Election 2012: Could This Be The Election Year That LGBT Americans Score Big?

 

 

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LGBT Americans and our progressive allies could be looking at an election in 2012 that will be historic - perhaps even a turning point in the battle for LGBT full equality. The potential is there and the community has to be made aware that we need everyone to step up, give until it hurts, volunteer and make sure we don't miss this moment. Everywhere we look there is history waiting to be made. The ballot box for LGBT Americans could hold a considerable number of victories for us come November. Let's take a look:

-The LGBT community has an excellent opportunity to add two more marriage equality states by winning ballots in both Washington and Maine. Polls are increasingly favorable for us in those states and victory is within grasp. The Washington effort is being led by Washington United for Marriage. In Maine you can send your assistance to Equality Maine.

-While polls are close LGBT Minnesotans have a chance to defeat the religious right's amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution banning marriage equality.

-Very strong efforts for marriage equality are underway in Maryland and New Jersey. If they succeed through the legislative process in Maryland, we could face a ballot vote in the Old Line State which could be a tough battle but within reach. New Jersey simply becomes a question if we can muster enough legislative votes to override a veto by Republican Governor Christie.

-In New Hampshire where the situation appeared dire, there seems to be some sense that if the Republicans legislatively repeal marriage equality, they will lose enough of their own members and not be able to override Democratic Governor Lynch's veto.

-North Carolina will vote on banning marriage equality in May.  The Republicans moved it to the May primary date so there would be less Democrats voting.  Basically they attempted to rig the election so few voters would vote. It is an uphill battle but we might make a surprising showing for a Southern state. 

-The LGBT community could see a major historic moment if Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin is elected to the United States Senate. She would be the first openly LGBT person every to serve in that institution. You can send your support to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

-While Congressman Barney Frank is retiring and Congresswoman Baldwin is running for Senate we should not be afraid that Congressmen Jared Polis and David Cicilline will be left alone. There are at least four viable openly LGBT Americans who have announced they are running for Congress. They are:

Mark Pocan (WI-2)

Mark Takano (CA-41)

Richard Tisei (MA-6)

Matt Heinz (Arizona)

In addition there are two candidates who have not officially announced but if they do, they would be powerful candidates. They are:

Sean Maloney (Upstate New York)

Justin Amash (Western Michigan)

-There is a very good chance we could take the mayor's seat in San Diego.

The above is the tip of the iceberg of all the excitement at the ballot box for LGBT candidates and victories for marriage equality. This could be our moment in the sun. Please don't miss it.

Election 2012: Odds and Ends

 

 

-The Florida primary is yielding a ton of interesting information for people to ponder over their morning coffee. First and foremost the turnout was a quarter of a million voters less than in 2008 showing a real lack of excitement about the choice of Republicans.

-One of the most interesting exit poll numbers in Florida was that 40% of the people, who did bother to vote, wished there was someone else running! Hardly a sweeping endorsement of Romney, is it?

-The 35% of Florida voters who descried themselves as 'very conservative' and strong supporters of the Tea Party voted by wide margin for Newt.

-Really good news is coming out of Ohio. President Obama is making a big comeback in the Buckeye State! Where he was once behind, he is now leading Mitt by 7%. The President's approval rating has jumped since last November by 8%. Ironically, Santorum does better than Romney against the President and trails him by 6%.

-More good news out of Oregon! In a race that was expected to be closer, Democrat Suzanne Bonamici defeated Republican Rob Cornilles by a landslide margin of 57% to 38% for a special election to fill the seat in Oregon's 1st Congressional District.

-Santorum is working Colorado, the home of Focus of the Family, hard. According to CNN he has picked up the endorsements of former Congressman Tom Tancredo, former Congressman Bob Schaffer and former Lt. Governor Jane Norton.

-Here is the February schedule for the primaries and caucuses:

Nevada caucuses - February 4
Maine caucuses - February 4-11
Minnesota caucuses - February 7
Missouri primary - February 7
Colorado caucuses - February 7
Arizona primary - February 28
Michigan primary - February 29

-The good news for Romney is that the states of Nevada, Colorado and Arizona have some of the largest Mormon populations in the country (see map). Nevada is at about 7%, Arizona has 6% and Colorado is more on the low end with 3%.

-Missouri could be a problem for Romney. In the latest Public Policy Polling, Romney was running third in the quest for delegates in the caucuses. Gingrich was at 30%, Santorum was at 28% and Romney at 24%. Wouldn't be surprised if Santorum took Missouri after Florida.

