Be Careful What You Wish For

Well, boys and girls, the Democrats got their asses handed to them last night, as the Republicans gained control of the House and the Teabaggers gained power and influence. The message "Take our country back" (from who?) seems to have gotten some traction with the "disaffected" and "angry" American people. I love it when the sore losers from the last election are now called "disaffected American voters".

Those same Palinite wingnuts seem to have forgotten that it was their party and their policies that created the mess we're in.

Every election is like a psychotic case of buyer's remorse, with the American people deciding they're not happy with the choices they made in the last election. Maybe if they did more research, they wouldn't be so surprised to find out who the people they elected really are. The same old Bush-era nut-jobs have successfully repackaged themselves and the always gullible American people have swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

For me it was worth losing a Democratic seat in congress if it means getting rid of the lying sack of shit from Virginia's 9th District (where I live) Rick Boucher. This guy is a Democrat in name only who is more concerned with protecting the environmental rapists in the coal industry then protecting the jobs of LGBT Americans. I lobbied for his support on passing ENDA, which he assured me in writing that he would do, only to back away over the inclusion of transgender workers, who apparently are supposed to be homeless and hungry in his version of America. Boucher is s self-loathing asshole with plenty of skeletons in his "closet" who deserves to be unemployed after 30 years in office. I'd rather deal with a Republican. At least they're honest about who they are and what they want.

Sadly, Virginia's best Democrat ever, Tom Periello also lost his congressional seat.

Some of the bright spots from yesterday include news that four openly gay Democrats, Barney Frank-MA, David Cicilline-RI, Tammy Baldwin-Milwaukee and Jared Polis-CO, kept their seats. LGBT ally Kristen Gillibrand (NY), who was appointed to replace Hillary Clinton, also kept her seat.

Andrew Cuomo defeated homophobe Carl Paladino to become Governor of New York. Cuomo has said he will sign marriage equality into law if it reaches his desk.

The city of Lexington, KY elected Vice Mayor Jim Gray as its first openly gay mayor.

Perhaps the best news of all is that Sarah Palin's failed clone Christine "I'm not a wiyotch" O'Donnell lost, big time. Now if the media would just stop asking her to talk.

This afternoon I'm going to the voter registrar's office to change my party affiliation in Independent. I am tired of being taken for granted by the Democrats. If they want my support, they're going to have to work for it.

Meanwhile, we have just two months left to see if DADT will be repealed. It's the only piece of LGBT legislation showing any signs of life this year. Forget abut passing ENDA or DOMA repeal. ENDA effectively died with Ted Kennedy, the last true liberal. We have a better chance of achieving marriage equality through the courts anyway.

What are your thoughts on the election results?

Related articles

• Virginia House Democrat Boucher loses re-election: networks (reuters.com)
• 14-term Democratic Rep. Boucher defeated in Va. (thenewstribune.com)
• Democratic Bloodbath in Virginia (newsweek.com)
• Where the Republican Midterm Rout Leaves Obama and the Dems (time.com)
• Republicans Claim Control of House (online.wsj.com)
• Tomorrow The Dems Had Better Begin To Listen To The LGBT Community (lezgetreal.com)

Coakley Hands MA Senate Seat to Cosmo-boy Brown

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown to fill the US Senate seat occupied for thirty-seven years by the late Ted Kennedy yesterday in a stunning upset that has put health care reform in jeopardy. Brown won by 52% - 47% in a state that Obama won by 26%.

Critics of Martha Coakley have accused her of running a lazy and over-confident campaign, citing her three-week vacation over the Christmas holiday.

While health care reform in it's current state may be dead in the water, Brown may be the next Joe Biden and should prove a lot of fun to watch and comment on. If Democrats don't get their shit together soon, we could see a Palin/Brown presidential victory in 2012.

In what could be a preview of things to come, Senator-elect Brown wasted no time in pimping out his daughters during his victory speech. Why do Republicans persist in picking the pretty package with nothing inside? Because it's so much fun for the rest of us. 

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Polling: Dem. Coakley is no shoe-in for Ted Kennedy's seat

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As the clock runs out in the final days leading up to the January 19 special election to fill the vacant Massachusetts senate seat left by the passing of Ted Kennedy, democratic hopeful Martha Coakley's lead in the polls is slipping away. Democrats in the Bay State, including Coakley, have assumed that any democrat could win the seat, held by the Lion of the Senate for over three decades, with minimal effort and that's exactly what they've been giving it.

Public Policy Polling  (PPP) reported on Friday, "At this point a plurality of those planning to turn out oppose the health care bill. The massive enthusiasm gap we saw in Virginia is playing itself out in Massachusetts as well. Republican voters are fired up and they're going to turn out. Martha Coakley needs to have a coherent message up on the air over the last ten days that her election is critical to health care passing and Ted Kennedy's legacy- right now Democrats in the state are not feeling a sense of urgency."

A Rasmussen Report survey published last week shows only a 9-point gap between Brown and Coakley, which the democrat has yet to see as a big enough threat to merit a change in strategy. The Brown campaign has also outspent Coakly by a significant margin.

I mention this next bit to illustrate just how desperate -- and motivated -- the GOP is right now. Republicans prefer the pretty package that is Bob Brown, the way they flock to the human vacuum tube that is Sarah Palin.

