LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Capital Letters |
by Hastings Wyman |
Gore-Bradley Battle Building Among GaysWhile much of the gay Democratic establishment is in heir-apparent Al Gore's corner, up-and-coming challenger Bill Bradley is building significant support among prominent lesbians and gays. The vice president has labored in the nation's gay vineyards and been recognized for his efforts on behalf of the Employment Non-Discrimination Actwhich bars anti-gay job biasand AIDS programs. Thus, Gore's gay backers include most of Washington, D.C.'s powerful gay lobby. Richard Socarides recently resigned his post as White House liaison to the gay community in order to consult in the Big Apple and campaign for Goreand Hillary Clinton. And, according to Federal Election Commission records uncovered by gay activist Michael Petrelis, the top brass of the Human Rights Campaignincluding Executive Director Elizabeth Birch, gay mover-and-shaker Vic Basile, party honcho Andrew Tobias, and a number of other HRC board membershave contributed some $14,650 to the Gore campaign, zip to Bradley. Also, AIDS Action, headed by savvy operative Dan Zingale, honored Gore and his wife Tipper in 1998 with a joint award for their work on AIDS causes. The national Stonewall Democrats are likely to stay neutral, but their co-chairs are splitMichael Perez is for Gore, Denise Kulp for Bradley. In New York, such long-time politicos as state Sen. Tom Duane and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick have endorsed Gore. And on the West Coast, the veep has the ardent support of Eric Bauman, who serves on Gov. Gray Davis's staff and chairs the Southern California Stonewall group, which has endorsed Gore. But the former senator from New Jersey is catching up. Jeff Soukup, the San Franciscan who is co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, has raised money for Bradley. So has Karen Burstein, who lost her bid for attorney general of New York in 1998, and Barry Diller, the TV mogul and creative genius. In Washington state, openly gay state Rep. Ed Murray is on Bradley's committee. In addition, there's a rumor afoot that Virginia Apuzzo, the former top White House aide who is now with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, may endorse Bradley. Some gay insiders are still neutralincluding highly influential Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts and congressional newcomer Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Issues play some part in the Democratic rivalryBradley, who has less to lose among party middle-of-the-roaders, has staked out a more or less left-of-Gore stance on gays in the military and similar concerns. But our guess is that for many gay Democratic operatives, the main consideration is which candidate stands the best chance of holding on to the White House for the donkey party. McCain Gains Gay SupportArizona Sen. John McCain, the current runner-up to Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the Republican presidential nomination, stands to gain money and muscle from his open pitch for gay support. McCain executed an end run around Bush and the rest of the GOP field when he met recently with the Log Cabin Republicans' national board, officers and staff in Washington, D.C., and explicitly asked for their support. McCain, in the Log Cabin meeting as well as in the recent New Hampshire debate, endorsed outright a non-discrimination policy for his party and for a McCain administration. McCain scores a middling 50 percent on the Human Rights Campaign rating on gay issues. But he gets points because Congressman Jim Kolbe, state Rep. Steve May and Tempe Mayor Neil Giulianoall openly gayare on his Arizona steering committee. Bush had been expected to get the lion's share of gay Republican backing, mostly becauseas governor and as a presidential candidatehe has avoided associating himself with the homophobic rhetoric that emanates from the party's religious right. However, the Bush campaign has so far not clarified conflicting statements about the Texas governor's willingness to appoint openly gay people to his administration. The Bush headquarters "has stonewalled for over a month" on the issue, says one gay Republican insider. Though money is hardly a problem for the Texas governor, his waffling on gay appointees could dry up contributions from gay GOPers. "Bush's greatest strength in fundraising in the gay community," continues Capital Letters' source, "has been the possibility of providing appointments to his administration. Now," the insider says, "there's a serious question about whether Bush will have gays in his administration." Under the organization's current rules, Log Cabin will not make a presidential endorsement until after the GOP's national convention next year. So unless the group changes its bylaws, no candidate will get the Log Cabin imprimatur