-Political genius Nate Silver for the "New York Times" had presented "Five Paths Forward for the GOP Nomination" in his latest column. It is well worth the read!

-President Obama 445 bundlers raised an astounding $74 million last year. Sixty of the fundraiser brought in over $500,000 each to the campaign.

-If Maryland passes marriage equality in its legislature, it is likely to face a referendum in November. The latest poll taken by the "Washington Post" has marriage equality winning by 50% to 44%! That is the largest margin since they started taking polls on the issue in Maryland.

-"Edge" reports that a former Romney Intern when he was running for Governor of Massachusetts says the flyer distributed at Gay Pride 2002 was cleared by the campaign. In that flyer Romney endorses marriage equality.

-Incumbent Senator Bill Nelson from Florida is in a tough race. Although the latest Suffolk University poll had him with a ten point lead over Republican Congressman Connie Mack (son of the former Senator).

-First Lady Michelle Obama charmed a crowd of Hollywood types at a fundraiser in the home of former Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant and her husband, Netflix's Ted Sarandos. Among those attending the event (where some paid up to $35,000!) wereJeffrey Katzenberg, Steve Bing, Berry Gordy, Vivica Ferrell, Quincy Jones, Jerry and Ann Moss, Jimmy Jam, Irena and Mike Medavoy, Rob and Michele Reiner, Terry Lewis, Reed Hastings, Arnon Milchan and Harvey Weinstein.

Impressions...by David Mixner

 

 

-"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away..." Just last week the LGBT community was so excited about Governor Chris Christie's appointment of openly gay Mayor Bruce Harris to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Now we find out Harris made a pact with the devil and agreed to Christie's condition that he would recuse himself from any marriage equality cases! Does that mean African-Americans and Jewish-Americans have to recuse themselves too on cases impacting those communities? Is it even legal for the governor to demand a 'vote' before appointing someone! Outrageous!

-Count me among the many millions of "Downton Abby" fans. I can't wait for the Sunday night series. Now we get word that legendary actress and old friend Shirley MacLaine (photograph above) will be in the cast of Season Three starting in September! By the way, isn't it long overdue that MacLaine receive a Kennedy Center Honor? Now, that page should be created on Facebook!

-In Washington State, the Senate will vote on marriage equality tomorrow.  If it passes, the House will quickly vote on it and send to the Governor who will sign the legislation. Keep your fingers crossed!

-Did your jaw drop as much as mine when I heard that Mitt Romney and his wife Anne made his dead father-in-law a Mormon? Seems as deceased wasn't big on religion at all when he was alive. Nothing like forcing your values and religion on the dead.

The Glass House Tavern packed the celebrities in the last two weeks. Seen gracing their tables were Stephen Sondheim, Bernadette Peters, Nick Jonas (photograph), Michael Lurie, Beau Bridges and Agent Michael Moore.

-New Public Policy Polling has arrived on the anti-LGBT Constitutional Amendment that will be on the ballot this coming fall in Minnesota.  At this moment 48% will vote against us and 44% for us. Looks like a tough road ahead on this one.

-The United States might have set an all time low temperature record for all fifty states. One station in Alaska might have passed -80 degrees. While we have been having the year without winter, Alaska has been frigid and tons of snow. God help us if it breaks loose and heads south.

-In the 1960's, people would shout at protestors to move from the good ole USA if they didn't like it here. Congressman Alan West (R-FL) gave a speech where he suggested that the President, the Speaker and The Senate Majority Leader should all "get the hell out of the United States!"  

-This week will be the vote in New Hampshire to repeal the marriage equality bill. Already some Republicans are refusing their party leadership to fall into line. What is clear is that Governor John Lynch will veto the bill and it is becoming increasingly unlikely there will be the votes to override the veto. By the way, over 60% of the people of New Hampshire support marriage equality.

-At last a real heroine emerges from the Costa Concordia shipwreck. After the cowardly captain 'accidentally' fell into a life boat, a young Peruvian waitress, Erika Fani Soriamolina, stayed onboard, helped passengers into life boats and gave her life jacket to an elderly man. Her body was found on the ship this week.

-Finn Air was taking a plane full of passengers from Helsenki to Delhi to celebrate India's Republic Day. Suddenly before take off dancers appeared in the aisle and gave them all a taste of Bollywood!

