Dems don't do anything for Blacks or Hispanics Either

[Corlyss_D]

All they want is their votes and they don't care what they have to promise to get 'em.

Prominent Dem slams party on gay rights
Clinton staffer says DNC abandons gays, urges boycott of donations

By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Apr. 27, 2006

Correction
The original version of this story incorrectly reported that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee removed from its website a pledge not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring. It was the website of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Officials with the Democratic Party took notice last week when a gay former staffer from the Clinton White House, who held key positions in the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, publicly criticized his party for not taking stronger action to defend gays.

Paul Yandura, a party loyalist, sent an open letter on April 20 to gay Democratic activists charging that Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee have failed to counter efforts by Republicans to promote anti-gay ballot measures as a wedge issue to win elections.

"For many months, a number of us have made appeals to Howard Dean and party officials to care about and defend the dignity of gay and lesbian families and friends, in the same way they defend the dignity of other key constituencies," Yandura said in his letter.

"All progressives need to be asking how much has the DNC budgeted to counter the anti-gay ballot initiatives in the states," he said. "We also need to know why the DNC and our Democratic leaders continue to allow the Republicans to use our families and friends as pawns to win elections."

In a comment that is certain to raise eyebrows among party leaders, Yandura added that until the party provides answers to these questions, "my advice is don’t give any more money to the Dems."

Yandura’s outspoken remarks create an uncomfortable situation for DNC officials and his domestic partner, Donald Hitchcock. Hitchcock serves as the DNC’s adviser on gay issues as well as director of the DNC’s gay fundraising arm, the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council.

DNC spokesperson Karen Finney said Hitchcock organized a meeting on April 26 between Dean and other high-level DNC staff members and officials of national gay rights groups to discuss strategy for addressing anti-gay ballot measures. Among those attending, Finney said, were officials from the Human Rights Campaign and the National Stonewall Democrats, which represents gay Democratic clubs located throughout the country.

"It was a very good meeting," said Finney, who declined to disclose what was discussed on grounds that the party doesn’t publicly reveal its election-related strategy.

Hitchcock has declined requests for an interview, saying Dean has put in place a policy that doesn’t allow him to speak to the media under most circumstances.

Yandura said he believes the DNC meeting with gay leaders had been scheduled before he released his open letter. He said he made his concerns known to DNC officials privately nearly a year earlier.

"This is a step in the right direction," Yandura said. "It shows they are taking this seriously. But the real proof will be if they actually do something."

Delegate plan causes stir

Yandura’s letter comes shortly after reports surfaced that some members of the DNC’s Black Caucus had expressed opposition to a proposal by gay DNC member Garry Shay of California to add gays to the party’s affirmative action guidelines for selecting delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

A New York Daily News blog reported that Black Caucus member Donna Brazile was among those who raised concerns about the Shay proposal, on grounds that it could result in fewer African-American delegates.

Shay’s proposal calls for a DNC rule change that would require all state parties to establish goals and timetables for selecting a minimum number of gay delegates in the same way they currently allocate certain numbers of delegate slots for African Americans, Latinos, Asian-Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and women.

Sixteen states, including California and New York, already include gays in their affirmative action polices, according to Shay.

Brazile called the blog report "ridiculous" and "totally inaccurate." She said that she and Shay had a friendly discussion over the proposal and that she would help him fine-tune the proposal to ensure it receives support from all segments of the party.

"I have no problem with the merits of Garry’s proposal," said Brazile, who frequently appears on TV talk shows as a Democratic Party strategist. She served as chair of the 2000 presidential campaign of Democratic nominee Al Gore.

Brazile has refused to answer questions about her own sexual orientation, even though she has a history of gay rights activism, including a seat on the board of the gay Millennium March on Washington for LGBT Rights in 2000.

She again declined to discuss the matter in a telephone interview this week, though she cited her past gay rights advocacy over many years within the DNC and within the DNC’s Black Caucus.

