CNN "refuses" ad criticising GOP platform

CNN's American network has refused to air an advert from the Log Cabin Republicans that sharply criticises their party's position on gay rights.

"We are deeply disappointed that CNN has refused our voices the opportunity to be heard," said Log Cabin Republicans executive director Patrick Guerriero. "Last week we told the Republican Party that you cannot sugarcoat the vicious and mean-spirited platform, today we want CNN to know that you cannot sugarcoat the politics of fear and intolerance that lead to hate."

A press release from the Log Cabin Republicans organisation, whose members are Republicans who support gay rights, said that CNN refused the advert saying that the images are "too controversial." The release goes on to point out that other cable networks will be airing the thirty-second advert.

A description of the ad was posted on the organisation's website, where the ad can also be viewed. It reads: "The ad begins with footage from President Ronald Reagan's 1992 speech at the Republican National Convention in Houston. President Reagan said, 'Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears.' The commercial offers a clear choice for the GOP: follow President Reagan's lead by uniting Republicans on common beliefs or follow Jerry Falwell, Pat Buchanan and Rick Santorum's lead by dividing the GOP with an intolerant social agenda based on fear and exclusion. The ad closes with images of the Reverend Fred Phelps holding a sign that reads "God Hates Fags," at the funeral of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard."