Dean: More gay, minority leaders needed

[deadparrot]

HOUSTON - Howard Dean said the Democratic Party needs to look beyond its dated goal of getting gays and minorities a place at the table and instead work toward getting them on the ballot.

"We've got to share power, not just responsibility, from now on," Dean told about 200 people Saturday at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of gay public officials.

Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said little about issues such as same-sex marriage or civil rights, and instead addressed broader Democratic agendas such as raising the minimum wage.

Flush from big Democratic gains in last week's elections, Dean emphasized that the "new Democratic Party" reaches out to all citizens, even those less likely to vote for them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061119/ap_on_go_ot/dean_gay_conference

[Cha]

1. Well, I'll kick and I agree..

share the power with those who are for civil rights for everyone.

[hollowdweller]

2. This fits Deans approach

Instead of Dems in Washington passing laws to "help" their constituents, Dean has worked to allow the constituents to gain power themselves.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lilith Velkor]

4. Holy shit

Did I miss something?

:yoiks:

[THUNDER HANDS]

5. the problem with that approach

is that it pits our base against eachother.

Blacks and Hispanics don't like gays. I don't know if they'd come out to vote for an openly gay candidate.

[libnnc]

6. Um, not all gays are white

There are black and Hispanic members of the GLBT community.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. um, that's not the point

the point is, an overwhelming majority of blacks and hispanics are hostile towards outwardly gay persons. I've worked with the sweetest, nicest people you'll ever meet (who are black) and they wouldn't allow gay people to adopt kids, if they had their way. I don't know if it's a cultural thing, a religious thing or whatever. But it exists and it's a problem with two major subgroups of our party are hostile to another group.

[libnnc]

8. So should I change my avatar?

I wouldn't want to offend anybody.

[THUNDER HANDS]

9. no, of course not

All I'm saying is what I've observed and read about. Tactically speaking, we're a long ways away still from having a country where we can elect sizable numbers of openly gay congresspeople or senators.

[libnnc]

10. So, hypothetically speaking...

If "I" were to run for, oh, I don't know, pick any local-yokel office, on the democratic ticket, and I happened to be open about my personal life (partnered to the same woman for 14 yrs) you would NOT support my candidacy because you'd be afraid of pissing off narrow-minded bigots?

[THUNDER HANDS]

11. no, not at all

Personally, I'd vote for anyone if their positions on issues met a certain standard of mine. But I don't know if some people can do the same. There are a lot of good people in America who hold backwards views of gays, as I'm sure you know. That doesn't mean you or anyone else shouldn't try to get elected. But just from a pure politik standpoint, I could see a fissure forming between minority voters and gay candidates.

[Strathos]

23. You're right

I've seen the same thing. However, the republicans seem to be able to demonize us with everyone lately.

[qwlauren35]

21. Yes and...

from my understanding and personal experience, black and Hispanics in the GLBT community are severely ostracized from TWO directions. They deal with racism within the community as well as demonism from their ethnic groups.

I think it's definitely a factor in the overwhelming number of black gay/bisexual men who stay closeted.

One of my relatives didn't come out to his dad for nearly 10 years. Kept saying he had a "roommate". And prior to his coming out, his dad and wife were openly negative about gays, especially when it came to adoption. (It blows my mind that he and his partner are Republicans, but they are firm adherents of a political party that thye believe will help them financially, and live in a part of the country where there is less GLBT ostracism.)

[IndianaGreen]

12. There are Black and Hispanic LGBTs

and their communities, which have been indoctrinated by Christian bigotry, will just have to get over their own prejudices.

[THUNDER HANDS]

13. ok

and you propose they do that....how?

[libnnc]

14. Well, perhaps if more of "us" were visible

as candidates for public office, then "they" wouldn't see us as boogey-people with horns and tails.

Diversity matters. ALL diversity.

[THUNDER HANDS]

15. true, but

I think the way to approach this and make inroads would be to run candidates who were good candidates who happened to be gay rather than 'gay candidates'.

Dean's call for more gay candidates is the wrong approach. Get good candidates, regardless of their sexual orientation. If they happen to be gay, so be it. Find the best and brightest, from all across America.

Think Omar, from the HBO show 'the wire'. Here's a story that explains more about what I mean.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/061116

[customerserviceguy]

18. What's going to get them "over it"?

Leadership, pure and simple. That's what worked with diminishing racial predjudice back in the Sixties, even in the face of incredible amounts of resistance by bigoted white people. When our Presidential candidates start to favor equal marriage over the incrementalism of "civil union", then we show some true leadership on this issue. It might not hurt to remind homophobic people of color, that had their rights been decided at the ballot box rather than the legislatures and the courts, they'd be where gay and lesbian people are today.

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. Aren't we already "pitting our base against each other" if we

reject this, which should be a no brainer? :shrug:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. i know plenty of black and hispanic gays

[dbackjon]

19. Good Man!!

[stepnw1f]

20. Excellent.... Dems with Spine (nt)

[Strathos]

22. I agree k/r

But some are just too scared to say "I'm gay".