Gay bloggers organizing boycott of Democratic National Committee

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LGBT activists -- not to mention plenty of other people in the community -- have never been particularly impressed with President Obama's efforts on their behalf. Despite his campaign promises, he's not yet moved towards ending "don't ask, don't tell," or put his weight behind repealing the Defense of Marriage Act or passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And that's only the beginning: He'd already put activists on the alert when he had an anti-gay singer join him on the campaign trail.

The tensions between the LGBT community and the administration have been constantly bubbling under the surface, and at times there've been open battles. Though the White House made some moves to at least quiet the most public of those fights, they've still been unable to bring the gay activists who'd normally be a solid base of support back into the fold.

Now, the fighting's back out in the open, as two prominent gay bloggers -- John Aravosis, who's previously written for Salon, and Joe Sudbay of Americablog -- have announced that they're organizing what they're calling a temporary donor boycott of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Joined by another high-profile figure in the movement, Michelangelo Signorile, they're asking people not to donate "until the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is passed, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) is repealed, and the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is repealed."

It will be interesting to see how the White House responds, if at all. And it will also be interesting -- and instructive -- to see how members of the LGBT community, and voters of all kinds, respond. The gay organizations haven't been at the forefront of the opposition to Obama; instead, it's been people like Aravosis and Signorile leading the charge. Success now might help them further supplant the traditional power structure in the community.

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2009/11/09/boycott/index.html
  2. groups:
    News and Politics,   LGBT,   Obama: The First Term
  3. tags:
    Obama,  Barack Obama,  LGBT,  DNC, 1 more + add
Future_America
  • added November 09, 2009

4 comments // Gay bloggers organizing boycott of Democratic National Committee

  •  

    does anyone know?---is there any reporter from LGBT media, with press credentials, and who attends daily briefings, Q&A, etc. Yes...let's hear from you!
    no....why not?

    ryan8566
  •  

    They got used in the election and they should be pissed.

    samthesixth
  •  

    I think its good to keep pushing these issues. But I think its also good to recognize that these problems are not solved overnight. GO GO GO! Focus should also
    be spent on congress, cause they are the ones that make the laws. :)

    Atalanda_Cameron
  •  

    A boycott would only hurt us. As much as our community hates to acknowledge it, the gay movement is the Democratic parties bitch. If republicans get elected into too many offices, the rights movement would be set back. because no matter how much we might hate the Dem’s, their half-ass help is more than we're going to get from the republicans.

    timetide
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