In September, the blog Gawker reported that the rabidly anti-gay Brown had posed for a nude photo spread in Cosmo back in 1982. The Brown campaign brushed it off as a youthful indiscretion, telling Newsweek's blog The Gaggle, that it would be different for a female politician. If a woman poses nude for a magazine, it speaks to her character, while a man who does it can chalk it up to "boys will be boys". The Gaggle piece and the Coakley campaign have never taken brown's candidacy seriously and that seems to be backfiring on them.

Bob Brown was taken to task by the press back in February, '07 when his eldest daughter, Ayla, was a contestant on American Idol. Some high school kids posted derogatory comments on Facebook about Ayla that included the F word. Shortly after the post was discovered, Brown was asked to speak at a high school where he used to opportunity to address the offending piece, reading sections of the post word for word, including the aforementioned F-Bomb. Critics accused Brown of bad judgment, while he defended himself for making a point about the damage that can be done by hate speech.

All of this aside, although voter turnout is typically lower during off-year and special elections, republican conservatives historically turn out in higher numbers during mid-term cycles than democrats. This trend, combined with anti-Obama backlash could create a perfect storm for a GOP victory in the democratic stronghold of New England.

Even with a majority in both houses on the hill, now is not the time for democrats to rest on our laurels. The Teabagger movement, for all its lunacy, has been gaining momentum nationwide and can no longer be taken lightly. While a Brown victory in Massachusetts may not signal the beginning of another Republican Revolution, it serves as a reminder that there is no such thing as a sure thing. If Martha Coakley hopes to pull off a senate victory and continue the legacy of Ted Kennedy, she needs to show that when it comes to Bob Brown, there is no "there" there.

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ENDA Hearings Begin Today

The Employment Non-discrimination Act (ENDA) hearings begin today on Capital Hill. The bill is the first to include gender identity in its protections against workplace discrimination. I met with Congressman Rick Boucher's (Va. 9th District) staff last month to enlist his support of the bill. Congressman Boucher has a mixed history on LGBT rights, but he is all about creating jobs in his district and helping to ensure that those that are here stay here. His staff was optimistic that he would support ENDA.

SistersTalk will be live blogging from the hearings.

OnTop.com has a good piece on it.

"The Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions' November 5 hearing will be the bill's first outing since its August introduction by two Democratic Senators – the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy and Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley – and two Republican Senators – Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine.

The measure would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (transgender protections).

“This is a very exciting step forward in our efforts to pass this important legislation and guarantee every American, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the right to earn a living,” Julie Edwards, communications director for Senator Jeff Merkley, said in an email.

Thirty four co-sponsors signed on in August. Since then the bill has attracted the support of seven more senators.

Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank introduced the House version of ENDA in July.

Both versions of the bill have been reworked, adding back transgender protections removed from last year's bill. Gay rights groups warned politicos last year that they would not support a gay-only protections bill.

“I am encouraged,” Frank told gay weekly the Washington Blade about the inclusion of transgender protections in this year's House bill. “I think the transgender community and others have been doing this in a very good way. This time they have been doing the lobbying.”

Despite the bill being watered down, it fizzed in the Senate after the House approved the measure.

Social conservatives who argue the legislation impinges on religious freedoms have vociferously opposed the measure.

“This bill will mean that employers will be forced to make employment decisions against their religious beliefs,” Ashley Home, federal policy analyst for the Christian-based group Focus on the Family, told Citizen Link.

The hearing comes on the heels of President Obama signing into law the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Prevention Act, the nation's first major pro-gay law."

EDNA Supporter, "Lion of the Senate" Ted Kennedy dies at 77

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Ma.) has died at the age of 77 after an 18-month battle with brain cancer. The last of the Kennedy brothers served over 46 years in the U.S. Senate and became the patriarch of America's most enduring political family after the assassinations of brothers John and Bobby in the 1960's. Eldest Kennedy brother Joe died while serving in World War II.

Ted Kennedy's life was plagued by controversy. His exploits as a womanizing playboy were well documented by the press throughout the 60's and 70's. In July, 1969 a car driven by Kennedy after a party, went off the road and into the water off Chappaquiddick, Ma., killing passenger Mary Jo Kopekne, a young woman who worked on the presidential campaign of older brother Bobby Kennedy.

The younger Kennedy was only charged with leaving the scene of an accident. What became known as the Chappaquiddick Incident would dog the senator throughout his career and was seen as the primary cause for his loss in his 1972 run for president.

Ted Kennedy was truly a fierce advocate for LGBT rights. He tried for many years to pass a gay-friendly Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This year he saw his dream fulfilled when the senate passed a version of ENDA that not only included anti-discrimination protections for gays, lesbians and bisexuals, but also transgendered Americans.

Most recently, Ted Kennedy lead the charge for health care reform, fighting to ensure that all Americans had access to affordable, quality medical care.

Growing up in a large Irish-Catholic family, we always identified with the Kennedy Clan. My dad's family is from Massachusetts, so the Kennedys' signature New England accent, which sounded odd to most Americans, sounded warm and familiar to us. In the sitting room of my grandmother's modest Sudbury, Ma. home were three photographs on the wall, hung vertically. From top to bottom, they were Jesus, John F. Kennedy and the pope.

He was a political lightning rod who was able to reach across party lines to get the job done. Love him of hate him, there will never be another Ted Kennedy.