I was pleased that Representative Tim Solobay used quick thinking to defend himself in an attempted mugging in Harrisburg.  I'm glad some of the suspects are in custody and no one was injured.  It is a good story of an individual using the resources at hand to get help.  Being a former athlete didn't hurt.

But the last lines in the Wednesday late edition version of events took me aback.

From Congress.org comes this insightful analysis on what the looming failure to repeal DADT says about activism within the national LGBTQ community.

The grassroots folks are calling for more accountability from Gay, Inc.  perhaps to form a more cohesive and inclusive strategy to getting *something* accomplished?

Personally, I think stripping away the veneer of cooperation is the best way to forge more sincere relationships and move forward.  The artifice is probably the most difficult thing to swallow along with the smug sense that we should trust the privileged to know what's best for us.

I don't proclaim to be any more knowledgable or smarter than you on these issues (even with my master's degree!), but I just continue to be tired of having to smile and dance while we admire the emperor's new clothes.  On the other hand, I do get that electing quasi-Democrats is in our own best interests. 

I was invited to attend the Onorato fundraiser this weekend.  I was probably too curt and snippy in my response and not just cause Onorato is a faux-gay ally.  But they scheduled it during the Steelers game!  I have no idea who could possibly think this is a good or viable idea.  I don't watch the Steelers, but even I'm practical enough to know that the very folks you really really need to connect with are not giving up the Steelers for a campaign that is simply the lesser of the evils. 

I was actually going to go, but then I just realized that I don't care.  I plan to vote for Onorato, but I can't imagine him saying a single thing that would inspire me to do anything more.  And that makes me really sad.  I could tell him some of my libertarian acquaintances are very impressed with his conservatism and plan to vote for him which is good for him and not so much for me.

This is the sort of organizing tactic that widens the rift.  Not only between mainstream Pgh Gay Inc and moi (and I doubt anyone cares about that), but between the informed political gay elite and the everyday LGBTQ folks who they want to turn out.  It is that ongoing lack of understanding that undermines forward movement. 

I'm really surprised Joe Hoeffel doesn't get this.  He's coming to the event to rally the progressive faithful and I know he gets the power of sports in Pittsburgh.  I read a lot into that decision. 

As I've said before, Pgh does not have a thriving grassroots activist community around LGBTQ issues.  We have Gay, Inc and we have the queer anarchists.  The missing link is a serious problem.  All the voices are needed for the continuum of organizing to work effectively.  If that doesn't turn around soon, the rift will widen and apathy will become even more entrenched.

Lest you think I'm a malcontented middle aged lesbian, take a gander at what Pam and Autum are posting on the largest lesbian blog in the nation.  I'm just applying the analysis locally in the political blogger sort of way.

With statements from President Obama telling us progressives that our alleged "apathetic" feelings about voting are "inexcusable," and Vice President Biden telling us progressives that we need to "stop whining" and "buck up" -- Is it any wonder many progressives like me aren't very enthused to vote this November?

I didn't vote against the other guys in 2008; I voted for candidates that I thought were going to boldly follow though with their campaign promises. I voted for President Obama and Vice President Biden in part because Presidential Candidate Obama said he was going to be a "fierce advocate" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. If the best the cowardly Democrats in the House, Senate, and White House can offer us is "we're better than the other guys," I know my motivation level is going to be low. If they're going to insult my intelligence by telling me I should be more motivated to vote -- even though the Democrats didn't live up to their campaign promises -- I'm even less motivated. I'm sharply angry at beltway Democrats, not apathetic in the slightest.

Oh, I'll vote this coming November as I was already planning to do, but I'm not excited at all to vote like I was in 2008 -- not by a long shot.

sdf

Is it possible that after the Dems are slaughtered in November, us "dissatisfied" progressives will revolt in Tea Party style and wrest control of our party away from capitulating milquetoasts? 

Did I even spell that correctly?  Do I care enough to check?  No.  I just want to find some hope in the future and some hope that is not grounded in Jon Stewart's leadership of the American liberals.  Or leadership toward sanity.

Mind you, I think you should work you ass off for the candidates you believe in and support.  I'm not really in a high profile district except for the Toomey-Sestak campaign.  I have no hope whatsoever that Onorato will win, but you should vote for him.  It will be interesting to see if he actually provides domestic partner benefits when he loses and realizes he needs to turn out the progressive base, not pander to his actual social conservative base.  But that's another election away.  Infinonymous cracks me up:

Anyone else wondering whether Pennsylvania Democrats wish they'd nominated a Democrat to challenge Corbett?

For the record, my home screen saver still says "Elect Joe Hoeffel"   Sigh.

The national LGBTQ leadership debate over incrementalism v substantial change just makes me hang my head.  Here in Southwestern Pennsylvania, incrementalism means ... well, there's really no need to revisit that. 

So I'm going to the Onorato fundraiser in October.  I have promised myself I will not bring up domestic partner benefits, I will not bring up domestic partner benefits.  That's not a campaign issue. I am going to write it on my hand.  Maybe I'll just stay in the background and tweet the names of anyone who isn't a white middle class gay man that comes to the event (excluding staffers and women who have to be there). 

Then I'm going to write a check to Joe Sestak's campaign.

So what do we do after November 2?  Coffee parties are already been there, done that.  Maybe we should just all hang out with Natalia Rudiak? 

God, I'm bitter.  I need to go find my Atlantic and head up to bed. 

A Dem State Party staffer and former Onorato campaign staffer (and liaison to the homos) was busted for posession of like a lot of pot plants.  Not a little bit of pot in her pocket.  Growing in her basement pot. 

I mean who is stupid enough to do this six weeks before a huge election?  You can't bartend to supplement your income?  Sheesh.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.

At least my contributions to the downfall of the Democrats stem from actual issues, not idiocy. 

Joe is running to represent us in the Pennsylvania Senate.  Please visit his website to learn more about him.  Stay tuned for more details ...

I'm sure you've seen the ads sponsored by all those anonymous crazy right wing groups that paint him out as a Nancy Pelosi puppet in his current role in the House.  The ferocity of the ads will hopefully be enough to pique your curiosity. 

I barely watch the news because I can't even tell whose ads are whose any longer.

Thanks to procedural maneuvers, DADT has not been repealed.  Sigh.  Do I even need to describe how frustrating it is that this one small step, which is clearly in the best interest of our national defense, can't get traction.

There's hope. You can still help by going through the HRC Action Page.

For the full story, see what Pam has up.  She minces no words on the role of the Democrats in this debacle. 

Believe me, I'm livid about the Republican Party's demonization of the LGBT community.  It is unconscienable and I'm grateful that the Party is separate from reasonable, thoughtful Republicans who do not capitulate to this crap.

Still, I'm REALLY angry at Democrats and the Party.  They have failed the LGBTQ community over and over.  The small steps forward we've made are miniscule compared to the ground gained in the 1990's here in Pittsburgh.  It is laughable when well intentioned leaders in the community defend them and hold up these gains as proof that the homo revolution has taken root in Western PA Democratic politics.  Translate that to the national stage and its even more laughable. 

A party unable to prevent the abuse of a military policy to discharge linguistic specialists in the midst of a horrific war is not a party we should laud.  We need to focus on the candidates who deserve our support, not those who are the lesser of the evils. 

And for those who roundly condem people willing to speak up against ineffective leadership, well ... get thee to a phone bank and stop reading the blogs. 

could jokingly refer to bad interior design choices or the election of pro-gay elected officials.

Here's what it apparently means to the Rendell Administration:

sdf