Pundits accused Dole of being a " flip-flopper and a hypocrite . " Editorials ran in major newspapers , including the '' Washington Post '' , '' The New York Times '' , the '' Boston Globe '' , the '' Atlanta Journal-Constitution '' , and the '' Times '' of London , condemning Dole 's action , joined by radio commentators Rush Limbaugh and Don Imus . Under the pressure , Dole admitted during an October 1995 press briefing on Capitol Hill that he regretted the decision to return the check , and that his campaign was responsible for it without consulting him . " I think if they 'd have consulted me , we would n't have done that , would n't have returned it , " Dole said . Dole later told '' Washington Post '' editor and author Bob Woodward that the LCR episode was a " mistake " because the decision to return the check " gets into Bob Dole the person . It 's not so much about Bob Dole the candidate . It 's the person . Is he tolerant ? Does he tolerate different views ? Tolerate someone with a different lifestyle ? " He added , " This is basic , this is what people ought to know about you . Are you going to just do this because it sounds good politically ? " LCR 's leadership met with Dole 's coalitions manager to discuss an endorsement after Dole 's reversal . Among various items , Tafel demanded there be no gay bashing in the speeches from the podium of the 1996 Republican National Convention , nor any anti-homosexual signs on the convention floor . He also wanted to see a gay person address the convention and a public request from Dole 's campaign for the LCR nod . On the closing night of the Convention , Stephen Fong , then-president of the San Francisco chapter , spoke at the dais as part of a series of speeches from " mainstreet Americans , " but was not publicly identified as gay . Nevertheless , his presence on the podium for the organization and for the gay and lesbian community " was something that would have been unimaginable four years earlier , " Tafel later wrote . Two days later , Dole spokesperson Christina Martin told a reporter that the campaign " welcomed the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans . " LCR voted to endorse Dole for President , and then-Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour approved the use of the RNC 's press briefing room for Tafel , LCR 's convention delegates and officers of its national board to announce their decision
1996 Republican National Convention
1996 Republican National Convention
LGBT conservatism in the United States