An Open Letter to GLBT’s Supporting McCain

“Marriage is under attack by those who are creating substitutes to marriage,” said Rep. Warde Nichols, R-Gilbert. “I think when this passes it’s going to put to bed this debate once and for all.”

Opponents of Proposition 102, however, say voters have already had their say and it’s an insult to put it on the ballot again.

Two years ago, they narrowly defeated a gay-marriage amendment, becoming the first state to do so. Twenty-seven states have constitutional bans on gay marriage.

“They chose not to change the constitution,” said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix. “One of the reasons why they said no is because we already have a law.”

When I read this article on eastvalleytribune.com, It unleashed the dragon and I am up on my soap-box.  So, here it goes.

As much as I value diversity and freedom of choice, I also have a full understanding of how this election will change our lives (the GLBT community) for many years to come.  There are “Christian” groups raising millions (over $50 million in California alone) to take rights away from people…forever!  States that want to amend their constitutions to ban same-sex marriage, so judges can’t rule otherwise.  Arizona’s 102 and Florida’s 2 are on that list.

Now, as much I as realize those who are fighting these people have raised money too, it’s been done in defense of a right we don’t have in most states, marriage.  So, I asked these “Christian” groups (who also back Palin & McCain), how many hungry could you feed for $50 million?  How many homeless could you house for $50 million?  How many people could you send to college for $50 million dollars?  Or better yet, If Jesus had $50 million, what would he do with it?  Come on now, Christians know Jesus well to know he hates gay-marriage (and they can’t blame the Bible because Jesus didn’t write it), so they should know the answer to that question.  However, they have made the “choice” to spend tens of millions of dollars on oppression, all in the name of God.

Same sex marriage is legal in four countries: Spain, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. In the U.S., 45 states have barred it.  A little off topic but worth mentioning, it is still legal in 33 states to fire someone for being gay. Then there’s the other states, who again are trying to amend their constitutions to ban it as well, so the courts can not overturn the decision. This is why McCain believes it should be left up to the states.  Now I realize, he alone won’t make that decision, but he will be likely to appoint 2 or 3 U.S. Supreme Court Justices if elected.  What do you think is going to happen? Let’s also not forget to mention that if John McCain dies, then Ms. Palin steps in. Do you think someone who still thinks it’s a “choice” and “tolerates” gay people is going to push for any legislation that provides us with equality?

Let’s put Obama in office, and let him pick those same 2 or 3 spots and see what happens. Now, I’ve heard it before, and have addressed it before, but let me repeat it.  Some criticize Obama’s lack of fully supporting gay marriage, but I’m not going to buy that point.  Any presidential candidate who would openly endorse gay-marriage would be committing political suicide.  We don’t need a martyr, we need a gay friendly president. So, WAKE UP PEOPLE!

And I know, some of you who are GLBT and support McCain may claim there are other issues (and there are, and Obama is a much better choice to handle those as well), but this is the one issue that affects all of our lives, whether you are G, L, B or T.  And if it’s not an issue for you, then be open-minded enough to realize it is for most of us, and do the right thing.

A president who wants to leave those decisions up to the states is not a supporter. It’s not that difficult to see. Obama is our friend. This election is about so much more than so many realize. It’s about our future, and not our distant future, our very real, and very near future.

Please, do the right thing for all of us in the GLBT community. Vote for Obama!

Colorado Loosing Ground as Republican State

From an article posted on coloradoindependent.com:

Colorado was once known as the square state with lots of farmers and cattle, where Republican politics were a way of life. Not anymore. For the first time in decades, the Grand Old Party has lost ground as evidenced by the latest voter registration data provided by the secretary of state. In fact, as of last weekend, active Democratic voters outnumbered active Republican voters statewide — a reality many experts said seemed unlikely five or 10 years ago.

And it goes on to say;

“Both parties have become more polarized in recent years, with the Republicans moving to the right and the Democrats moving to the left, and that has brought more independents and unaffiliated voters around,” Preuhs said. “But on the Republican side, a lot of folks were attracted to the party because of their fiscally conservative nature and have not been as big on the moral and social issues, like gay rights and abortion.”

