Apparently it’s perfectly fine to hate some people and not others, according to certain Republicans, among them the president.

White House Opposes Hate Crime Bill

The White House issued a veto threat Thursday against legislation that would expand federal hate crime law to include attacks motivated by the victims’ gender or sexual orientation.

The hate crimes bill, with strong Democratic backing, is expected to pass the House Thursday. Similar legislation is moving through the Senate.

But the legislation, which also would increase the penalties for bias-based violence, has met outspoken resistance from conservative groups and their Republican allies in Congress, who warn that it undermines freedom of speech, religious expression and equal protection under the law.

I’m not clear on how expanding the definition of hate crimes to include more targeted groups “undermines… equal protection.” I’m also looking forward to seeing the end result and the discussion and arguments along the way.

There’s a growing divide in the Republican party along a new and undefined line; as the right-wing radicals have become more radical, an increasing number of moderate voices are speaking up, disassociating themselves and speaking in favor of environmental protection, human rights, and withdrawal from Iraq. Some of them are also pro-choice, and are in favor of civil unions, like Christie Todd Whitman or Arlen Spector. They’re still definitely flawed human beings (who isn’t?), but their numbers are growing in reaction to the completely outlandish behavior of people like Rick Santorum and John Ashcroft, not to mention Ann Coulter.

But this bill may be vetoed after passing through the House and Senate, due to the people who think of themselves as being the “true conservatives.” These are the Republicans who are policing their own party, jeering fellow Republicans for not being conservative enough. “Governor [Mitt] Romney, his views … have been moderate to liberal in [the] North, in the Northeast, and it’s all on videotape,” former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore said on “The Situation Room” recently. “And now he’s trying to shift to be a conservative.”

Their strategy is to convince everyone that a “real” Republican would never be pro-choice, would never be in favor of civil unions, and deny that the science of global warming is factual. Back in the day, even before I was walking barefoot through the snow five miles to school, Republicans cared about conservation of the environment and individual rights. And now, the moderate Republicans are being accused of not being conservative because they are proponents of these rights.

At this point, many of you might be wondering why I care about the Republicans at all, why even bother writing about them on a progressive, queer blog. The reason I care is that the Republican party isn’t going to go away – it will continue to exist, and statistically will continue to get the support of at least a third of the registered voters in this country. We can’t ignore them, or dismiss them as hopeless. If there’s the possibility of the party transforming itself in the 21st century, and becoming once again a party with a platform of indiviual freedom and environmental and fiscal responsibility, then yes, I do care. I won’t ever join them, but I’m hoping that enough of them will vote for the hate-crimes bill to show me that change is happening.