The Advocate has an interesting interview with Hilary Rosen, the interim director of the Human Rights Campaign, the national gay rights group. Here is her take on reaching out beyond liberals:
"I don’t think that Democrats should get more conservative, I think that what we should be doing is focusing on the moderate Republicans who are feeling more and more uncomfortable with the right wing of their own party. We’re confident there are lots of coalitions to be made still. "
For that, I say bravo. After her predecessor's shameful ignorance of pro-gay Republican, Arlen Specter, it would be nice for HRC to reach out to those in the GOP who are horrified by the far right.
However, when asked about the whole "George Bush, your'e fired!" campaign, she was less hopeful:
"I’m surprised that people think that we’re apologetic about “George Bush, you’re fired!” The president proposed writing us out of the Constitution. We have no apologies to make. He should have been fired. "
Now, I agree that he should not have had a second term, but it was a big mistake for HRC to make it's marriage campaign center around the election of John Kerry and not electing Bush. HRC should have worked on trying to help people understand the importance of marriage rights for same-sex couples. Maybe if HRC had spent time helping gay organizations in the eleven states where same-sex marriage bans were up for a vote, we would not be in this mess. What if the money they spent for a van cruising around NYC during the GOP convention yelling, "George Bush, your fired," and instead spent it on ads and such that would educate straight American about gay marriage, again things might have been different.
Here's to hoping that HRC gets a clue and stops being an afflitiate to the Demcrats and works to establish amd affirm the rights of gay Americans not because its Democratic issue, but because it is a human rights issue.
Posted by Dennis at December 13, 2004 11:21 PMI think that in order for moderate, patriotic, capitalist, open and affirming, pro-affirmative action, pro-choice republicans to be attracted by the left, they will need to flex... Since election 2000 and 9/11, our country has been
divided by left and right, democrat and republican, pacifist and hawk... In
this combo meal menu approach... You have to take all and most are buying
the super-size!... Draw your line in the sand and protect yourself from the
enemy.. Both sides are equally judgmental, mean spirited, intolerant and
uncompromising... Ordering ala carte is not allowed.. dialog is not
encouraged...
Most Moderate Republicans I know want to buy ala Carte and neither side will get our unconditional support...
That
autonomy, along with freedom of thought is as much a part of the American experience as any
other tradition. In fact, it is the heart of what we stand for and makes us unique...
When we read in church that the lion lies down with the lamb, and the bear
with the cow and a child shall lead them.. It was not an act of God but
rather a focus and awe that they shared that transcended their
differences... In a world where the spirit of Christ must be carried by
humans, It is up to us to look for the focus that allows us to transcend our
differences... Our leaders must set the tone and allow dialog so that we can
extract and celebrate the diversity from our world that is not
physical or obvious... You may be presently surprised by the unity and strength that is derived
from this approach... The Dems might actually win one again...
I think the gay rights lobby didn't do a great job countering the anti-gay sentiment out there. The civil union and gay marriage ideas were based on the principle "we deserve equal because the constitution says so." This was easily countered with, "Ok, we're going to change state constitutions."
This sort of legal argument, which factually and morally correct in my view, is easily bogged down in legal debate and can provoke a backlash. I think it would have been and will continue to be far more effective to appeal on a personal level. What does gay marriage/civil unions mean to ordinary people? When it leaves the domain of legalese and becomes, "I just want to be able to visit my partner in the hospital," it's a lot more likely to connect with people. Then gays cease being uppity fags trying to destroy the family and become ordinary people who want normal things.
Posted by: Brian at December 14, 2004 09:41 AM