Obama Campaign Expands Grassroots LGBT Efforts
August 6, 2008 by James Hipps · Leave a Comment
Obama’s presidential campaign announced yesterday a “significant expansion” of their national and grassroots LGBT teams, particularly the addition of new Steering Committee co-chairs members, like Tammy Baldwin. Like many other on the list, Baldwin once backed Hillary Clinton, but this week pledged her support to Obama.
Clinton looms large in the press release, and the campaign’s hoping to get their gay ducks - or is it geese? - in a row ahead of the convention later this month:
Over the last few weeks, dozens of members of Clinton’s committee have joined the Steering and Policy Committee, and the committee will continue to grow between now and Election Day.
Also, grassroots leaders who held leadership positions in both Obama and Clinton’s primary campaigns have joined to lead the national grassroots mobilization of LGBT voters. Obama Pride will build upon the work that started in the primary [and] Obama Pride will organize networks of activists in all fifty states who are committed to identifying, registering and turning out lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters for Barack in November.
A total of five people have joined Obama’s gay steering committee, including Baldwin, black gay activist Mandy Carter, former Task Force board co-chair Marsha Botzer and Texas-based Jesse Garcia. A former member of Clinton’s queer steering committee, Garcia had this to say about the general election, “On every issue facing the LGBT community, John McCain promises a third Bush term. He’s promised to appoint judges to the Supreme Court like Scalia and Alito, and we can’t afford that.”
Read more on Obama’s LGBT Stance here at gayagenda.com.