-London's 'Countdown to the Olympics' has started and the plans are well underway for the Opening Night. The theme will be a Shakespearean "Isles of Wonder" under the direction of Danny Boyle, Oscar-winning helmer of "Slumdog Millionaire."

-Producer/Director Ryan Murphy of "Glee" fame has had NBC pick up his new pilot "The New Normal.". The comedy is about two gay men and the surrogate mother they pick to carry their baby! Andrew Rannells from Broadway's "Book of Mormon" would be one of the three leads.

-MassResistance in 2007 posted this piece about how 'pro-life Romney' really didn't have his heart into it back then. Worth a read.

-Chicago might have its hands full come the G-8 Conference May 1. A leading Occupy Movement magazine is calling for 50,000 protesters to converge on the city to protest the G-8 policies. Mayor Rahm Emmanuel might have wished he stayed in DC. Here is a video clip from the 1968 Democratic Convention the last time so many protesters visited Chicago. And we all know how well that turned out.

Editorial Cartoon of the Week: Defense of Marriage

 

 

 

LGBT: Major Survey Says College Freshmen Want LGBT Americans To Get Married!

 

 

The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA has released results of a survey of incoming college freshmen in 2011. More than 200,000 first time, full time students participated in the survey. The students at the four year colleges were generally more liberal on marriage equality, abortion and legalizing marijuana than they were two years ago.

The students certainly want to get LGBT citizens to the 'church on time"! An amazing 71% of college freshmen believe same sex couples should be able to legally get married. That is up from 64% in 2009. Now if all those freshmen could just convince their parents and grandparents we would be in great shape.

Regarding the issue of abortion, 61% believe in a women's right of choice. That is up from 58% two years ago. As for smoking a joint, 49% believe it should be legal and that is an increase of 3%.

Shame on Governor Chris Christie....

 

New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie loves to give the appearance that he is tough and often swaggers around loudly proclaiming his views. As he campaigns for the Vice Presidency on a Romney ticket he tells those that disagree how "things are done in Jersey." Wonder if the governor shares with those voters that the way a governor acts these days in Jersey is cowardly? Wonder if tells about a governor of the Garden State distorts history and advances division in order to advance his creeds with the right wing religious extremists who have taken over his party?

Bigotry is exactly what the cowardly Governor Chris Christie is currently practicing "Jersey style."

The New Jersey legislature is set to pass marriage equality and the governor promises to veto the civil rights bill. He wants a referendum on the issue and to allow the voters of New Jersey to vote on the rights of its neighbors. In pressing his case, he said that African-Americans would have loved the right to have the public vote on their rights in the 1960's.

What planet is he living on? Does he really believe African-Americans in Mississippi wanted the public to vote on their rights in the 1960's? Are you kidding me, Governor? African American leaders in New Jersey were the first to respond to this insanity. Mayor Cory Booker of Newark said,

"I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960's, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states,"

The first African-American Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, Shelia Oliver, was shocked and offended at the governor's suggestion and said,

“Governor, people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method. It took legislative action to bring justice to all Americans, just as legislative action is the right way to bring marriage equality to all New Jerseyans.”

Even President Eisenhower and Republican Minority Leader Everett Dirksen opposed a referendum on civil rights for African Americans.  Republican Minority Leader Dirksen said in 1959:

“Do we have legislative responsibility or don’t we?” he said during the debate on the Senate floor. “I’m ready to accept my responsibility. I’m not going to pass the buck to the people back home and say, ‘I’m thinking about the next election.' And they would say, ‘Haven’t you got any guts to stand up under the Constitution of the United States?’”

The governor pointed out that individual rights had been voted on before in New Jersey. In 1915, male voters in the states voted overwhelmingly to deny women the right to vote. Does Governor Christie really think this was a bright spot in New Jersey's history? That this vote was the right action to be taken in the suffrage movement?

Even The New Jersey Star-Ledger, a conservative paper, took on the governor's lack of courage in an amazing and powerful endorsement of marriage equality that must be read in its entirety but here is a powerful excerpt:

Imagine how different American history would be if this rule by referendums had carried the day from the start.

Take race relations. If Southern states could have held a referendum on free speech rights for Martin Luther King Jr., can anyone doubt how it would have turned out? How long would it have taken for voters in Mississippi to integrate its public schools?

Gallup has traced attitudes toward interracial marriage for decades. Note that when the Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s ban in 1967, fewer than 1 in 5 Americans supported the court’s position. If Christie’s philosophy had carried the day, the ban would have remained in place until the late 1990s.

