On Wednesday I blogged about the problems U.S. Representative David Cicilline is having in his re-election as an openly gay Congressman from Rhode Island so it is good to see the chances are at least slightly better than even there may be an openly lesbian member of the United States Senate in 2013!PPP finds that a match up between Tammy Baldwin and Tommy Thompson for the Senate in Wisconsin would be a toss up. Baldwin leads Thompson 46-45 in this month's poll, continuing a pattern of tight numbers in the contest. When PPP last polled Wisconsin in October Thompson was ahead 46-44. This seems like a race that's likely to remain closely contested all throughout the year.[...]Voters are mixed on Baldwin as well, although she is not as well known. 31% see her favorably and 31% have a negative opinion. She is extremely polarizing with Democrats (54/10) pretty much all liking her and Republicans (3/57) all pretty much disliking her.You see that same level of polarization in the head to head numbers between Baldwin and Thompson. Baldwin gets 87% of the Democratic vote, while Thompson gets 88% of the Republican vote. Thompson does have more crossover support, winning 9% of Democrats to Baldwin's 2% of Republicans.Baldwin would be a nominal favorite against either of the other Republican Senate candidates. She leads Mark Neumann 47-41 and Jeff Fitzgerald 47-39. Neither Neumann (23/34) not Fitzgerald (19/38) has very good favorability ratings.
It's not clear that the sexual orientation of Cicilline is what is causing his political difficulties. He seems to be instead suffering an extreme backlash from a scandal which occurred when he was the Mayor of Providence, R.I.PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Congressman David Cicilline is headed for a double-digit defeat at the hands of Republican Brendan Doherty unless he finds a way to win back a large number of voters by November, according to an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Monday evening.The new survey of 250 registered voters in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District shows Doherty, a former state police superintendent, would defeat Cicilline 49% to 34%, with 16% of voters undecided. Doherty's lead over Cicilline has grown by two points since the last WPRI 12 poll in May.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu — who became the face of Arizona border security nationally after he started stridently opposing illegal immigration — threatened his Mexican ex-lover with deportation when the man refused to promise never to disclose their years-long relationship, the former boyfriend and his lawyer tell New Times.Babeu immediately resigned as co-chair of Mitt Romney's Arizona presidential campaign and held a press conference where he confirmed he was gay but denied all the other allegations in the New Times article. Other papers and political outlets have taken up the story, it was even repeated on NPR's Morning Edition today as a "distraction" for Romney as he tries to concentrate on winning the upcoming Arizona and Michigan Republican primaries.The latest of the alleged threats were made through Babeu's personal attorney, who's also running the sheriff's campaign for Congress in District 4, the ex-lover says.He says lawyer Chris DeRose demanded he sign an agreement that he would never breathe a word about the affair. But Jose (New Times is withholding his last name because Babeu and his attorney have challenged his legal status) refused.
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| Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) |
“Today, the House of Delegates voted for human dignity. Speaker Busch and his fellow Delegates deserve a lot of credit for their hard work. At its heart, their vote was a vote for Maryland’s children….Now, as the Senate prepares to vote, all of us are needed – and we’re prepared to redouble our efforts. The common thread running through our efforts together in Maryland is the thread of human dignity; the dignity of work, the dignity of faith, the dignity of family, the dignity of every individual. Love is an unalienable right.”As for Arora? He voted no (again). There are numerous people, yours truly included, who have a decided interest in making sure that his vote today against equality for all (after being personally lobbied by phone to vote yes by Bill Clinton, Governor O'Malley and Terry Mcauliffe) was a career-ending decision.
That doesn’t mean these states aren’t served by LGBT elected officials, just that none have self-identified publicly either in speeches or in the media. But one group that supports out elected officials says there’s a reason this matters.“It’s important that people know there are LGBT people serving in public office, especially in their own communities. That doesn’t mean that LGBT issues are front and center in their work. In some cases just being open and honest about that part of our lives has great potential to deepen understanding of our community, and that makes a huge difference,” said Tiffany Muller, Vice President for Programs at the Victory Institute.The Victory Institute maintains the most up-to-date database of out LGBT officials available, and in recent years elected officials in states like Kansas, South Carolina, West Virginia and North Dakota have been added. The group has a goal in 2012 of having identified at least one out elected official in every state in the U.S. ”That will mark a really significant milestone for LGBT Americans, and it will be a symbol of how far we’ve come as a country,” Muller said.
Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson made municipal history Wednesday [November 16], with his colleagues agreeing unanimously to make him the council's first African American president.
That vote may appear in the history books with an asterisk. Wesson's two black colleagues, both of whom have had strained relations with him in recent weeks, did not show up — providing the only no-shows during the vote.
Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who for days refused to say whether he would back Wesson, called in sick Wednesday morning. Councilwoman Jan Perry received permission for an excused absence. But when called by The Times, she would not say where she needed to be during the council meeting.Congratulations to Council President Wesson!
