Stonewall Dems Unhappy With Choice of Harold Ford For DLC

Posted on January 16, 2007
| buzz-it! | Huff it!

Gay Democrats are in a tough position. We shouldn’t be surprised. Like African Americans it is easy for us to feel taken for granted by the Democratic Party. I’ve read coverage over the past year in the Washington Blade about how Howard Dean, the party chair, has subtly lowered the profile of Gay and Lesbian issues and how he has treated staff working to advance those issues. We’re often treated as if George Bush’s “reelection” in 2004 was our fault — because the opposing party chose to persecute us to create an effective wedge issue.

Now Harold Ford has been chosen as head of the conservative (some say centrist) Democratic Leadership Council. Their website says they’re “modernizing progressive politics.” I don’t want to knock too hard on on this group. The Clintons and Al Gore have been associated with the group and its policies. The DLC has been given credit for the 8 years we had of Bill Clinton (which could have been four more years of George H.W. Bush, followed by who, Dan Quayle? Oh no!).

I don’t even want to knock too hard on Harold Ford. He would have been a good choice for Sen. in conservative Tennessee. He is not a good choice for a national role, and certainly not in the Democratic party. The reason? He changed position (they say for political expediency) in favor of an a national anti-gay marriage amendment. That is just wrong. He should have more integrity than that. All Democrats should.

Do we want to amend the U.S. constitution to remove the potential for a particular group of citizens to gain basic civil rights? That is such an anti-American concept, it hurts me before I begin to consider how it affects my own life.

What are gay and lesbian Dems to do with regard to our party? Vote Republican? Well, that’s just crazy-talk. Republicans thought last year they could take the fact that some Blacks feel taken for granted by Dems, and trick them into voting Republican. They must have been smoking some really good shit. Still it was ugly and I was hurt by the exploitation that they attempted. It hurt me in the same way that hearing the N-word hurts me, even though to look at me you know no one’s trying to harm me with such words. That effort was subtle, and racist, and hateful. That’s no place to ever go.

In concept I like the Greens. I also like not giving up all hope to make any political progress in my own lifetime. No, in all likelihood, I’m going to stay a Dem — and I’m going to hold my party’s feet to the fire regarding equality. In politics everyone gets dirty. Everyone makes compromises. We make compromises on issues, not on our values. A Green party or a Gay party government would not produce a utopia. Whatever party we support, we have to demand our seat at the table, and demand that core values are not compromised.