Daily News blog writer Ben Smith reported he obtained his information about Brazile’s and other Black Caucus members’ reported opposition to the Shay proposal from an e-mail that an unknown person forwarded to him.

New York gay Democratic activist Jon Winkelman, who serves on the board of National Stonewall Democrats, wrote the e-mail, which Smith said he published verbatim in his blog. In his e-mail, Winkelman said he obtained his information about purported opposition to the Shay proposal from gay DNC member Rick Stafford of Minnesota and New York party activist Emily Giske, a lesbian who is one of several vice chairs of the New York State Democratic Party.

Stafford and Giske did not return calls seeking comment.

Winkelman said the e-mail, as published by the blog, was out of context and contained inaccurate information. He declined to say which information was inaccurate.

"This was intended to be a private communication," he said. "Whoever released it is trying to create divisiveness within the party. That’s my take on this."

Gay outreach plan assailed

Yandura’s letter also comes after some gay Democratic activists criticized Dean for abolishing the DNC’s constituency outreach desks, including the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Desk. Dean said he eliminated the party’s "desk system" last year, shortly after he won election as DNC chair, in an effort to streamline and improve constituency outreach efforts.

He insisted the party’s commitment to gay civil rights was as strong as ever, and his new system of integrating constituency efforts throughout all of the DNC’s departments and offices would strengthen gay outreach efforts. Stafford, who chairs the DNC’s Gay & Lesbian Americans Caucus, said at the time he was willing to give Dean’s changes a chance to work.

But the former chair of the gay caucus, Jeff Soref, said he resigned from the DNC to protest Dean’s action, which Soref said would diminish the party’s outreach to gays just as the party would need a high turnout of gay voters for the 2006 elections.

DCCC omits gay protection

In yet another gay-related development, news surfaced last week that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, an arm of the DNC, removed from its website a personnel-related statement saying the committee doesn’t discriminate in hiring based on sexual orientation. DCCC officials said the removal was a mistake associated with a change in the website and the committee’s non-discrimination policy had not changed.

Gay DNC member Raymond Buckley of New Hampshire said the entire DNC gay caucus supports Shay’s rules change proposal and is hopeful that the party will adopt the change later this year.

DNC spokesperson Finney said the DNC’s Rules & Bylaws Committee is considering the proposal and must approve it before goes to the full DNC for a final vote. She said she did not know when the committee would act on it.

Several gay Democratic activists said they welcomed Yandura’s letter but had mixed views on whether he should have released it publicly.

In his letter, Yandura pointed to efforts by the DNC to purchase television ads attacking Republican-led efforts to pass legislation in Congress that most Democrats considers harmful to immigrants.

"It’s the right thing to do, and I applaud their action," he said. "Why then is it so difficult for them to do the same for us?

"Why are gays and lesbians continually left to fight these battles alone?" he asked. "Where are our allies?"

Lou Chibbaro Jr. can be reached at lchibbaro@washblade.com.
http://washingtonblade.com/2006/4-27/ne ... al/dnc.cfm

Followed quickly by Dean's firing Yandura's partner, the gay outreach director for the DNC.

Dean fires Dems' gay outreach chief
Shakeup follows criticism by partner; Bond named replacement
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | May 3, 12:31 AM

Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean fired the party's gay outreach adviser Donald Hitchcock on May 2 less than a week after Hitchcock's domestic partner, Paul Yandura, a longtime party activist, accused Dean of failing to take adequate steps to defend gay rights.

Dean immediately hired gay former Democratic Party operative Brian Bond to replace Hitchcock as executive director of the party's Gay Lesbian Leadership Council, according to DNC spokesperson Karen Finney, who called Bond a "proven leader."

Bond served from 1997 to 2003 as executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a bipartisan national group that raises money and provides training to help elect openly gay candidates to public office.

"It was not retaliation," Finney said of Hitchcock's dismissal. "It was decided we needed a change. We decided to hire a proven leader."

Hitchcock confirmed that Dean informed him May 2 through a surrogate that he had been terminated. He said he was considering consulting an attorney to decide whether to contest the firing.