The point is that minority rights should not be subjected to majority vote. That misses the gist of constitutional rights.

As James Madison put it in Federalist Paper 51: “It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part. If a majority can be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.”

Christie is not bothered by such niceties. He is a politician who sees this kind of restraint as an obstacle to be overcome, not a principle to be respected. He has even threatened to ignore Supreme Court rulings that he doesn’t like.

He is, in other words, exactly the type of politician that Madison had in mind when he drafted the Constitution’s restraints on majority power.

Americans must remember in this time of historic struggle for civil rights that Governor Chris Christie was nothing more than a coward, bully and horrible historian.

Impressions....by David Mixner

 

 

-Well my heart belongs to Tom Brady but my team is the New York Giants for the Super Bowl! This will be the battle of the two 'cover boy' quarterbacks. Go New York Giants Blue!! Outsports.com has proclaimed these teams as two of the most LGBT friendly team in the NFL.

-Romney in one of his speeches said, "I didn't inherit money from my parents. What I have, I earned. I worked hard the American way." Actually Romney did inherit some money from his wealthy parents but says that ten years later he gave it charity. There is another two words someone should ask him about, "Trust Fund".

-The 'bad taste of the year' award goes to the owners of the ill fated Costa Concordia cruise ship for offering the passengers a 30% discount on their next cruise. Really, the idiots really make that offer!

-London's "Telegraph" has an amazing slide show of pictures. All of the pictures are taken on the ship the night of the sinking. Here is one from the hull of the ship as they attempt to escape down its side. Click here to view the others.

-Republican Chris Christie has appointed an African-American gay man to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Mayor Bruce A Harris would be the first openly LGBT appointment in the history of the state.

-Washington State now has enough votes in their State Senate for marriage equality. There are enough votes in the House and Governor Chris Gregoire has promised to sign it. The right wing National Organization for Marriage has promised to take it to the ballot in November if they can get the signatures. The last poll taken showed that the voters would vote for marriage equality by 55% to 38%. Wow.

-Delegate Heather Mizeur from Maryland says that Governor Martin O'Malley will introduce marriage equality legislation today in the Maryland legislature. Here is Delegate Mizeur from the last battle.

 

-The marriage equality news this week is endless. Love, Honor and Cherish in California has started collecting signatures to place repeal of Proposition 8 on the November ballot. This will be an uphill effort given the number of signatures required in a very short time period. If anyone wants to collect signatures click here.

-Jaweed Kaleenm has written an article for The Huffington Post exploring the pay and perks of America's leading Pastors. For example Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church in Houston doesn't take a salary but is worth tens of millions of dollars. He has a new $10.5 million 17,000 square foot mansion.

-The word from the Sundance Film Festival is that the documentary "How To Survive A Plague" received two standing ovations and is a hit. Bravo to David France and Joy Tomchin!

-Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has raised over one million dollars in the last quarter of reporting in her effort to become the first ever open LGBT person elected to the United States Senate. Have you make a contribution yet? Click here.

-The Miller Grizzied Langur Monkey has long been believed to be totally extinct. They have recently been discovered in Indonesia.

-Towleroad.com has a great story on Pekka Haavisto who is an openly gay man seeking to be the Presidency of Finland. If he would win he would join Iceland and Belgium as countries with openly LGBT people as head of states. He also have a very handsome partner. Check it out!

-Public Policy Polling shows that of the nation's independent voters that 71% would have no problem voting for an openly LGBT candidate. This is America's largest blocks of voters and a very important statistic.

-Katherine Dean has written for the Huffington Post the places where LGBT couples (at all costs!) should avoid for their honeymoon. Jamaica and Belize are both on the list!

-According to the Harris Poll, Johnny Depp is once again the most popular actor in America. Believe it or not, John 'the Duke' Wayne still places fifth! Go figure.

-"Think Progress LGBT" has a great article by Igor Volsky on Romney's history with the LGBT community when he was running for Governor of Massachusetts. He was so pro-LGBT in that race and even compared our struggle for freedom to that his father fought for African-Americans in the 1960's. So much for principles......

-Gizmodo.com has taken some historical pictures and added color. You can see them all at the site but do you think honest Abe looks better in black and white or color?

