Washington for Lesbian, Gay and BirnEqual Rights and Liberation,” the MellonrnAuditorium was host to the officiallyrnsanctioned “National S/M LeatherrnFetish Conference.” The 1993 GayrnMarch was designed to show Americarnthat gays are in the mainstream of societyrn—just like everybody else. The S/Mrnevent featured members of the hardcorerndominant and submissive homosexualrncommunity. Interviews I conducted atrnthe time with participants revealed menrnwho viewed pain as pleasure and totalrndomination as an ideal. The participantsrnparaded around the Mellon Auditoriumrnin dog collars, chains, and had piercing inrnevery conceivable body part. Virtuallyrnnude men who were “submissive” werernbeing led around on leashes by theirrn”dominant” partners or “masters.”rnThis 1993 conference also featured arnslide show presentation, showcasing anrnexample of some of the “mainstream”rnaspects of the gay lifestyle. A series ofrngraphic photos depicting various sexualrnacts were prominently displayed. Onernphoto featured a man “fisting” anotherrnman. Participants at the event ponderedrnthe series of photos as though viewingrnpriceless artwork.rnThe conference also featured sexuallyrnexplicit magazines and paraphernalia tornhelp fully experience the S/M lifestyle.rnOne tract titled “The guide to safe S/M”rncautioned that consuming fecal matterrnwas a “high risk activity” for the transmissionrnof the HIV virus, but maintainedrnthat urinating games were “low risk activities.”rnSeveral publications on displayrnadvocated pedophilia.rnIn order to procure a federal buildingrnfor any type of event, a maze of paperworkrnmust be filled out and strict regulationsrnmust be met. Despite the publicrnnudity, illicit sexual activity, illegal drugrnuse, and pornography at both of thesernhomosexual events, law enforcementrnnever intervened. Contrast this with therncontroversy that inevitably follows whenrnsomeone attempts to erect a nativityrnscene in or outside of a public building.rnThe 1996 Cherry Jubilee weekendrnproves that the homosexual agenda is advancingrnin Washington. The use of twornfederal buildings for the weekend partyrnshows how successful the homosexualrnlobby has been in “mainstreaming” itsrnagenda. Voters, consumers, and stockholdersrnshould hold the government andrncorporations accountable when they underwriternevents like Cherry Jubilee. Thernvoters need to ask which side of the “CulturernWar” the Republican Party is on andrnwhat real change the so-called “GOPrnRevolution” has wrought. The GOPrnleadership on Capitol Hill needs to explainrnhow an event which featured illicitrnsexual activity, public nudity, and illegalrndrug use was allowed to occur in a federalrnbuilding.rnMarc Morano is a freelance journalistrnbased in Washington, D.C.rnRon Paul and thernTwo GOPsrnby Thomas Woods, Jr.rnThis November may not turn out tornbe as dull and depressing as it oncernappeared. Ralph Nader’s charminglyrnquixotic bid for the White House, basedrnon getting the United States out of NAFTA,rnGATT, and Bosnia, will doubtlessrnadd some substance to the presidentialrncontest, but the most exciting race thisrnNovember will occur outside the presidentialrnarena. In a recent political upset,rnformer Congressman Ron Paul soundlyrndefeated the influential and well-connectedrnincumbent Greg Laughlin in thernRepublican congressional primary inrnTexas’s 14th district.rnWilliam S. White, an early biographerrnof Senator Robert Taft, devoted a chapterrnto what he called “the two OOP’s,”rnand the race between Paul and Laughlinrnplaced this persistent division in starkrnrelief. Paul, a medical doctor and arnmember of Congress from 1976 throughrn1984, is a man of the Old Right. A freerntrader, Paul opposes NAFTA and GATTrnas left-wing schemes that have more torndo with entrenching supranational bureaucracyrnand undermining nationalrnsovereignty than with internationalrntrade. His position on foreign policy isrnone of strict nonintervention abroad. Inrndomestic affairs, Paul is so opposed tornwealth redistribution that he has consistentlyrnrefused to vote for pork even forrnhis own district. His record in Congress,rnin fact, earned him the highest NationalrnTaxpayers Union rating ever.rnLaughlin’s voting record also speaksrnfor itself. Over the past few years, he hasrnvoted against the family tax credit andrnfor the Clinton tax increases, the Bradyrnbill, racial quotas, and Goals 2000. Anrnorganization called the Campaign forrnU.N. Reform even named him a “globalrnstatesman,” an honor he presumablyrnearned by voting to place American soldiersrnunder foreign command, andrnthrough his faith in the internationalistrntrinity of NAFTA, GATT, and the Mexicanrnbailout.rnFor traditionalists who cling to the beliefrnthat the GOP has their interests atrnheart, the Republican leadership’s unanimousrnendorsement of Laughlin mustrnhave been particularly sobering. Thernguilty parties can scarcely claim ignorancernof Laughlin’s liberal past; shortlyrnbefore the 1994 elections. Newt Gingrichrnobserved that Laughlin, then arnDemocrat, “has a 78 percent votingrnrecord with Bill Clinton; that tells yournwhere he stands.”rnIn June 1995, Laughlin changed hisrnparty affiliation but insisted that “I’mrnnot changing my personality. I’m notrnchanging my philosophy, not the way Irnvote nor the way I represent this district.”rnYet in a contest pitting Laughlin againstrnPaul, Gingrich and Texas Senator PhilrnGramm endorsed Laughlin without hesitation.rnA disillusioned Paul called thernendorsements “typical of our current politicalrnsystem to back down from principles.”rnTo the chastened and cynical conservative,rnhowever, the COP establishment’srndecision was predictable, to sayrnthe least. When presented with a choicernbetween a “global statesman” on the onernhand, and a true man of the right with arnproven record of opposing the welfarewarfarernstate, Republican heavies willrntake the Clintonite in a heartbeat. Asrnthe primary season demonstrated, thesernmen hate and fear nothing more thanrnthe genuine article.rnWith his impressive record in thernHouse and his name recognition amongrnconservatives in Congress, Paul couldrneasily become the de facto leader of therncongressional right with a victory inrnNovember. While Clinton and Dole engagernin the most soporific presidentialrncontest in recent memory—no meanrnfeat, that—the real political story willrntake place in the Lone Star State, in RonrnPaul’s race against Democratic nomineernCharles “Lefty” Morris. If Speaker Gingrichrnhates the rebellious Republicanrnfreshmen now, wait until they find arnleader.rnThomas Woods, ]r., is a doctoralrncandidate in history at ColumbiarnUniversity.rnJULY 1996/37rnrnrn