The other day I wondered if the No on 8 side was being too cautious in their advertising, instead of putting an actual face on the discrimination and harm that would be suffered if marriage rights were eliminated for a particular class of people. Well, this video isn't exactly that, but it certainly makes the point about discrimination. Via Amanda at Pandagon, this is my favorite video of the cycle. A group redubbed the voices on a video of young people ranting about all the supposed consequences about gay marriage, and changed it so they say "interracial marriage." It's kind of perfect:
See, this comes down to discrimination, pure and simple. The other side wants to talk about ancillary outcomes, but really they want to hurt LGBT people. I mean, we have to be willing to say that. The other side has no problem outlining what they consider to be the stakes, as crazy as they think they are:
"This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon," said Charles W. Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries and an eminent evangelical voice, speaking to pastors in a video promoting Proposition 8. "We lose this, we are going to lose in a lot of other ways, including freedom of religion."
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian lobby based in Washington, said in an interview, "It's more important than the presidential election."
"We've picked bad presidents before, and we've survived as a nation," said Mr. Perkins, who has made two trips to California in the last six weeks. "But we will not survive if we lose the institution of marriage."
I'm glad that No on 8 is raising a lot of money, and that high-profile Californians like Maria Shriver are on board. But at some point in this final week, someone has to break this down. This is about harming same-sex couples.
It is an open secret that homophobia is becoming the central issue to Campaign 2008 in Palm Springs. The leading contender for Mayor of Palm Springs is Steve Pougnet, presently a sitting City Councilman and an openly gay man. He has the endorsement of the local newspaper, the Desert Sun and of two of the local Democratic Clubs, i.e., the Desert Stonewall Democrats and the Palm Springs Democrats. Pougnet, however, did not receive the endorsement of the Democrats of the Desert as they did not endorse in this race.
The leading Democratic contenders to fill the two open seats for Palm Springs City Council are John Williams, Rick Hutcheson, and Bob Mahlowitz, all openly gay men. Hutcheson received the endorsement of all three Democratic clubs, including the Desert Stonewall Democrats, the Palm Springs Democrats, and the Democrats of the Desert (despite the latter's leadership failing to recommend him to the membership). Williams received the endorsement of the Desert Stonewall Democrats and the Palm Springs Democrats. Mahlowitz received the endorsement of the Democrats of the Desert.
The winner of the mayor's race and the two races for City Council will join Ginny Foat, an openly gay woman, on City Council. If Pougnet and any combinations of Williams, Hutcheson, or Mahlowitz join Foat on Council, then four of the five sitting council members would be openly gay or lesbian.
Those with a long memory will recall the long history of tension between the straight white establishment in Palm Springs and the growing political power of the GLBT community. Apparently, this tension is again rising to the surface. More below the flip...
(My word, that race is getting nasty. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
As the Orange County special election approaches, the Republican Party is becoming desperate. The Democrats have united behind Former Assemblymember Tom Umberg, while the Republicans remain divided. We Democrats are working our patooties off, hitting the streets to talk to our neighbors about the need for us to have an ally of working families on the OC Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, the Republicans feel that the only way for them to pick up a Supervisorial seat is to resort to fear and gay-baiting.
(Lessons can be learned from every defeat. - promoted by SFBrianCL)
This fantastic article was written by CA-based Dem consultant Eric Jaye, an advisor to San Fran Mayor Gavin Newsom. He's coming at this issue from a strategic position rather than from self interest (he's straight). With the elections coming up it seems appropriate to recirculate, as it's very relevant.
