of backlash from them," he said.
"For instance, when Mitt Romney hired a gay guy to be his foreign policy spokesman, that guy was drummed out of the campaign and Mitt Romney couldn't bring himself to stand up to the anti-gay forces who were criticizing him."
He said the Romney campaign was so "paralyzed with fear from them . . . they couldn’t even send a surrogate to the party that I sponsored, GOProud sponsored last year, at the convention for fear of backlash from the anti-gay forces."
LaSalvia says he has considered himself a "team player" for his entire career, but is embarrassed by the GOP's lack of backbone on gay issues.
"Most Americans know that they're just wrong and they're reminded every time a Republican stands up and spews anti-gay venom and he's not denounced," LaSalvia said.
"All that does is remind America that they're wrong and that that's what they think about their gay family and friends because everyone in America has a gay person in their life."
"I don't know a single Republican, whether they're the most hardcore right-winger or the most squishy moderate, who isn't embarrassed to call themselves a Republican right now and, for one reason or another."
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