until his nomination is a done deal. For now, however, individual gay GOPers are likely to show up in McCain's corner. Look for gay fundraisers for McCain in Washington, D.C., and other major cities. Moreover, a number of Log Cabin members are on county and state Republican central committees, where they can influence delegate selection in such major states as California, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts and Georgia. Don't count Bush out just yet, however, in garnering gay support. He is the frontrunner, and some Log Cabiners don't like the prospect of a GOP White House without at least some gay channels to the powers-that-be. Moreover, Bush's reputation, if not his record, is gay-friendly, and should he choose to make a more explicit appeal for gay support, he could change the picture quickly. Gay Power in City ElectionsGay and lesbian voters showed impressive strength in mayoral elections across the country this month, reinforcing the message to the nation's top politicos that the gay community is a force to be reckoned with. Our community's two partisan groups, the Stonewall Democrats and Log Cabin Republicans, along with the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and many other gay political organizations, were extremely active in a number of campaigns. In some cases, gay candidates themselves made history, demonstrating that lesbians and gay men can be open about their sexual orientation and still attract sufficient support from straight voters to end up in the winner's circle. Gay San Francisco Mayor?Openly gay Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano galvanized San Francisco's gay voters, turning a three-week write-in campaign into a slot in the runoff for mayor. Shocking incumbent Willie Brown and much of the city's establishment, Ammianoan ex-comedian whose name was not on the ballotgot 25 percent to Brown's 39 percent. Ammiano, who once sponsored legislation requiring insurance companies to pay for sex-change operations for city employees, ran especially strong in low-income and gay-heavy precincts. He carried seven neighborhoods, including the Mission District, Haight-Ashbury, and the Castro; Brown carried 18 neighborhoods. Polls also showed that 42 percent of Ammiano's support came from voters under 30 years old. Brown, 65, a long-time liberal and an African-American, also got substantial gay support, in addition to backing from black and Asian voters. In third place with 17 percent of the vote was former Mayor Frank Jordan, who has not endorsed anyone in the two-man runoff. Soon after the primary, however, Jordan scheduled a luncheon appointment with Ammiano, but not Brown. The local GOP endorsed Brown. Going into the December 14 election, Ammiano is the underdog, but he could score an upset. If he does, his election would have major political impact. As chief executive of one of the nation's largest and most important cities, he would immediately become a highly visible national gay spokesperson, in a position to put significant weight behind pro-gay proposals in both state and national arenas. Moreover, within the gay community, Ammiano would be likely to give greater prominence to the already-dominant liberal influence among the nation's gay and lesbian political leaders. Stay tuned. Philly Mayor Elect's PastIn the Philadelphia mayoral race, the gay community all but united behind Republican Sam Katz, who lost narrowly to Democratic City Councilman John Street, once a vocal critic of pro-gay policies. Katz, who took pro-gay stands and campaigned strenuously for the community's support, got the backing of both of the city's gay newspapers and most of its gay and lesbian political groups. Even the Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democrats, who are barred by their charter from endorsing a Republican, toyed with backing Katz, but ultimatelyunder pressure from national party leadersopted to make no endorsement. But President Clinton, who remains popular with many Democratic constituencies, campaigned personally for Street. When the votes were counted, Republican Katz carried some 85 to 90 percent of the votes in the heavily gay 5th and 8th Wards. Democrat Street won about 95 percent of the vote in African-American areas, where many black gay voters live. Mark Smith, co-chair of the Democratic gay group, notes that Street has made a number of commitments to the community. "We now need to hold him accountable," says Smith. And Denise Kulp, the group's other co-chair, notes that Street will have some gay people in his administration. Hastings Wyman publishes Southern Political Report, a nonpartisan biweekly political newsletter. He can be reached care of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth or at HWymanSPR@aol.com. For more Capital Letters, visit www.planetout.com. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 15, Nov. 24, 1999 |