My “GayTM is Closed” Letter to DNC - Where’s Yours?
I encourage others to write letters to the DNC also. Let them know we are shutting down the GayTM and taking our campaign volunteer hours elsewhere.
Tim Kaine, Chairman, DNC — KaineT@dnc.org
Thomas Petrillo, Exec. Director, LGBT Leadership Council, DNC — PetrilloT@dnc.org
Mailing Address — 430 S. Capitol St. SE., Washington, DC 20003
Governor Tim Kaine
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Dear Governor Kaine:
By now, you are surely aware of Andrew Tobias’ conversation with readers of John Aravosis’ gay.AMERICAblog.com this past Thursday evening. The conversation centered around the allegation that the DNC misled Mr. Aravosis in reference to DNC e-mails sent to Maine voters requesting their help in New Jersey while ignoring the battle for marriage equality taking place within their own state. This issue and others need to be addressed by the DNC leadership.
I do not have any proof of who has misled who in regards to the above cited allegation, but I’ve been around long enough to know that politics is a business of image and damage control combined with carefully crafted half-truths - I believe they call it spin. Mr. Tobias’ duty as Treasurer of the DNC is to raise funds and he would more than likely be motivated to protect that interest. Mr. Aravosis, on the other hand has no reason to deceive his readers. Doing so would actually be detrimental to his efforts. Besides that, I trust him - his cause is noble.
During the conversation, Mr. Tobias conceded that the DNC has not lifted a single finger to help the LGBT community end the unconstitutional denial of our civil rights. He also attempted to sell us on the concept that the DNC does not advocate for state ballot initiatives - which was swiftly rebutted by readers as entirely inaccurate (Google is a powerful research tool).
Furthermore, Mr. Tobias’ comments were presented in a way which left many readers feeling patronized. Policy points aside, his behavior was utterly inappropriate for a senior official within the DNC. If you believe as I do, you will agree the LGBT community deserves an apology from Mr. Tobias and others who may have been involved in misleading us. I encourage you to advocate that they do so. But this is not really the issue here.
I have read, in multiple sources, that LGBT Americans gave more money to President Obama and the Democratic party in 2008 than in any previous year and that our contributions were a larger percentage of total donations than the percentage of LGBTs within the party.
So the message we hear is simple:
We gave more but got less in return.
$500,000 could have paid for a top dollar marketing firm to help the No On One campaign in Maine battle the lies that were spewed by our opponents. We raised the money for advertising in Maine, but we needed help from our friends. Friends for whom we are always there for when they call. Friends to whom we campaign for tirelessly. Friends to whom we contribute our unequally taxed dollars. Friends to whom we consistently vote for, even after they do little or nothing to help advance our cause except laud us with campaign rhetoric at gay only events. Friends who only a decade ago legislated road blocks to achieving our equality.
The Democratic Party abuses the LGBT community just as much as the GOP - just in different ways. Obviously, the GOP’s abuse is outright hatred and fear mongering designed to stir up their base, but the Democrats’ is not so easy to see as it is mere neglect, but it is abuse just the same. Our community, in the aftermath of Proposition 8 and now Question 1, is beginning to recognize the problem - that we are funding and enabling our own abuse and that the Democratic Party is no more than a fair weather friend.
I’m sure you have heard of the newly coined phrase, “shut down the GayTM.” It is a mantra being repeated by gay rights leaders such as David Mixner and Cleve Jones and by bloggers such as Mr. Aravosis, Pam Spaulding and numerous others. Our institutional leaders, like the Human Rights Campaign, are no longer our voice. We are choosing new leaders with a new message and that message is beginning to resonate within our community. Combined with the lack of any significant action, leadership or help on our substantive issues - DOMA, DADT and ENDA - the phrase is rightfully becoming a battle cry.
The actions Congress and the President have taken so far; the Matthew Shephard Act, partial (near meaningless) benefits for federal employees, ending the HIV-travel ban, HUD’s LGBT seniors fund, changes to the impending Census count; were all low hanging fruit which do little to meaningfully impact the day to day lives of the majority of tax paying LGBT Americans and their families. And now we are learning that we will be forced to buy health insurance (or be fined) when we continue to be denied equal access to our spouses’ health plans. Once again, as with Social Security and every other federal benefits program, we will pay more into the system and get less back. In fact, we will be subsidizing health care for married heterosexual Americans, while married heterosexual Americans use the ballot box to not only deny us our rights, but also to strip them away.
So we have a simple message for you to hear also:
The GayTM is closing.
I urge you to use your position as Chairman of the DNC to begin making changes within the party and recognizing that we, as a solid sector of of the party’s base, are growing increasingly unhappy. We know the reality of politics. But we also know how hard we have worked to achieve a super majority in both houses of Congress along with a Democrat in the White House. We also know the opportunity for action is growing short. And we also know that Democrats have two incentives for delaying leadership and action on our issues; the desire to not stir up the right-wing noise machine and the desire to keep our campaign contributions pouring into Democratic coffers.
But we also know that unemployment is rising, the economy is continuing to lag, bailout regret is growing, you will not have the luck of a self-destructing Sarah Palin, the perfect timing of an economic collapse nor the advantage of a tremendously unfavorable incumbent. In short, we know that you need us in 2010 and 2012.
For the overwhelming majority of us, our equal civil rights trump all other issues. Some of us are also willing to sacrifice Democratic control of our government in order to break the cycle of neglect heaped upon us by our friends. We also stand ready to promote that tactic in the coming elections if change does not take place. As a movement, we are not to that point yet, but the rumblings and anger are growing a little louder each day. Combine that with an apathetic attitude towards friends who have neglected us and you will have effectively lost us.
Do you really believe we will continue to turn out in troves to campaign and vote for an incredibly powerful party that we helped build which in turn ignores us? Do you really believe that we are not maddeningly frustrated that we have worked for years to build 70+ percent public support for the repeal of DADT, a super majority in Congress and control of the White House only to be told we are not a priority or even worse - that “we will work to change DADT” down the road and after the military “buys in”? Our community’s service members are being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan defending the ideas of liberty and justice and they don’t even get the simple decency or respect of having their families notified, much less financially supported.
Many of us are learning that we very rarely ever win playing the game by the established rules. So we are preparing to change the rules. It’s a simple question really - do we tirelessly campaign and contribute gobs of money for the next ten years while we see little change or do we relax for a while, save our cash, and wait for young people to come of age while older bigots enter the grave. One only has to look at the age demographics of public opinion on LGBT issues to see our future. Either way, we will gain our equality - we know that. We know with time we will no longer need your party’s leadership. And we also know we are not beholden to a party that neglects us. The way I see it, the Democratic party is the only party here that actually has anything to lose - our loyalty.
Again, I urge you to lead our party and our party’s committee in the right direction on American civil rights - with action not silence. We will be watching - and waiting for your leadership.
Respectfully,
John E. Visser
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Hartford, CT 06103
cc: Thomas Petrillo, Executive Director, LGBT Leadership Council
Original message from JohnVisser here…