Clinton Tosses Ball to Obama After Pledging to Support Gays...Can Obama Do the Same? Will He Court the Gay Vote?
March 06, 2007
Okay so it’s really starting to heat up. Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton has upstaged her rival Senator Barack Obama, and I am not talking about her Selma appearance.
Clinton told the Human Rights Campaign in an unannounced speech that she wants a partnership with gays if elected president.
Clinton also said she opposes the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military that was instituted during her husband's presidency.
"I am proud to stand by your side," Clinton said in a keynote speech Friday to the Human Rights Campaign. "I want you to know that this is exactly the kind of partnership we will have when I am president," Clinton told the group. "I want you to know that just as you always have an open door to my senate office, you will always have an open door to the White House and together we can continue this journey."
I could just here it now, “Bet you can’t top that one Obama.”
So what should her Illinois rival do?
I’ll tell you.
He needs to make an unannounced appearance with the National Black Justice Coalition, the nation’s leading Black gay civil rights group, and do the same thing.
But will he? Can he?
Obama has so far benefited from having the support of Black America in his presidential bid. Would that all diminish if he were to go after the gay vote with Clinton?
In 2004, we saw an abundance of Black pastors campaigning from the pulpit on the issue of gay marriage and actually urging their parishioners to vote for President Bush because he opposed gay marriage.
Should Obama decide to go after the gay vote, are we doomed to see a repeat of years past that had the Black leadership ducking and dodging the issue at their annual get togethers for fear of incurring the wrath of the Black Church?
One thing is for sure, Obama and his strategy team have some work to do to keep up on this one.
It’s no secret that Black America is assumed to be homophobic from the church to the kitchen table, and NBA Player Tim Hardaway’s statement of hating gays didn’t help. Going after the gay vote may infuriate his Black supporters, but on the other end might give him the boost he needs to keep up with Senator Clinton.
Fact: gays do vote and in numbers.
If I were on Obama’s political strategy team (and for the record I should be), I would advise him to go after the gay vote through African-American lesbians and gays. It’s a win win in my book. He’s catering to African-Americans and gays at the same time in a way that no other presidential candidate has done or shown a willingness to do. When it comes to gays, it’s always the white gay vote which further feeds into the notion that all gays are white, which we are not.
In the spirit of full disclosure, it’s no secret that I am one of the founders of the National Black Justice Coalition, commonly referred to as NBJC. I currently sit on the board of directors and I chair our 501c4 Action Fund Board. For over three years we have been representing the Black same-gender loving community in politics, religion, and the media. We will be holding our 3rd annual Black church summit in Philadelphia this weekend bringing together religious figures and theologians to discuss the Black church, religion and gays. Co-chaired this year by author Dr. Michael Eric Dyson (last year’s co-chair was Rev. Al Sharpton), this year’s summit will feature an appearance by newly out former NBA player John Amaechi.
It makes perfect sense for the Black presidential candidate to go after the gay vote through Black people, Black gays to be specific.
Either way it goes, he’s going to have to eventually court the gay vote if he expects to win as president because he’s not running to be the President of Black America but for all of America, and that most surely includes gays.
Back in 2004, Obama said he would not let his religious beliefs dictate the way he approaches public policy.
"Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn't cause discrimination," Obama said. "I think it is the right balance to strike in this society."
In his recent memoir “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama said, “I was reminded that it is my obligation not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society, but also as a Christian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided.”
Obama, you’ve got the ball, make your move and make it fast.
Posted by Jasmyne at 12:04 PM | Permalink |
We're Gonna Catch us a Bass
January 31, 2007
An official notice to say that we've placed the TrailMix blog on hiatus until late February when we plan to overhaul all of our online features for the main site as well as the blog. Look for a retooled TrailMix alongside a stable of new bloggers and features.
See you soon.
Posted by NSD at 10:53 AM | Permalink |
It’s Not All Good Between Bush and Black Pastors
October 25, 2006
In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, Peter Wallsten reports that it isn’t happily ever after between Black pastors wooed by the GOP and the White House.
According to the L.A. Times, complaints among black pastors who had been courted by the White House — while less pronounced than those of Latino leaders — have been fueled by a tell-all book by former White House aide David Kuo. The new book says that Bush, referring to pastors from one major African American denomination, once griped: "Money. All these guys care about is money. They want money."
A White House spokeswoman said Friday that nobody there recalled hearing such a comment from the president.
The Rev. Eugene Rivers, a Boston Pentecostal minister and one of about two dozen black clergy invited to a series of White House meetings with Bush, said Friday that black leaders had been wooed with assurances that their social service groups would receive money from the president's faith-based initiative. But, Rivers said, the bulk of the money had gone to white organizations, leaving black churches on the sidelines.
Rivers plans to send a letter early this week to the White House demanding to know how much social services money has been directed to black churches under the faith-based initiative, and requesting a "new conversation" with Bush.
"There's a growing frustration and anger in the black religious community nationally as the Kuo book makes the rounds," Rivers said. "Meetings at the White House show you the door, but they don't necessarily open the door."
