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August 14, 2006

Orange You Glad I'm Not Winning?

In his campaign for Mayor, District of Columbia Councilmember Vincent Orange is a petty politician whose performance can't seem to gain traction with voters. With recent polls relegating him into the "also running" camp, his campaign has clutched for desperate measures - the latest: leading the fight against same-sex marriage.

As Fox5 reported on Saturday, Orange is now trying to distinguish himself as a social conservative, labeling his opponents (who almost all support same-sex marriage) as not being "morally fit to run this city."

"I am the only one that is opposed to same-sex marriage," Orange told Fox5. "The other four, they say they believe in God, they go to church, but they're also for same-sex marriage. So, I think coming down the stretch that that's going to be the key issue. I don't think they're morally fit to run this city."

This isn't Orange's first foray into divisive politics. When speaking at candidates forum sponsored by our local chapter, the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, Orange was asked to name a gay-owned business in the District. He couldn't - despite the fact that he had called an emergency meeting of his constituents to oppose the relocation of several gay-owned businesses into Ward 5, which he currently represents.

While the District of Columbia is home to large Black and Latino LGBT populations, politicians like Orange continue to ignore LGBT people of color in an attempt to divide Black Democrats from gay ones. Such maneuverings have little to do with race or sexuality, but much to do with promoting divisive politics to grow personal power. To them, gay folk are a White phenomenon in the Western part of the city. They ignore the fact that LGBT people are represented in every Ward, and among every community. More than other neighborhoods, my gay friends in Wards 7 & 8 in the almost-exclusively Black neighborhoods of Anacostia have long complained about their invisibility to District leaders.

Politicians like Vincent Orange who promote such divisive politics fail their constituents, LGBT people of color and the Democratic Party. And, like Vincent Orange, their politics will fail at the ballot box.

Posted by John at August 14, 2006 10:00 AM