Falsehood: Diminshing Republican Rule

The days of Republican rule are numbered. Is this a true or false statement? I am trying like hell to figure this one out for myself.

I am seriously dismayed this day (Sunday) of this weeks GOP antics in the senate, in blocking the auto makers bail out plan. It is a strong sign of things to come. It threw me a curve ball, so to speak, but it also taught me how we must use our voice to keep the remaining minority of Republicans in line. The action of the senate Republicans showed the nation that they are more interested in opposing Democrats than they are at saving a nation in peril. They are trying to fight for their political life, showing the world that they still have clout. Well, this time, their clout showed the world that they will still fight at any cost, any price, to win. More of the same politics as far as I’m concerned. They have learned nothing from the events of the recent national elections.

Recent history shows that President Bill Clinton had tremendous political clout in office for most of his two terms. But his departure and captiulation from the “gays in the military” issue showed us how strong the GOP still was during that long “honeymoon” of Clinton clout. Clinton had little choice but to concede and give in. His feeling was clearly obvious, at least he got some concession and made some headway.

Are we willing to see that same Republican pressure cloud the Obama presidency? I think we can all agree that no president of history ever entered office with the hope of a nation behind him the same as Obama. It is amazing to watch his movement, his communication, his near surgical intensity as he begins to maneuver from within his transition team. I am astounded, and hopeful. But how far can that carry us? Time alone will tell.

In the meantime, we fell short of our 60 seat goal for Dems in the senate by one or perhaps two seats. We are still not filibuster proof. This must be a serious focus for us. We must take it to heart, because it threatens us from making necessary headway on the bills that will surface in government that impact our community. Gay marriage is only one of them. We still have to go back and repair the hate crimes issue. We have many issues that are important to us, and we now have a president elect that is willing to address them, but it’s going to take our help and we must answer the call to help him in a huge way.

I think it’s time for us to begin to email any Republican representatives we may have, and let them know how dismayed we are at their partisanship. We can all use the recent auto bailout issue to play that card and make that statement. We must let them know up front that they will be watched for playing partisanship, and we must do this frequently and constantly. They will run scared if they see an overwhelming and constant outpouring of emails that speak to this and other upcoming issues.

Barack Obama has repeatedly stated that for America to recover, is going to take a focused effort from each and every American. Here is our opportunity for us to begin. Lets begin with emails to our Republican leaders and start to pressure them to align with Democrats. Let them know that they are unpopular, so that when the bill comes down that affects us, they will have more than religious pressure to consider before they oppose us. We must keep the pressure high on all Republicans, to let them know that they have a constituency that is watching, vigilant and voting.

Catching up with Gay Former Senator Barrios

It’s been a little over a year since Jarrett Barrios, the first openly gay man to win election to the state Senate, left Beacon Hill to head the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, the healthcare philanthropy that was a driving force behind the enactment of the state’s landmark health insurance reform law. For those of you wondering what he’s been up to since he left the political stage, we recently did a quick catch-up with Barrios and got the scoop.

For one thing, the man who was a leader on LGBT issues in the legislature has managed to continue that advocacy in his new post by working with BCBSF board chair Phil Johnston to expand the criteria for the administration of the foundation’s grants so that healthcare disparities within the LGBT community can be researched and remedied. “It’s a lot less dramatic than gay marriage,” said Barrios, who served a total of nine years in the legislature, first as a state representative and later in the Senate.

Read the rest at baywindows.com.