"This is retaliation, plain and simple," said Yandura. "This shows what they think about domestic partners."

Yandura said Dean was using Hitchcock as a "scapegoat" for problems of Dean's own making.

"All I did was ask questions about what the party and Dean are doing about its GLBT constituency," Yandura said. "I have yet to see any answers."

Hitchcock's dismissal came after Yandura created a stir among party activists, both gay and straight, by sending an open letter on April 20 to gay Democrats criticizing Dean and the party for not getting involved in state ballot measures seeking to ban gay marriage.

Yandura charged that the DNC failed to counter efforts by Republicans to promote the anti-gay ballot measures as a wedge issue to win elections. He suggested that gays withhold donations to the Democrats until the party formally addresses issues he raised.

Finney said Dean and party leaders were developing plans to address efforts by Republicans to push for constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. She said Dean and DNC high-level staffers met last week with officials from national gay rights groups to discuss strategy for opposing the ballot measures.

Longtime party activists

Yandura and Hitchcock have been a well-known couple in Democratic Party circles for many years. Both were involved in the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Yandura served in the Clinton White House and held posts with the DNC. He currently operates a political consulting firm in partnership with former Clinton White House adviser Marsha Scott.

Hitchcock has worked at the Human Rights Campaign and, most recently before his DNC post, was executive director of the National Coalition of LGBT Health.

Bond worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns and headed the DNC's gay outreach office before becoming executive director of the Victory Fund. He has been living in New York City since 2003.

"I look forward to returning to the Democratic National Committee at this time of such great challenge and opportunity for our community," Bond said in a DNC statement. "Chairman Dean continues to listen to the needs of the LGBT community and stands as a leader in our fight for equality."

Bond could not be reached for further comment by press time.

Bond 'snatched away'

Dean's decision to hire Bond startled some board members of the National Stonewall Democrats, which represents gay Democrats and gay Democratic clubs throughout the country.

According to two sources familiar with Stonewall, the group's board had offered Bond the position of its executive director, and Bond was expected to accept the offer. The sources spoke on condition that their names be withheld because they want to remain on friendly terms with Dean and the DNC.

"In effect, he snatched Bond away from the NSD," said one of the sources.

The other source called Dean's decision to fire Hitchcock an overreaction.

"They are using Donald as a scapegoat," said the source. "What Dean should have done is bring in someone to help Donald."

Both sources said Dean scrambled over the weekend to offer the DNC outreach post to Bond and then called prominent gay Democrats on May 2 to inform them of his decision to replace Hitchcock with Bond.

A third DNC insider, who also requested anonymity out of concern for sounding critical of Hitchcock, said Dean and other DNC officials decided several months before Yandura's public criticism of the party that Hitchcock "was not the best fit" for his job.

"This was not necessarily Donald's fault," said this source. "He never received the confidence of Dean and high-level DNC officials that someone like Bond is certain to receive," the source said.

Hitchcock disputes this assessment. "I never had any bad performance review or anyone telling me I was not doing a good job," he said.

He said DNC officials Tom McMahon and Leah Daughtry said at the time they informed him of his dismissal on May 2 that the decision to let him go "was not in the works for several weeks" but had been made within the past few days.

Hitchcock said the firing came after McMahon and Daughtry asked him to resign and he refused.

More clout in DNC?

John Marble, a spokesperson for the National Stonewall Democrats, said the group would have no immediate comment on Hitchcock's firing. Marble said the group was hopeful, however, that the DNC would respond to concerns expressed by Yandura and other gay Democrats.

"This presents the DNC with the opportunity to lay out a good plan to encourage GLBT participation in the 2006 election cycle and a plan to combat anti-gay ballot initiatives," Marble said.

Andy Tobias, the DNC treasurer, considered the party's highest ranking openly gay official, said he was sorry to see Hitchcock leave his post at the DNC, but declined to comment on whether his departure was a form of retaliation by Dean.