I hate to agree with Bush on anything, but this is probably the one time that he’s right. All those mega church pastors care about is money.
Why do you think Rev. Rivers wants to know how much was directed to the Black churches under the faith-based initiative, because it’s about the money.
As I have said all along when this phenomenon of Black pastors “bucking and shucking” for the President started, they don’t give a damn about these Black pastors or their churches. They were bamboozled. They got their photo with the President, a nice dinner, and a tour of the White House. In return, the White House publicly applauded their efforts and behind closed doors laughed and poked fun at them for not realizing that they were being used. Black pastors were used to create a wedge in the Black community on certain issues, like gay marriage.
Hopefully they’ve come back to reality and have taken a look in the mirror. Black is Black baby, regardless of whether you’re blue or red. Maybe next time when Rove and Bush come a knocking on Black church doors, they’ll remember that.
Still, I can’t help but chuckle as I sit here typing this thinking back on all of the Black pastors who dutifully stood behind the President only to be left on the porch as their white evangelical counterparts reaped the benefits.
Photo Caption: More than 60 African-American pastors gathered in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2004, to oppose marriage rights for gays including civil unions. They called on the Black Caucus to sponsor a constitutional amendment protecting marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The event was sponsored by the conservative Traditional Values Coalition. Bishop Paul Morton of Greater St. Stephens Full Gospel Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA addresses the media condemning same-sex relationships and the "civil rights ploy."
Posted by Jasmyne at 11:48 AM | Permalink |
Howard Dean to Speak at Black Gay Pride Event
September 26, 2006
Vermont Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will be attending Baltimore’s Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride celebration set to take place Friday, October 6, 2006 at the Wyndham Baltimore Inner Harbour Hotel located at 101 Werst Fayette Street in Baltimore. He will be the featured speaker at Baltimore Black Pride’s Pre Black Out Party Reception that will take place at 5 p.m. This will be Dean's first time attending a Black gay pride celebration.
The reception is the first official event of the weekend long Baltimore Black Gay Pride which runs through Sunday, October 8, 2006.
For more information and a complete schedule on Baltimore Black Gay Pride, please visit www.bmoreblackpride.org.
Posted by Jasmyne at 11:45 AM | Permalink |
Anti-Gay Group Urges Support for Terrorists
September 22, 2006
Tony Perkins of FRC issues
urgent call to support terrorists
The nation's greatest anti-gay activists will gather this weekend in Washington, DC for the Family Research Council's Washington Briefing. They will be joined by officials from the Bush Administration (Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Tony Snow) and prominent Republicans like George Allen, Katherine Harris, Marilyn Musgrave and Rick Santorum.
Republicans should be rightfully chided for attending a three-day festival filled with anti-gay workshops and speakers (James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Maggie Gallagher). However, the Family Research Council is much more than the leading anti-gay organization. As of last night, it is a supporter of terrorism.
I received an urgent email last night from FRC calling on me to contact the Indonesian embassy to urge clemency for terrorists convicted of gunning down more than 200 civilians. Why the support? I'm not sure. The same could be asked of conservative writer Michelle Malkin, who recently took flack for her own support of this terrorist cell. I should mention that the terrorists happen to be Christians who were convicted of killing Muslim civilians.
The Family Research Council appears to be offering a defense of convicted terrorists simply because they are Christian.
Just as we should denounce Muslim terrorists who kill in the name of God, we must also denounce terrorists who prostitute the name of Christ for their own purposes. As an American, I want to see the equal prosecution of terrorists regardless of faith. As a Christian, I might even argue for an more aggressive prosecution against those who pollute the reputation of my own faith with their killings.
Our nation is fighting a War on Terror. Terror is terror. The Family Research Council shouldn't be excusing terror because it is done in the name of Christ. Our nation should reject that argument, and Republicans should reject organizations like FRC who coddle terrorists simply because they proclaim a similar faith.
Posted by John at 03:36 PM | Permalink |
Black Gay Mayor Welcomes Focus On the Family to Palm Springs
Black and openly gay Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden is in the news today.
The L.A. Times has reported that Oden, sent a letter welcoming Colorado based conservative group Focus on the Family to Palm Springs for their "Love Won Out" conference slated to take place this Saturday. Focus on the Family believes that gays can “overcome” their homosexuality and teaches that gays and lesbians lead deviant and un-Christian lifestyles and have a choice in their sexual orientation.
Oden sent conference organizers a letter noting how "pleased" he was that they were holding the event in the area.
"It's a pleasure to welcome you," the mayor wrote to Focus on the Family, which is holding the conference. "We are so proud to have you here in the Palm Springs area."
Palm Springs has one of the nations largest percentage same-sex couples, needless to say, some of Oden’s constituents are not happy.
Oden said Thursday that the group had requested a welcome letter months earlier, and that he doesn't regret sending it.
"Not long ago people were saying they didn't want us in their communities," he said. "If we now turn around and say we don't want them, where does it stop?
"If we want the acceptance and understanding of others, it's also important for people to see we're willing to extend the same courtesy to others."
