By Michael Crawford
Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate and Log Cabin Republican’s BFF, recently said that if elected she would push for a Federal Marriage Amendment that would ban marriage between same-sex couples. That did not sit well with newlywed Ellen DeGeneres.
In this clip Ellen shares how she really feels about Palin and her plan to write discrimination against LGBT people and our families.
By Michael Crawford
Cross-posted at Bilerico
There has never been a presidential nominee from either political party that is as supportive of LGBT civil rights as Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee. He has long fought for civil and equal rights for minorities including the LGBT community. And, in the presidential campaign, Sen. Obama has included LGBT Americans numerous times in his speeches.
After the jump is a list of Sen. Obama’s positions on LGBT issues.
By Waymon Hudson
Cross-posted at Bilerico - Florida
I recently had the chance to talk to Steve Hildebrand, the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Obama Campaign and the highest ranking gay staffer for the campaign.
Steve has spent more than twenty years organizing some of the most targeted and high profile political campaigns in the nation and is recognized as one of the best political strategists in the United States. Working extensively in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota, Steve has managed races and ran two political parties. He served as Midwest Political Director for the DNC during the Clinton re-elect in 1996 and as Political Director at the DSCC in 97/98. In 99/2000, Steve ran the Iowa caucuses for Vice President Gore and ran the Women Vote! Program for EMILY’s List in 2000. He managed Senator Tim Johnson’s campaign in 2002 and Senator Tom Daschle’s campaign in 2004. In 2007, decided to serve as the Deputy Campaign Manager for Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
The full interview, with discussion ranging from LGBT voter outreach to Anti-Gay Marriage Amendments to a fully-inclusive ENDA, after the jump.
By Michael Crawford
Just as friends don’t let friends drive drunk, we should declare right here, right now that as LGBT people we won’t let our friends vote McCain. At least not without a fight.
If you think I am overstating the importance of this, watch this video by the Human Rights Campaign on McCain’s long record of opposition to LGBT equality.
I understand that voting is a personal thing, but it is critical that we let our friends, family and co-workers know how much a McCain/Palin administration would hurt us and our families.
By Rick Rosendall
First published September 25, 2008 in Bay Windows
When the stakes in an election are high and our chances of victory are quite good, we can become so invested in winning that we start making threats about what we’ll do if we lose - whether we are opposing Proposition 8 in California or supporting Barack Obama for President. I have heard things like, “I’ll boycott,” or “I’ll leave the country.” We should resist these impulses because they are untrue (how many would actually emigrate?), they waste energy, and they give comfort to our adversaries. Social conservatives would love to see LGBT folk disappear.
Consider the logical result of boycotting states that pass anti-gay ballot initiatives. Such a stance would already exclude us from three-fourths of the country, not to mention punishing friends in those states. Fortunately, a more proactive approach has gained strength in recent years, as statewide groups - members of the Equality Federation - improve advocacy and organizing to elect allies and eliminate discriminatory policies in the states.
Some states, of course, are further along than others in the fight for marriage equality. We stand a better chance this year of defeating California’s Proposition 8 than Arizona’s Proposition 102. It is perfectly reasonable for donors to direct greater support toward fights where we stand the best chance of winning. But our long-term success depends on building capacity across the country in addition to preserving our victories in Massachusetts and California. There is plenty of work for all of us, and no use for hand-wringing and crying doom. To help defeat anti-gay amendments to state constitutions, visit votenoprop102.com for Arizona, noonprop8.com for California, and votenoon2.com for Florida.
As for the presidential election, given the recklessness, dishonesty and desperation of the McCain campaign, and the appalling prospect of another four years of Republican residency at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I have some sympathy for those who say they will do something dire if Obama loses. But their time would be better spent seeing that he doesn’t lose.
By Terrance Heath
Cross-posted at Pam’s House Blend
I walked into the convention hall today, on my way to the LGBT Caucus (and on my way to pick up a credential to get me into the Pepsi Center today), when I saw San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. After what he did in San Francisco, and what came of it on the California Supreme Court, I couldn’t just pass him by. (It didn’t hurt that he was taller and more handsome in person than he is in his pictures.) I had to stop and thank him.
I told him, I was just on my way to the LGBT caucus and that just wanted to stop and thank him. To which he responded “Thank you!” One of his aides overheard me say where I was going, and invited me to walk with them since they were going to the LGBT caucus too.
And then we stepped into the hall, and heard the announcement that Del Martin just passed away. She died quietly, surrounded by her family and friends. There was a gasp, and a moment of stunned silence.
And as I thought about Del, I realized that before she died she got to do something that perhaps she never thought she would: after 55 years together, she got to marry the woman she loved. Something Gavin Newsom helped happen, and something that some people with deep-pockets want to keep us from doing.