Congressman Murphy is possibly the only candidate in the entire nation that has the backing of the entire gay community, from Beltway insiders to jailed activists. He's been on the frontlines about repealing DADT and makes no apologies.
If you've been paying attention to LGBT politics, you're most likely aware that the rift between Gay, Inc and well, the rest of us, is deep and divisive and damaging. There is no gay body politic and that won't change soon. Still, something very unique has transpired. The community has rallied to demonstrate that our collective political will can make a difference by rallying around Congressman Murphy.
See for yourself. Recognize anyone?
There's a concerted push to get gay and allied attention on this election. You can follow Congressman Murphy on Twitter http://twitter.com/patrickmurphypa which helps you stay in touch during this final push but also puts you in the drivers seat in a critical race, rather than continuing to sit back and wait.
Rather than a laundry list of reasons to support Murphy (watch the video), I want you to consider the magnitude of the video. This is exactly what a defined constituency should be doing ... finding common ground and pouring energy into that cause, both to effect change (electing an ally) and to develop a cohesive identity that is driven by the grassroots and Gay, Inc. In other words, organizing.
I do not believe LGBT people should be contributing a single penny to the national, statewide or local party, period. The Democrat party has abandoned the gay community and doesn't deserve our support. Focusing on the candidates who have earned our support through their deeds (not just their words) is clearly the best way to go. We sidestep the ridiculously murky bashing tactics of claiming "any Democrat is better than a Republican" which is an immature attempt by politicos to control your vote rather than encourage you to think for yourselves.
Your vote is precious and significant. Those politicos wouldn't be scrambling otherwise, even if their tactics are irritating. Your participation in an LGBT political movement is equally precious. Lending your twitter account, your donations and your attention to the Murphy and Sestak campaigns is a way to be part of that momentum on your own terms. And the politicos will be happy b/c the quasi allies like Onorato will get the coattail effect.
If Murphy is successfully reelected, it will be fascinating to see if there's fallout for the LGBT community on a national scale. Locally? Eh, I'm not too hopeful we'll see any twitches left of center anytime soon. Too few resources controlled by too few persons. But one never knows.
Step back, naysayers. It appears we have a race. According to poll data released today, Sestak LEADS the race, 46-45.
You can put Pennsylvania Senate back in the toss up category. Joe Sestak leads Pat Toomey 46-45 in our newest poll of the race, erasing the 9 point deficit he had in an August PPP survey.
Toomey's support has remained stagnant over the last 2 months while Sestak's has gone up 10 points from 36% to 46%. There are three main factors driving the increased competitiveness of the race:
-Democratic voters are getting more engaged as election day moves closer. Barack Obama won Pennsylvania by 10 points in 2008 but our August survey in the state found those planning to vote in November had actually supported John McCain by a point in 2008, suggesting a massive drop off in Democratic turnout. Now those saying they will vote next month supported Obama by 4 points in 2008. The enthusiasm gap is still there but it's not as severe a problem for Democrats as it was 2 months ago.
-Sestak has wiped out what was an enormous deficit with independents. In August Toomey led 50-27 with them. He hasn't really lost any support with them but Sestak has picked up most of the undecided ones and now trails only 49-48 with that voter group. Most Democratic candidates across the country are down double digits with independents so for Sestak to be running even with them is a good sign for him.
-The Democratic base is unifying more around Sestak. In August there was a considerable party unity gap in this race with Toomey winning 74% of Republicans while Sestak was getting only 64% of Democrats. Toomey is still benefiting from greater unity with his party's voters, getting 82% of Republicans, but Sestak is up to 77% of Democrats. While it persists that unity gap is half the size of what it was in August.
Interesting. Pennsylvania could really be a battleground this year and this data can only help Dan Onorato.
I'm mulling over the conclusions in my personal experiences. My enthusiasm gap feels a little less rigid, but I'll admit that the "bash 'em over the head for turning traitor" approach is leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I'm tired of people with privileges I don't have lecturing me about getting on board.
The LGBT community is certainly rallying around Sestak from what I've seen in local social media. It will be interesting to see how this plays our over the next few weeks.
This morning, Ledcat and I toddled down to Millvale to try out their incarnation of Pamela's Diner. I expected to be thrilled and amazed by yummy strawberry pancakes, but turns out it took a chair to slay me.
Michelle Obama's chair.
Well, she doesn't *own* the chair. She sat in it. When she stopped by Pamela's during the G-20 (I'm ducking so don't hurl anything at the computer).
We were both a little giddy that we were seated at Michelle Obama's table and got in each other's way vying to get the perfect Facebook photo op. Our server patiently waited for us and confirmed that pretty much everyone does the same thing.
Then I was like "hold up, Sue." Well, I didn't actually say that so much as "May I have coffee and ice water, please?" as I settled into the chair NEXT to Michelle Obama's chair. But it was swirling around in the pre-caffeinated brain of mine somewhere. (Word: Ledcat beat me with the photo-to-Facebook thing).
It dawned on me that I was pretty giddy about a chair even as I feel rather despondent about the Administration. So I'm making this chair the piece de resistance in my November 2, 2010 attitude -- something sturdy upon which to cast my Democratic votes ... perhaps, the sturdiest thing the Democrats have offered this little lesbian in the past two years?
As reported in today's Rich Lord article, the attitude of Public Works Director Robert Kaczorowski pretty much exemplifies the worst type of entitlement so many public <ahem> servants exhibit.
The piece is on the official report on how to make things better if we have another snowmageddon. Mr. Kaczorowski didn't even read it, but is quick to dismiss the findings.
Mr. Kaczorowski said the city has purchased new trucks as part of its ongoing fleet build-up. If the city decides to spend proceeds from a proposed parking garage and meter lease on capital needs, he may buy more, he said.
He rejected any suggestion that the February storm revealed departmental inadequacies.
"There was a noisy minority" of complainers, he said, "and a quiet majority that knew the magnitude of the historical event we were up against and appreciated our efforts."
In February, he said, "We saw our shortcomings, and we're correcting them."
The storm cost the city $3.64 million, of which just one-third was reimbursable by state and federal governments. Curtis L. Mitchell, of Hazelwood, died waiting for an ambulance during the storm, and the city's response to 911 calls from him and his girlfriend is the subject of a negligence lawsuit filed Thursday in Common Pleas Court.
I wonder if he thinks the repeated calls to 911 from an African-American household count as a noisy minority? Is he being flip in the face of someone's death or just flip in the face of criticism period? Criticism from a <gasp> woman!?!
What a sad reflection on the lack of professionalism and maturity among the Ravenstahl Administration leaders. It is embarrassing that this sort of childish tantrum doesn't get filtered through a spokesperson.
Read the article. Good stuff and plenty of positives about the hard-working women and men of DPW who helped us weather the storm. The problem seems to be the attitude and forethought on the Administrative level, not the efforts of those in the trenches.
I'll be honest though. If they banned parking on my street, I'd probably ignore it. Where do they expect us to park? That's the piece I need to know. Where can I park?
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.
Though the experience was frightening, Mr. Solobay said it had a positive side.
"At least we got some of the trash off the streets of Harrisburg," he said.
We are talking about 4 teenagers. Yes, they committed a crime and one pointed a weapon at Solobay. He's understandably angry and shaken, but ... referring to youth as trash? That reads like a soundbyte for reelection, not a thoughtful commentary on community safety in Harrisburg.
I guess I expect a more nuanced response.
Perhaps I would read this differently if I were the victim of a similar crime. But it doesn't sit well with me. It sounds like more state $$ for prisons and less for prevention.
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.
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.
