Our own Bob Casey told a crowd of 600 attending a HRC gala event that he will fight discrimination against gays. Unlike Senatorum and his loyal spokesfag Robert Traynham.
''I think it's time we had a senator who wasn't pushing a narrow, intolerant ideology that says 'I'm right, you're wrong ? and you don't know better,''' Casey said.
The Casey campaign is cause for raging debate in local progressive circles, especially among those who decry his prolife/antichoice position.
Me? I'm torn. I think Casey is our guy and I don't see the point of the "Run Barbara Run" signature files that pop up every once in awhile (referring to Barbara Hafer of course) from the leftie progressives who email me.
But .... BUT .... recent events at the DNC do not bode well for queers and the Democratic party. Howard Dean would strike anyone as more gay friendly than Bobby C. Until he abolished gay outreach and struck every reference to queers in the grassroots report.
So I'm in Bob's corner b/c I still think he's the man to beat Senatorum. But ...
From our friends at Steel-City Stonewall Democrats, here's the skinny from social conservative Lynn Swann on gay marriage ...
Drum roll ... while marriage is between a man and a woman, he does think private contracts should take care of us queers. With no governmental protections.
Now for my personal diatribe ... here's why Lynn Swann sucks. Not only is he an elitist jerk, but he shows up at the Super Bowl MVP gig to promote hs campaign. Now Franco Harris shows up to support the Steelers. Pulls out a Terrible Towel! That's classy.
Swann's showboating was almost as pathetic as Terry Bradshaw staying home to pout b/c they wouldn't pay him to show up. At least Bradshaw's buffonery is limited to those who pay money to see his movies and fail to click away during his commercials. Lynn Swann might actually do some real damage to people who don't matter in his realm.
The DNC's Annual Grassroots Report was released last week. Not a single mention of the LGBTQ community. Nada. Howard Dean eliminates the gay outreach post, then wonders why people are upset .... and now this ....
So what's happening in the Pennsylvania/Pittsburgh LGBT democratic wing ....You tell me.
Here's what BlogActive and LGBT political activist Mike Rogers has to say about the LGBT politicos we should trust.
Not to stand silently by as the party trashes gays and lesbians, Stonewall Democrats have issued a statement about Howard Dean's insensitivity to the gay and lesbian community and condemning his actions totally kissing Howard Dean's ass:
the DNC eliminated the GLBT outreach office but is keeping the GLBT fundraising office. As Gardenhire puts it, "Our money may be good enough, but we are not."
I would be remiss not to comment on the gay bar rampage in Massachusetts. Last night, the murderous Jacob Robida was captured in Arkansas after killing his female passenger and a cop. (365gay.com)
Robida targets gays armed with a hatchet and a gun. People are asking why and scrambling to link his neo-Nazi fetish with his apparent homophobia.
Wake up America. Robida is a natural outgrowth of the hate-spewing homophobes filling your airwaves, newspapers and political parties. The hate-laced rhetoric of Jimmy Dobson and Rick Santorum feeds the slippery slope down to Robida. AND his myspace.com cronies that aided and abetted his descent from homo-assailant to cop killer.
Do you honestly think that a full-frontal assault to shred the civil rights - the human rights - of an entire segment of society does NOT make us fair game to hatchet wielding monsters like Robida? Think again. This is what happens when our leaders are successful in bashing gays to win votes and gain power. If gay bashing is acceptable in Harrisburg, why not in Donny's Place or Pegasus?
As you can see, no one seems to have a clue that the homobigotry that oozes out of the swamps of Freeperland and the mouths and pulpits of the AmTaliban has anything to do with this.
They must claim the Jacob Robidas of the world, because these disillusioned, poorly educated people out there see that leaders in the public eye demonize gays each and every day, working successfully in many places to legalize discrimination. What message does that send?
These are the fruits of Dobson and his bible beaters, as well as "friends" like Karl Rove who see gay-bashing tactics as nothing more than a political game for votes. Well it's no game when you're on the receiving end of hate and violence.
It seemed like such a simple request. She wrote to The Honorable Mike Diven, Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Her mission? To ascertain how Diven would vote on the proposed anti-gay marriage amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution.
What Diven offered in response is a testament to why the Democrats should be able to recapture this seat.
So we are not in agreement on which issue? Gay marriage? Amending the constitution? Ignoring tax reform, health care and the economy to focus on this issue? Which issue, Mike?
It is obvious he means gay marriage because he spends two whole pages outlining current law on gay marriage. Illustrating that he did not read the original letter for content, but just KEY WORDS.