67% of all voters would feel somewhat or very uncomfortable with an atheist president.80% of all Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 56% of all Independents feel the same.So Democrats would be more uncomfortable with an atheist president than a Muslim president.
Republicans — not surprisingly, a higher proportion of them than Democrats — would be equally uncomfortable with both an atheist president and a Muslim president.
Overall, though, a non-theistic presidential candidate has a bigger hurdle to overcome than a person of any faith at all. It’s unbelievable that in this day and age, America still has this much of a hangup over a leader who would put more weight in evidence and logical thinking than in an imaginary god and ancient books.
It just goes to show you how much more seriously conservatives take the federal judiciary than liberals when they were willing to vote against this amazingly well-qualified person for basically illusory reasons.
Nathan, an out lesbian, will be the second out lesbian federal judge with lifetime tenure in the country, joining U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts on the bench of the Southern District of New York.
White House spokesman Shin Inouye praised the Senate action, writing, "The President welcomes the confirmation of Alison Nathan. She will serve the American people well from the District Court bench."
Five members of the Democratic caucus did not vote for Nathan's nomination, and no Republicans voted for it. Less than three months ago, U.S. District Court Judge J. Paul Oeken, was confirmed with the support of 28 Republicans. Oetken also sits on the Southern District of New York bench and currently is the only out gay male judge serving in one of the lifetime tenure positions in the federal judiciary.
Four Democrats not voting today were Sens. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), who caucuses with the Democrats, also did not vote. The three Republicans not voting were Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and David Vitter (R-La.).
Chuck Bell, a GOP attorney, submitted a request for title and summary for a referendum on the bill within hours of Brown's announcement.
But the political implications of the measure may not have resonated outside Sacramento, even among Republicans. According to a recent Field Poll, registered Republicans support the proposed change by a 15-point margin, and 56 percent of voters overall favor it.
After the poll was released, Brown said of Republican lawmakers' opposition, "I think they're a little out of touch with their own members, because obviously the Republicans seem to want that."The immediate impact on LGBT rights means that 1) the earliest Proposition 8 will be repealed is the 2014 gubernatorial election and 2) if the FAIR Education Act referendum people get enough signatures by their deadline of Wednesday October 12th, it will appear on the November 2012 ballot, not June.
The bill is also controversial because it would delay until 2014 a "rainy-day fund" measure approved as part of a budget agreement last year. Republicans characterized the legislation as a take-back by Democrats.
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| Assemblymember Betsy Butler represented the 53rd Assembly District since 2010 |
But Osborn is facing powerful opposition from an unexpected source: Assembly Speaker John Pérez. The speaker is backing Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, who plans to move from Marina del Rey into the new 50th district.
If neither side backs down, the contest could cost millions and drive a wedge through the L.A. Democratic Party.
"This is gonna be the most exciting Assembly race in Southern California," said party chair Eric Bauman.Osborn's supporters hope it doesn't come to that. They argue that a seat that includes West Hollywood should be represented by a gay person. (Butler is straight.)
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Much of Butler's current district has been drawn into the new 66th district, which is split almost evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Butler apparently feels she stands a better chance in the 50th, which leans heavily Democratic.It should be very interesting!
Bauman, who is an adviser to Pérez, pushed back against the claim that the 50th ought to be represented by a gay person.
"It's not a gay seat," he said. "There are many gay people in the Legislature now. That's a bogus argument."
Bauman said that Osborn would make an "outstanding" legislator. But, he said, "I think it's logical for any leader of any Legislative house to protect their members first."
There are other Democrats in the race, including Santa Monica Mayor Richard Bloom. West Hollywood Councilman Jeffrey Prang dropped out earlier this month, because he did not want to challenge Butler.
Go, Annise, Go! The election is November 8, 2011. Parker has more than $2.3 million on hand and no opponents with more than $5,000. She is term-limited to 3-terms in office, so she would still have to be re-elected in 2013 to spend the maximum 6 years as Mayor of Houston.Houston Mayor Annise Parker filed the papers Thursday to put her name on the November ballot, a move that so far appears to be a formality on her path toward a second two-year term."I'm going to be a better mayor in the second term because of what I've learned in the first term," Parker declared during a visit to her campaign headquarters on Allen Parkway.The mayor described her first term as one in which she often had to react instead of plan and shape. The economy depleted city revenue, leading to painful spending cuts. Voters handed Parker controversial mandates to initiate a monthly drainage fee and to turn off the city's red-light cameras. She compared her attempts to change the culture of a 21,000-employee city bureaucracy to turning an ocean liner. Even the weather has necessitated a response, and Parker recently imposed mandatory water restrictions on the 2.1 million people she governs.In a second term, Parker said, she hopes to create more and respond less."This is a city that has tremendous potential, and I want to move the conversation to tapping into that potential, to being a cleaner, greener city, to being a city with more jobs and opportunity for everybody," Parker said.Since the advent of term limits in 1991, no incumbent mayor has lost an election. Nor has any even had a close call in their first re-election.
