Yup. I'm kind of slow, I guess. It took me till now to process my thoughts regarding the latest betrayal by the Democratic party.
Once again they betrayed the LGBTQ Community, along with their lap dogs in the Human Rights Campaign, through their absolute lack of support for the fight for gay marriage and EQUALITY in Maine.
It didn’t all come together until I read the following on the Gay Liberation Network’s web site:
Some in our community continue to make excuses for President Obama – “give him more time” to help us, they say. But this ignores the fact that not only has the President backed away from many of his promises to the LGBT community, he has repeatedly stuck us with bone-headed moves like featuring anti-gay Rev Rick Warren at the inaugural. When he was an Illinois State Senator, he backed equal marriage rights. But on the eve of winning his U.S. Senate seat in a landslide victory, he junked his commitment to equality, saying that his “Christian beliefs” dictated that he oppose equal marriage rights. The cravenness of march organizers’ allegiance to the Democratic Party can be seen in their issuing a speaker’s invitation to a rally for legal equality to a man who opposes it for same sex couples. Even former Vice President Dick Cheney is far more progressive than Obama on the issue! If we are going to make civil rights progress today we need to learn how previous generations have made sweeping gains. They did it not by becoming beholden to either party but by making demands on both parties. As the great anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass put it, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.”
As cited, the Democratic party has been screwing us over for decades, but Maine was the proverbial last straw.
Likewise, the HRC is more interested in cocktail parties and photo ops at the White House than they are about LGBTQ Equality.
BTW, I will no longer be fighting for “gay rights.” That has been the tired, old assed phrase used by Joe Solomese and his cronies when they accept “compromises” and “when the time is right” bullshit.
From now on, I will only accept LGBTQ Equality. I am not asking for one damn thing more than the average American citizen receives, but I damn well will NOT accept less, any longer.
So, from today on, I am canceling our affiliation with the Democratic party and will not give them one red cent of our money. Both Amy and I will be registering as Independents.
The thousands of dollars we contribute every year will not be going to the DNC or the RNC. They can both kiss our rather attractive asses.
Instead, we will be contributing MORE money than before, but it will be directed to races in which a member of the LGBTQ Community is in contention and/or straight candidates who have openly and actively supported LGBTQ Equality with actions rather than words.
There are several excellent organizations that will help us do this. Organizations like the http://www.victoryfund.org identify, train, support and/or endorse LGBTQ Community friendly candidates and include local and state level races where a few hundred dollars can make the difference between a win and a loss.
Bottom line? You done fucked me over for the last time DNC! Like the above listed quote mentioned: when Dick Chaney is more progressive, on the issues that affect my life, than Barack Obama, it is time to make a change.
So welcome to Asshat land DNC. BTW, it’s funny I never noticed that you look EXACTLY like your fellow Asshatlandians from the GOP. Pity that.
P.S. The gAy TM image is courtesy of Pam Spaulding's most excellent blog: Pam's House Blend.
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Welcome to the club of Independents, btw :-)
In my fantasies all GLQBT people would practise civil disobedience by refusing to pay their taxes. We all get to assume our equal share of the tax burden in this country, while still being second class citizens under the law. This pisses me off no end.
The only way that ANY of us who are short on basic rights in the US are going to GET those missing rights is by *demanding* them rather than playing about at being "Oliver".
@ Placebo: Wow! Can you imagine that? 10% LGBTQ "friendly" Independents in Congress! As much as I'd like that though, we are going to work towards electing LGBTQ friendly candidates at local / state levels so that we can get people elected that can show that we don't have horns, but we aren't going to eat shit any longer, either.
In fact, to be politically incorrect here, I'll state one of the big problems that is preventing gay rights from moving forward is that so many gays are in the closet. If 10% if the population are really gay, as you assert - then where are they hiding?
I bet if you picked the 200 biggest stars in Hollywood, probably 199 of them would claim to support gay rights, but not more than 1 or 2 would admit to being gay - when, if your numbers are right then at probably AT LEAST 20 of them are!
Also, you've probably got a certain contingent of self-loathing gays, like Ted Haggard who aren't helping the cause any.
And so it seems to me that if 10% of the population really is LGBT, then that's enough to affect change if they would all just stand up and be counted.
And as for politicians - yes, regardless of party, they lie their asses off to get elected and then once in office find that they either can't - or don't want to - make good on all of those promises.
The older I get the more I lean toward smaller government and less regulations, since politicians by their very nature seem incapable of reigning themselves in - and once elected seem staunchly committed to spending ever increasing amounts of money to maintain the status quo.
@ Fingerlakeswander: Then I am in good company! ;)
@Mrs. Raptor: Hugs. You and your peoples were the original "Sure We'll Take Your Help, Then Screw You Over" ones. Politicians breaking their promises to you and yours certainly is nothing new, is it!
Civil Rights and Human Rights are the same thing, but unless White People insist that Civil Rights is a thing that affects all Americans, then the Gay Community will never have Equal Rights.
@fin2theleft: Excellent point. I think people would be amazed at the number of self-hating queers that there are in the population. My hope is to give some positive LGBTQ role models, like I had in Harvey Milk, for the young people to emulate.
but it's worse than that: suppose 60% support your position, but put other matters ahead in choosing their vote. 40% are against your position, so strongly that it changes their vote. once again, a politician would have to cut his professional throat to support you, even when your view is the majority one.
that is one of the evils of 'representative democracy'.
@Verbal Remedy: Seriously? And even if (big assed freakin' "if", too), what of it? If a Democrat wins we get screwed anyways. 'Splain to me how it makes a bit of difference? The onlu diff I can see is that Joe Solomese will have to attend somebody elses cocktail parties....
and i say that as someone who is an activist for gay rights. in response to fins comment, if you've not seen it, i caught parts of a really interesting documentary on closeted rightwing politicians called, "outrage".
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/04/closeted-gay-republicans-hung-out-to-dry-in-outrage.html
this is a huge problem, and i'm sorry.
@Mary Gravitt: Yeah, exactly what I was TRYING to express (but it did it MUCH more elequently, as usual ;) ) I don't want gay rights, I want my rights as a HUMAN. The other thing to con sider is the fact that the DNC AND the GOP could give a rat's ass about anybody's rights. If it doesn't get them more power then they "back burner" it (read: forgetaboutit!). That's why I'm advocating hitting them in the only two places they can be hurt = the wallet and the ballot box.
If ever I needed another reason to sew on that "Pink Pistols" patch, this is it.
Rated.