FORT LAUDERDALE – The Dolphin Democrats of Broward County released a statement this week “denounce[ing] as highly offensive the Broward Log Cabin Republicans for running a political ad featuring a photo of the half-naked body of murdered US Ambassador Chris Stevens being removed from the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.”

The statement, which was emailed by Dolphins President Tim Ross, decried the “Log Cabin Republicans … [purchase of] an ad in the Florida Agenda newspaper in order to drag Ambassador Stevens’ half-naked body through the pages of the newspaper for their own brazen political propaganda purposes.”

It added, “The ad sought to use the Ambassador’s death to encourage LGBT voters to back the Republican ticket in November. This is highly flawed advice in that it would be encouraging LGBT voters to support anti-equality extremists like Adam Hasner and Ellyn Bogdanoff.  These two members of our Florida Legislature, serving as Committee Chairs, have refused to even give a hearing to any legislation supporting your right to not be fired for being LGBT, your right to not be refused housing or services because you are LGBT, and your right to visit your LGBT domestic partner or spouse in the hospital.”

Last week (Florida Agenda, October 17, 2012, POLITICAL DESK: “Ad Does Not Represent Position of Log Cabin Republicans”), the organization’s national executive director, R. Clarke Cooper, similarly declaimed the Broward chapter’s decision to purchase ad space for the inflammatory political message.  In that same issue, Agenda Editor Cliff Dunn defended the decision to permit the ad to run, citing “a community journal[’s]… ethical obligation to provide a balance, offering ad space (and editorial column inches) for all political sides in a presidential election year.”