"Donald is terrific," Tobias said. "I will miss working with him, and I'm really sorry this didn't work out," he said. "Brian is also terrific, and I think he'll bring our community even more clout within the DNC, which we deserve. Now, let's go out and win some elections."

Tobias said he respects and admires Yandura's work for the party in the past and understands his frustration over the Republicans' use of anti-gay ballot initiatives as a device to win elections.

"Paul is terrific, but I deeply disagree with his approach," Tobias said. "Paul and I have talked several times, and I let him know we are eager to receive all suggestions that will enhance the dignity and rights of the GLBT community, and at the same time enhance our chances of winning the elections or at least not diminish the chances."

According to Tobias, Yandura has responded to his inquires by repeatedly saying the party has to figure out on its own how to respond to the anti-gay ballot measures.

"It's not so easy to come up with these answers. But we are all ears," Tobias said. "We welcome anything he or others can suggest."

Dean's latest gay headache

The flap over Yandura and Hitchcock is on the latest headache for Dean and the DNC on gay issues.

Last year, Dean upset some gay Democratic activists by eliminating the DNC constituency desk system, including the GLBT outreach desk. He said he replaced the desk system with a new system of integrating constituency outreach work throughout all DNC offices and programs.

Dean said the new system would be an improvement over the previous system, and that the party would expand its gay outreach efforts.

But some gay Democrats were further angered in February, when the DNC released its "Annual Report to the Grassroots," which omitted any mention of gays or the party's gay outreach efforts. Activists pointed to a similar grassroots report issued a year earlier by Dean's predecessor, Terry McAuliffe, which included a detailed account of the party's gay outreach program.

DNC officials insisted then that the six-page grassroots report issued by Dean was intended to be a brief, preliminary account of Dean's plan to rebuild the party by strengthening its field operation in all 50 states.

Then, six weeks ago, gay rights leaders met with eight prominent Democratic senators to air their complaints about the party's "tortuous" positions on marriage and other issues.

Dean's trouble with gay Democrats comes after gays were credited with playing a crucial early role in the former Vermont governor's 2004 presidential run, raising large sums and generating word-of-mouth support based on Dean's role signing into law his state's landmark civil unions law in 2000.

http://www.sovo.com/thelatest/thelatest ... og_id=6536

[jbuck919]

Not wishing to stereotype or point the finger at any individual, the organized black community has in general a huge problem with the organized gay community, to wit, the former hates the latter. The Rainbow Coalition has always been about that rainbow you see when drops of gasoline float on water but never mix with it.

[Corlyss_D]

Not wishing to stereotype or point the finger at any individual, the organized black community has in general a huge problem with the organized gay community, to wit, the former hates the latter.

I know. The pithy analysis I heard decades ago from a black was "We got enough problems without adding that too." Competition for resources, don't you know. Democrats love gays for the same reason Republicans want them: $$$

[Barry]

Not wishing to stereotype or point the finger at any individual, the organized black community has in general a huge problem with the organized gay community, to wit, the former hates the latter.

I've mentioned this on here a couple times in the past. As someone who was very vocal on issues relating to blacks for many years, it really ticks me off too.

[Corlyss_D]

I've mentioned this on here a couple times in the past. As someone who was very vocal on issues relating to blacks for many years, it really ticks me off too.

It's very sensible of them, really, to protect the unique character of the civil rights movement from every other movement that wants to claim, however dubiously, some civil rights angle for their particular grievance. Cheapens the original to mix it up with the gays issues and to avoid gay issues protects the civil rights movement from the historical moral opprobium that attaches to homosexuality.

[Barry]

I've mentioned this on here a couple times in the past. As someone who was very vocal on issues relating to blacks for many years, it really ticks me off too.

It's very sensible of them, really, to protect the unique character of the civil rights movement from every other movement that wants to claim, however dubiously, some civil rights angle for their particular grievance. Cheapens the original IMO.

By that logic, we could say the civil rights movement cheapened the women's sufferage movement.