Posted by Jasmyne at 04:49 AM | Permalink |
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop…Black LGBT Bloggers Strike Again
Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender bloggers have done it again.
A controversial concert scheduled in Los Angeles for October 3 that featured homophobic reggae artist Buju Banton was officially cancelled by the venue’s management after an email campaign was initiated. (See L.A. Times Story)
In less than 24 hours after the campaign was started, the assistant general manager of the Highlands Nightclub in Hollywood Adam Manacker sent out an email stating that he was not aware of Buju Banton's lyrics or his anti-gay sentiment until he started getting e-mails. His email goes on to say, “I have since done some research and have decided to cancel the show. I apologize on behalf of myself and the Highlands.”
This latest Black LGBT blogger campaign comes on the heals of a similar campaign against two anti-gay artists, Beenie Man and TOK, who had been scheduled to perform at an AIDS benefit concert put on by LIFEbeat, the music industry’s AIDS charity.
But even with all of these successes for Black LGBT bloggers, there’s a sentiment that Black bloggers are still not considered a part of the “mainstream” blogging community.
President Clinton recently convened a meeting of bloggers in Harlem, New York without the presence of any Black or Latino participants.
Organizers of the meeting claimed to have invited two Black bloggers who couldn’t make the meeting, but the response was met with much skepticism from Black bloggers who contend that there’s no way they couldn’t find someone Black to participate given that they were meeting in the heart of Harlem.
Posted by Jasmyne at 04:47 AM | Permalink |
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters Makes “Top 20 Most Corrupt” List
California’s Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) has made the D.C. based watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) “20 Most Corrupt Members in Congress" list….again.
An eight-term Democrat representing 35th District communities which includes South Los Angeles, Waters is believed to have exercised power in Congress "to financially benefit her daughter, husband and son."
"Rep. Waters' family members have used her name and connections to make lucrative commercial deals from which they have reaped personal financial gain in violation of House rules," CREW said.
Waters' daughter, Karen Waters, allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars by charging for spots on slate mailers issued by a nonprofit organization that sends sample ballots to voters, according to CREW. Rep. Waters’ husband, Sidney Williams, also earned hundreds of thousands of dollars by working as a consultant for a bond underwriting firm that seeks government investment, CREW said.
Waters' son, Edward, also benefited from her political connections involving a county lease to run a golf course in South Los Angeles, according to CREW.
To be fair, Waters is in the company of California's very own Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside; Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville; Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands; Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar; and Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy.
An August 2006 Harris poll shows that 77% of Americans have a negative view of Congress and a May 2006 Gallup poll indicates that 83% of Americans consider corruption a serious issue.
Other Blacks on the list include Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana.
Of the 20 “most corrupt,” two are Black, three are Democrats, and 17 are Republicans, including Federal Marriage Amendment supporters Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania and Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colorado.
Posted by Jasmyne at 04:42 AM | Permalink |
Pro-Gay Muslim Wins Democratic Nod
September 13, 2006
Photo Credit: Craig Lassig/AP Photo
Keith Ellison last night claimed the Democratic nomination for Minnesota's overwhelmingly-Democratic 5th Congressional District. Many news outlets have focused on the fact that Ellison will become the first Muslim elected to Congress with a victory in November. However, what many reports filed from outside Minnesota have overlooked is his strong record of support for LGBT issues.
Ellison has not only been a supporter, but a dogged advocate for LGBT families in Minnesota. He helped lead the Democratic opposition to an anti-marriage amendment in the state legislature and rallied the Black religious community against it in speeches and editorials. This, in part, earned him the endorsement of the Minnesota Stonewall DFL - our local chapter.
Ellison is a candidate who has admitted his flaws (having his drivers license suspended for failing to pay traffic tickets), and who seems able to learn and grow from them. Opponents attacked Ellison for his college-days defense of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan from charges of anti-Semitism. However, Jewish political leaders in the district quickly rallied around the Ellison campaign to point out his work with their community.
I've worked in Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. It has the unique position of being home to the state's largest concentrations of Black, Jewish, Muslim, immigrant and LGBT voters. It is a place that is home to the largest Somali refugee community and to the largest concentration of openly-gay elected officials in the country. Bringing together Jewish, Muslim, African American, African Immigrant and LGBT activists, Keith Ellison has been able to talk about his support for LGBT equality in local mosques and his faith as a Muslim before gay audiences.
As we wade through another political season where Republican politicians try to divide Americans by exploiting homophobia in communities of faith, it is reassuring to have a counter-balance to their efforts in someone like Keith Ellison.
Read More: Would a Constitutional Amendment Welcome the Stranger, Clothe the Naked or Heal the Sick? (Keith Ellison, editorial)
Posted by John at 09:57 AM | Permalink |
Don't Tread on Me
September 12, 2006
President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush - Photo Credit: Reuters
Would anyone who took a basic civics class in high school like to tell us what is wrong with this picture? It is not the first time that something like this has happened.
Posted by John at 10:34 AM | Permalink |