LGBT: An Important Couple of Weeks for Marriage Equality

 

 

The election year of 2012 is shaping up to be a major one for those who support marriage equality. The states of New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington, Minnesota, North Carolina and Maryland all have serious marriage equality efforts taking place. In some states we are fighting off repressive initiatives or repealing existing marriage equality legislation (Minnesota, North Carolina and New Hampshire). In the other states we are proactively fighting for the passage of full equality in the legislatures.

While Minnesota and Maine are next November and North Carolina is this May, we face some real action over the next couple of weeks.

-The passage of marriage equality is moving rapidly through the New Jersey legislature and the pro forces might have enough votes to override a veto by Governor Christie.

-In Washington State it appears we are currently just one vote short in the State Senate and passage is likely with the Governor signing the legislation. The likelihood of a referendum is high.

-The recent opposition by the Democratic Senate President in Maryland has slowed down that effort.

-New Hampshire has postponed a vote until February in the Republican effort to repeal marriage equality.

The next couple of weeks promise to be a really interesting and extremely important time for marriage equality supporters.

Impressions....by David Mixner

 

 

-Friends have whined to me that the stars of today lack the glamour of old Hollywood. How could anyone look at the above picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes and not see enormous glamour and star power?

-Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour will be honored at this year's New York City Human Rights Campaign Dinner on February 4th. "Glee's" Ryan Murphy will present the award at the Waldorf-Astoria event.

-Openly gay Republican candidate for President Fred Karger received 485 votes out of the over 150,000 Republican votes cast in New Hampshire. He did beat Michele Bachmann who was no longer running but fell behind Buddy Romer who obtained 950 votes. Romer also was not allowed in the debates.

-Open Lesbian Torie Osborn (photograph) in the bitter California 50th Assembly District race raised an amazing $521,122 for her race. Most of the money came in small donations from 1,639 donors. She continues to make the LGBT community proud. Click here to donate.

-Initial meetings are taking place in Illinois to prepare to introduce a marriage equality bill in the 2013 legislative session. Legislators are meeting with LGBT activists to create a winning strategy.

-There is a compelling and moving interview of Ugandan LGBT activist Frank Mugisha. Michelangelo Signorile did a brilliant job through the interview of getting to the horror of the lives of Ugandan LGBT citizens. Mugisha is a real hero.

-Long time LGBT activist Don Moreland died in Seattle. Morehead, besides been such a king and gracious gentleman, was a powerhouse behind the scenes in politics for the LGBT community. He will be greatly missed.

-The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that Dave Spence who is running for the Republican nomination for Governor in Missouri claimed he had an degree in 'economics' from the University of Missouri. Seems as he might have been misleading the voters since his degree was in "home economics"!

-Does a Japanese 'Atlantis' exist? Off the southwestern coast of Japan is the "Yonaguni Monument" named for a nearby island. The undersea site is claimed by some to be a discovery of a lost city and others say nature created the formations. Take a look at this video and what do you think?

-Nate Silver of the "New York Times" has looked at the national polls and concluded that Romney has an almost lock on the nomination.

-Getting the 'bad taste of the year award is the Barrett -Jackson Company which is planning to auction off the hearse that carried President Kennedy's body from Parkland Hospital to Air Force One. They are hoping to make over a million dollars.

-In case anyone was wondering, "Politico" is reporting that anti-LGBT Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is actively putting his name out there as a possible Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket. God help us!

-The news that the number of missing has jumped to 29 with 6 confirmed dead in the latest cruise ship disaster is dreadful. What is the worst maritime disaster ever?  "The Daily Beast" has a slide show of the worst ones in history. The winner/ loser is the World War II German ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff in 1945. It was filled with refugees fleeing the Soviet Army and near 10,000 people died on the ship.

LGBT: Marriage Equality Vote Is Very Close In Washington State

 

 

Attempting to become the seventh state in America to pass marriage equality, Senators in the State Legislature submitted legislation on Friday. Even more exciting is that the legislation has 23 sponsors and only 25 votes are needed for passage. Since the Governor has promised to sign the legislation and passage in the House is easily expected, finding just two more votes in the Senate will bring Washington into the marriage equality column.

This is the closest that any state has been to passing marriage equality since the magnificent victory in New York State.

If passed it is expected that anti-marriage equality forces will attempt to put it on this November's ballot to repeal the legislation. The latest polling in Washington showed that 55% of the people of the state support full marriage equality.

Equality Maine is expected to announce by the end of January that they have double the number of needed signatures to put marriage equality on the ballot this November.