Sensible from a strictly selfish standpoint; but when you want everyone else to be sympathetic to your movement, you shouldn't be so eager to give the cold shoulder to the grievances of others IMO.
I have never bought the common argument that race is natural, while sexual orientation is a choice.
Some of it is also religiously inspired, just as some of it is among whites.

[Corlyss_D]

when you want everyone else to be sympathetic to your movement, you shouldn't be so eager to give the cold shoulder to the grievances of others IMO.

Only if the grievance are of equal import. As you know, my position is that the grievances of the two are not equal.

[jbuck919]

I've mentioned this on here a couple times in the past. As someone who was very vocal on issues relating to blacks for many years, it really ticks me off too.

It's very sensible of them, really, to protect the unique character of the civil rights movement from every other movement that wants to claim, however dubiously, some civil rights angle for their particular grievance. Cheapens the original to mix it up with the gays issues and to avoid gay issues protects the civil rights movement from the historical moral opprobium that attaches to homosexuality.

I wonder if you're missing the point, and suspect Barry is not. The organized African-American community is still largely a Southern Baptist thing. They don't hate homosexuals because they are a perceived competitor in the civil rights revolution. They hate them because they are homosexuals. It's a religion thing. Gay black people are the unluckiest people in the world.

[Corlyss_D]

I wonder if you're missing the point, and suspect Barry is not. The organized African-American community is still largely a Southern Baptist thing. They don't hate homosexuals because they are rivals to the civil rights revolution. They hate them because they are homosexuals.

No, I'm not missing the point. You and Barry think that because you both are anti-religion. It wouldn't matter if blacks were all round-bottomed Unitarians. Blacks don't like Hispanics either, despite their being strong co-religionists, or just about any immigrant population. They do not like competitors in the civil rights playing field. When there are so many group-rights organizations all claiming some new half-assed civil right, it dilutes the leverage obtained frorm manipulating white guilt.

[Ralph]

I've mentioned this on here a couple times in the past. As someone who was very vocal on issues relating to blacks for many years, it really ticks me off too.

It's very sensible of them, really, to protect the unique character of the civil rights movement from every other movement that wants to claim, however dubiously, some civil rights angle for their particular grievance. Cheapens the original IMO.

By that logic, we could say the civil rights movement cheapened the women's sufferage movement.

Sensible from a strictly selfish standpoint; but when you want everyone else to be sympathetic to your movement, you shouldn't be so eager to give the cold shoulder to the grievances of others IMO.
I have never bought the common argument that race is natural, while sexual orientation is a choice.
Some of it is also religiously inspired, just as some of it is among whites.

*****

If you look at the history of the women's suffrage movement in the latter part of the nineteenth century and after many turned their backs, quite calculatedly, on civil rights for blacks. In fact this caused a schism and the emergence of two major national suffrage organizations, one remaining allied to black civil rights goals and the other not.

[Ralph]

I wonder if you're missing the point, and suspect Barry is not. The organized African-American community is still largely a Southern Baptist thing. They don't hate homosexuals because they are rivals to the civil rights revolution. They hate them because they are homosexuals.

No, I'm not missing the point. You and Barry think that because you both are anti-religion. It wouldn't matter if blacks were all round-bottomed Unitarians. Blacks don't like Hispanics either, despite their being strong co-religionists, or just about any immigrant population. They do not like competitors in the civil rights playing field. When there are so many group-rights organizations all claiming some new half-assed civil right, it dilutes the leverage obtained frorm manipulating white guilt.

*****

Blacks fit the word "they," huh? I know many blacks and Hispanics, socially and professionally and I wouldn't lump them into one-size-fits-all categorization anymore than I would with Jews or Mormons.

[Corlyss_D]

Blacks fit the word "they," huh? I know many blacks and Hispanics, socially and professionally and I wouldn't lump them into one-size-fits-all categorization anymore than I would with Jews or Mormons.

Personal stories and anecdotal evidence do not a statistical sample make.