Republicans & gay rights. Did you know one in four gay voters chose George Bush over John Kerry?

Did you know one in four gay voters chose George Bush over John Kerry in 2004? Yup, it’s true – there’s a small percentage of us who still think Republicans are our friends.

For those who just can’t end their masochistic attraction to the GOP, Salon.com offers a voting guide to help you decide which Republican candidate is better for lesbian and gay life in the United States.

For example – Giuliani has flipped his wig on GLBT issues since his campaign began. He went from dressing in drag and living with gay guys – to opposing same-sex marriage. He’s against New Hampshire’s civil union law and skirts around the issue of gays in the military.

Massachusetts’ son, Mitt Romney, once plastered Boston with gay-friendly fliers that said “All citizens deserve equal rights regardless of their sexual preference“. He told voters in 1994 that he would be a better leader for the gay community than liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy. Now Mitt says, “Every child has a right to a mother and a father.” He wants to amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage. He has come out against ENDA and likes the current military policy excluding openly gay troops. Ugh.

McCain typically doesn’t answer questions about discrimination based on sexual orientation. But in 2000, he slammed right-wing evangelical members of his party as “agents of intolerance”. He went on to say “We are the party of Ronald Reagan, not Pat Robertson”. Underscoring his skills as a politician, he supported an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to ban gay marriage – but opposes a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

The good news? James Dobson and his crew at Focus on the Family have promised not to vote Republican if McCain wins the party’s nomination.

The latest to join the fray, actor Fred Thompson, straddles the homo-hetero fence by telling reporters he would not support amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. But he did support amending the Constitution to prevent state or federal judges from legalizing marriage without the consent of state legislatures. He also wanted to amend the Constitution to clarify that a same-sex marriage in one state did not have to be honored by any other states.

And then there’s Alan Keyes. After his own daughter, Maya Marcel-Keyes, announced she was a lesbian, she said he stopped funding her college education.

Enough said. Good luck masochists.

Photo of Giuliani in tragic drag: Spencer A. Burnett