Hey, maybe the gay solider that got bashed at the debate was a plant by the Dems?
Now, ridiculous or real as it sounds, the point I'm making is it really doesn't matter what the Repub candidates do or say to influence their own image or the outward behavior of their constituents on this issue, what really matters is the core beliefs and attitudes of the people that vote for them. It's established fact that gay bashers will/have side(ed) with the Repubs, who have used gay bashing for years and years to attract those very voters that vocally expressed their beliefs at that debate. IMO, it's too late to shift gears and try to "appear" favorable or neutral on the subject of gays in the military for the Repubs. Being anti-gay has been hard wired in their platform for the longest time. It's only logical that anti-gays have found a home in that Party as opposed to the alternative.
The reaction the gay soldier received from those in the crowd was an expression of their core beliefs. That being said, you could rightly or wrongly say that there were just as many or more Republicans that were truly ashamed of what happened at the debate as there were those who expressed their hatred for gays, or specifically, gay military members, and not because of the open public display of hatred, but because of a sincere regard for gays. For others, it may be a side issue with more important issues that keep them in the Party.
And what of the many gay Repubs in the Party? They are there. How many? I'd say more than the Repubs would openly admit. Are they now going to vote for Obama because of what happened at the debate? What about the gays who are presently serving in the military? Are they too now going to vote Democrat because of what happened? What of their Repub friends and families who sympathize with their plight? Not a simple issue to weigh, after all is said and done.
It's really not a matter of the Repub Party finding a new identity, or reshaping its "appearance" for wider appeal, which apparently, is what they're after. It is what it is, and the anti-gays are an integral part of their indentity. They can be publicly marginalized, they can even be publicly rebuked *wink-wink*, but logically, they have nowhere else to go. They know it and the Party knows it. The anti-gays are a core constituency within the Party and the Party will have to deal with that one way or another.
However, what the Repubs cannot control are the wild card Independents that obviously makes or breaks any close election. It would be quite interesting to know how much of a deal maker/breaker this gay bashing issue is among them.
Ooops, sorry OP, from following my musings on this topic I may have taken your thread off on a tangent a bit.