Democrats steer clear of discussing gay rights from the podium

About Kerry....

I am disappointed in Kerry that he didn't come out in full support for gay marriage. Having said that, I do understand why he didn't.

The number one priority is to get him elected, and the sad fact of the matter is, that won't happen if he gives the Republicans a target to go after. They would love it if he would endorse gay marriage because they would have something to scare middle America with. So, I do understand it and to get him elected, I'm willing to take a back seat in the bus to make that happen.

That pisses some of my friends off because they think I'm giving in to being second class. I tell them that there are MUCH BIGGER ISSUES HERE. If GWB is elected again, we will see more of a push and more support for the constitutional amendment against gay marriage. You will most likely see 2-3 Supreme Court appointments in the next presidential term, and believe me, he wouldn't put people in there who are sympathetic to our issues, let alone the Constitution.

If these changes are allowed to happen, the harm done will be devastating to us. We are talking about changes that could possibly take a generation to get rid of. That is what is at stake.

So yes, it's worth taking a back seat in the bus and let him say that he's "open" to "civil union type" of relationships.

About his wife... while I honor people who are strong and speak their mind, she is doing no one a favor by going over to a reporter while the cameras are running and telling him to "shove it". I understand that this particular reporter and paper has been hounding her for some time, but she played right into his hands.

The result: The topic on all the talk radio shows (most of which are conservative) was his wife. The conversations were something like this... "do we really want a First Lady in the White House who is showing no sense of grace?"

I know it's crap, especially after our esteemed Vice President said "go fuck yourself". But we can't afford to play into this. With everything the Republicans do and say, we have to take the high road. We have to counter attack with facts and data and above all else, keep our cool.

When you have to resort to slang and four letter words to make your point, your point is weak and you put yourself at a disadvantage.

You know, I can't help but be reminded of the great HBO movie out a few months back - Iron Jawed Angels that looked at the Women's suffrage movement in the early part of this century.

The same thing happened with them that is happening here. The "old school" political hacks wanted the more active suffragettes to shut up and back Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic Party eventhough he refused to help them in any significant way and the party itself was ignoring the issue.

There was eventually a split among the suffragettes when the more radical members broke off and organized opposition to Wilson and the Democrats for ignoring their issues.

The outcome? They finally got the vote and the old line folks who wanted them to sit down and shut up stepped right up to take the credit.

Sigh... the more things change --- the more they stay the same.

Step One is to get rid of Bush, even if that means not bringing gay rights issues.

The scary thing about Dubya's potential second term is that this time around the president will have the oppurtunity to install judges to the supreme court.

Dan

Did you hear about Teresa Heinz Kerry making that comment about how the GLBT community can call her "Mama T?" I'm not so sure about that...