Read the rest by clicking here.

Right Wing Talk Show Host to Vote for Obama

After 28 years of voting for republicans,  Michael Smerconsigh will vote for Obama.

Smerconish hosts the right-wing morning drive-time talk show daily on WPHT-AM (1210) which is the Philadelphia (a right wing talk radio station). WPHT is also home to the likes of Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, O’Reilly, etc. Smerconish, a lawyer turned commentator, is a fill-in host for Bill O’Reilly on the Radio Factor, and a guest host for Joe Scarborough on MSNBC’s Scarborough Country. He has appeared on the Today Show, It’s Your World with Neil Cavuto and Hardball with Chris Matthews.

In an article in the Philadelphia inquirer he states:

I’ve decided. My conclusion comes after reading the candidates’ memoirs and campaign platforms, attending both party conventions, interviewing both men multiple times, and watching all primary and general-election debates.

John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I’m voting for a Democrat for president. I may have been an appointee in the George H.W. Bush administration, and master of ceremonies for George W. Bush in 2004, but last Saturday I stood amid the crowd at an Obama event in North Philadelphia.

Five considerations have moved me:

Read those considerations by clicking here.

The Right has Become a Catalyst for Hate

As the saying goes, “three makes a trend”. The latest tactic from the McCain campaign may be its weirdest yet: his surrogates are now pushing the idea that if you are voting for Obama, you’re not a real American. Senior policy adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer told MSNBC that while she concedes that Northern Virginia is going for Obama, “real Virginia”, would be “receptive to McCain’s policies”. Joe McCain, the candidate’s brother, referred to the area as “communist country”. Republican House Member Michele Bachmann (MO) showed up on Hardball suggesting that “liberal” is synonymous with “Anti-American” and suggested that the press out to figure out which Congress members were “Anti-American”.

Read the rest at flamingpolitics.com

Goodbye & Don’t Let the Door Hit You

From the SFBayTimes.com:

In response to mounting criticism of gay conservatives, Dale Carpenter, a prominent gay writer, is threatening to bolt the movement. In a recent column, he spoke of his “rising anger” with how gay advocates treat his ideological brethren. Of course, we know this is a bluff because Carpenter and other gay conservatives have nowhere else to go. They are dependent on the very liberalism they condescendingly deride and rejected by the very political party they claim to be a part of.

What is notable about Carpenter’s tirade, is how it is at odds with his often intelligent columns. He regularly offers sharp legal critiques and prescient political analysis. However, when discussing gay conservatism, Carpenter uncharacteristically becomes irrational, falling into an undeserved victimhood that is a hallmark of gay Republicans.

For example, Carpenter is upset because Jonathan Crutchley, the co-founder of the gay cruising site Man Hunt, was skewered after giving a contribution to John McCain. Carpenter surmises that there is a witch hunt because of Crutchley’s political affiliation. This is not true.   If he were just another gay business owner, no one would care whom he contributed to. However, it is preposterous for a man whose commodity is sodomy to give money to a candidate who wants to appoint Supreme Court Justices who would be in favor of outlawing gays from having consensual sexual relations. It is this type of cognitive dissonance that earns gay conservatives such deserved contempt.

Republicans in Congress have blocked gay rights progress for nearly three decades. It was President George W. Bush who stumped for a Federal Marriage Amendment. It was Sen. Majority Leader Trent Lott who once compared gay people to kleptomaniacs and alcoholics. I could fill 10 columns with despicable acts and words lobbed at the GLBT community by members of the Republican Party. While the Democrats are not perfect (see Sam Nunn), anyone who compares the two parties is smoking something that has higher street, than political value.

The modern Republican Party was molded by President Nixon’s “southern strategy” and built by Ronald Reagan, a president who ignored the AIDS crisis. It has been home to horrendous bigots, such as Sen. Jesse Helms, Rep. Bob Dornan, commentator Pat Buchanan and Vice President Dan Quayle - who pushed the term “family values,” which notably did not include GLBT families.

Read the rest by clicking here.

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