The Republican Unity Coalition (RUC) was an organization of the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Two-party system, two major parties, it emerged as t ...

created as an outgrowth of the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

campaign in the 2000 presidential election. Formed by Bush family friend Charles Francis, it described itself a "grasstops" organization with a Board of Advisors that included the late former President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

, former U.S. Senator

Alan K. Simpson Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican Senate whip from 198 ...

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, philanthropist and banker

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American economist and investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Bank, Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of ...

, and

Mary Cheney Mary Claire Cheney (; born March 14, 1969) is the younger of the two daughters of Dick Cheney, the 46th vice president of the United States and 17th United States secretary of defense, and Lynne Cheney. She is involved with a number of political ...

, daughter of the former Vice President, and former U.S. Senator

John Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. It was a gay/straight alliance, that believed, according to its credo, the Cody Statement, that the Republican Party must become a

big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ideology, seek voters who adhere to that ideology, and att ...

and reach out to non-traditional Republicans. Specifically, it sought to include gay and lesbian Americans who shared the basic Republican emphasis on personal

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, self- responsibility and a strong

national defense National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived ...

. The RUC submitted an

amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...

to the Supreme Court in the case of ''

Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws Sodom ...

'', signed by former Senator Simpson and written by University of Minnesota law school professor Dale Carpenter and Eric Jaffe, former clerk to Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...

. Former Senator Simpson said he is "proud to have helped arrange for former President Gerald Ford during Ford's retirement years, to become the first U.S. President to become a member of a gay rights organization." In a private letter to Francis, Ford wrote he supported the RUC amicus brief and "gay equality before the law". However, after Bush called for a

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution, amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marria ...

to ban

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

in 2003 and supported the "Marriage Protection Act" covering the federal courts, the organization's activity and support quickly collapsed. The founding members felt Bush had "squandered a precious chance to broaden the GOP"."How Gay GOP Group Lost Its Faith in Bush", Carolyn Lochhead, "San Francisco Chronicle", October 10, 2004
/ref> While the organization has not formally declared itself as defunct, its political action committee, Unity PAC, was relieved of reporting obligations by the Federal Elections Commission in a July 25, 2006 notice, due to several years of inactivity. As of January 2008, its website has been shut down.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Republican Unity Coalition
at

SourceWatch The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org. History CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...

LGBTQ conservatism in the United States

Unity Coalition The Unity Coalition (''Coalición Unidad'') was a Costa Rican political coalition of right-wing opposition parties made in the 70s and oppose to the then ruling centre-left National Liberation Party. Four parties made the coalition; Democratic Re ...

LGBTQ political advocacy groups in the United States LGBTQ affiliate organizations of political parties Defunct LGBTQ organizations in the United States

See also

References

External links