Clearly, someone on his staff knows how to do a legislative search and has a partial understanding of the difference between state and federal matters. What remains unclear is if that same person is able to read for content.
Hmmm ... now that's a useful suggestion. I'll write to Mike Doyle to ask how he plans to vote on amending the Pennsylvania constitution.
In the end, Mikey does not tell us how he intends to vote. Is he being politically coy or just stupid?
Even while acknowledging that wearing a tee shirt to the SOTU is NOT a criminal offense, the US Capitol Police's actions have once again highlighted the egregious "no dissent" policies of this administration. From CNN.com
Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan wore a shirt with the message "2,245 Dead. How many more?" -- a reference to the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq.
Beverly Young, the wife of 18-term Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Young of Florida, wore a shirt that read "Support the Troops."
Both shirts resulted in their owners being ejected from the House chamber before President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Sheehan, an invited guest of Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-California, was arrested around 8:30 p.m. ET on charges of unlawful conduct. Young was asked to leave but not arrested.
There's a significant difference between being asked to leave and being arrested. I supposed dragging out a Republican's wife in manacles would not play well in the Heartland.
Anyway, here's an interesting tidbit from MSNBC.com
However, State of the Union guests don?t receive any guidelines, according to Deputy House Sergeant at Arms Kerri Hanley. ?You would assume that if you were coming to an event like the State of the Union address you would be dressed in appropriate attire,? she said.
You would assume that if you are going to send tens of thousands of troops to invade a foreign country, they would be dressed in appropriate attire. Like body armor. Stuff like that.
GLBT activist Mike Rogers has significantly ramped up the gay response to the culture wars with this latest posting on blogactive.com I fully support Mike's tactics of outing the closeted hypocrites whose actions harm our community. It is not a popular opinion, but a world in which a black gay man can openly toil for Rick Santorum is a world that needs some serious bitch slapping.
Senator...
This post will be read by thousands and thousands of people... It's directed at ONE person.
Mr. Senator:
Tomorrow you will be faced with a vote that may have the longest aftereffects of any other you have cast in your Senate career.
Tomorrow you will decide if your political position is worth more than doing what is right for others like you. For others like you, Mr. Senator, who engage in oral sex with other men. (Although, Mr. Senator, most of us don't do in the bathrooms of Union Station!) Your fake marriage, by the way, will NOT protect you from the truth being told on this blog.
How does this blog decide who to report on? It's simple. We report on hypocrites. In this case, hypocrites who vote against the gay and lesbian community while engaging in gay sex themselves*.
When you cast that vote, Mr. Senator, represent your own...it's the least you could do.
This commonwealth doesn't need to write bigotry into its constitution in the name of misplaced morality.
This morning the Post-Gazette editors condemn the bill introduced in the PA House of Representatives that would amend the constitution to "protect marriage."
The PG notes that the amendment's impace reaches far beyond the queer community, threatening unmarried heterosexual families including adoptive parents and senior citizens.
They rightly criticize the homo-haters who have signed on to co-sponsor this piece of legislation:
The constitutional amendment is being offered as House Bill 2381 and, to their shame, 89 co-sponsors have signed on for a chance to do something negative at the expense of gay people, as always a safe group to pick on.
Shame is right! Every single one of these co-sponsors has taken time away from meeting their constituents real needs in order to propagate a hate-laced agenda. There's no justification for co-sponsoring this bill. Especially the Democrats! This is pure and simple pandering to the right wing base and it is going to come back to haunt them.
They give a shout out to our friend and champion Dan Frankel for using his time constructively to address family issues.
Two Pennsylvania residents weigh in on the the vicious discrimination underlying this legislation.
From the Post-Gazette, we discover that "the Democrats' would-be challengers to Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, are jockeying for the endorsements of party luminaries."
That's Melissa Hart who toes the homo-hating Republican line, amendment and all. Melissa Hart who has an openly gay man working as her press secretary. Blogactive.com had the story this past fall.
So best of luck to Jason Altmire and Georgia Berner. Berner has long-time LGBT ally Sam Hens-Greco in her camp. No word yet from the Altmire campaign on homo-issues. I went through Leadership Development Initiative with Jason 5 years ago. He was a good guy and has been responsive to me when I've called on him. But he's an avowed social conservative which doesn't bode well for Pittsburgh queers.
Note: please stop trying to determine if Melissa Hart is gay. WE DON'T WANT HER.
It seemed like such a simple request. She wrote to
