It’s 2008, ‘some of my best friends are gay’ doesn’t work anymore. Sorry, we’ve already had one ‘compassionate conservative’ in the White House for eight years, we aren’t interested in another.
Right on Joe!
As you can see in this video produced by HRC, McCain has opposed every piece of pro-LGBT legislation that has come his way. He even supports the anti-gay state constitutional amendments pending in Arizona, California and Florida.
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.
There are dark clouds on the horizon of the battleground state of Florida. New laws and tales of voter suppression efforts already have many voters nervous and confused. Florida, which was recently named “the most hostile state in the nation to new voters” by three national voting-rights groups, has significantly tightened voter identification laws and made it easier for voter’s rights to be challenged.
Two news laws passed by the Republican controlled legislature have many Democrats already crying foul. The first is the so-called “No match, no vote” law, which requires a match between a voter’s driver’s license or Social Security number and a government database- records which many say are full of errors. A second law allows citizens to challenge the legitimacy of fellow voters without proving their accusations. Instead, the challenged voter has two days to “justify his right to cast a ballot.”
Add this to a concerted effort to confuse many voters about their registration, as well as spread dangerous misinformation about the new laws, and there is a disaster brewing in Florida.
Much more, including a mailer sent out by McCain to democratic voters, after the jump…
His reasons are hilarious, absolutely hilarious. But then he knows that he’s coming from an intellectually dishonest position in order to get new donors from the 23% of the LGBT community that voted for Bush in 2004 when LCR didn’t endorse him and that he has to push for a sub-par candidate.
His reasons and a few responses are after the jump.
I wanted to bump up this post by Vic Basile because with less than 50 days before election day Vic’s message is even more important than ever. This video from the Human Rights Campaign also underscores Vic’s message and makes clear what is at stake this election for LGBT voters.
By Vic Basile
Vic, a longtime GLBT activist, was the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign and a co-founder of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.
During the 2004 election, I wrote about doing all that I could to prevent my family and friends from voting for candidates who oppose equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people. More importantly, I encouraged all of my GLBT brothers and sisters, as well as our straight allies, to do the same.
Of course, we can’t really stop our friends and families from voting for whomever they choose – it is, at least for them, a free and democratic country – but we can prevent them doing it without damaging our bonds of love, trust and friendship. The reality is that they can’t truly love or even respect us, and knowingly vote for candidates who work to deny us the same equality and freedoms they enjoy. The two are simply incompatible.
By Richard J. Rosendall
First published September 11, 2008 in Bay Windows
I’m sick of the phony reasons some gay people give for opposing Barack Obama. I am not talking about my friends in Log Cabin Republicans, who prefer John McCain for broader ideological reasons. I am talking about angry Hillary Clinton supporters.
For example, Sirius OutQ talk-radio host Larry Flick, still upset that Clinton had not won the Democratic nomination, slammed Obama on Aug. 28 for opposing same-sex marriage. Yet Clinton holds the same position on marriage — except that she would only repeal Article 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, whereas Obama favors total repeal.
Flick challenged Sirius Left host Mark Thompson, an African American minister and activist with whom I’ve worked for years, on his support for Obama. Flick expressed outrage that Obama accepted help from “blatant, aggressive homophobes” Donnie McClurkin and Illinois state Sen. James Meeks. Yet Clinton enjoyed support from homophobic Bishop Eddie Long of Lithonia, Ga., and from former D.C. City Council member Vincent Orange, who as a mayoral candidate in 2006 called his opponents morally unfit for supporting marriage equality.
Elizabeth Birch, longtime LGBT activists and former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign talks about the stark differences between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain on LGBT issues.
The Minnesota Independent is reporting that the McCain camp directly tapped right-wing fundie Gary Bauer, the president of American Values (a non-profit organization committed to “defending life, traditional marriage, and equipping children with conservative values”) to consult on the campaign’s behalf on what many are touting as “the most socially conservative platform in the party’s history.” Bauer appeared on the Focus on the Family radio show and explained his involvement, saying:
I was immediately amazed, surprised and happy to hear them say, “Look, we think it’s a great platform already, it’s pro-life, but we know people might want to strengthen it and we’re open to that.”
There may have been a time when John McCain could have been considered a “maverick,” but that time has clearly come and gone. McCain has hired Karl Rove’s henchmen to run what even the traditional media is calling one of the nastiest campaigns in recent memory.
