|
|
|
|
Table of Contents
December
Co-Chairs' Report
We get a few of those. We worked so hard, and… But that's it. You don't get to sigh for too long. We don't have time to waste. This is our decade. Let us say it again. This is the decade that we fight and win our full civil rights. It's difficult not to be upset…mad…angry…bitter. We lost. We lost worse than four years ago with more money, more voter registration, more voter outreach, more organization, more GOTV, more celebrity stumping, more energy and more positive exit polls. Old Democratic women stood in line for hours to vote. Eighteen-year-olds fresh out of high school were voting. The coastal states were empty the weekend before the election because everyone was working a swing state. More calls were made, checks written and precincts walked since Kennedy. We won Pennsylvania, didn't we? We really should have won. But we didn't. And allowing gays and lesbians to get married for one month in one small urban city in the nation didn't cause our loss. What did then? Lots of things: Not having clear messages; relying too heavily on first-time voters; forgetting how vital and important the South is; not spending enough time and money on what some are dubbing the "new" South for Democrats (Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico); not talking about civil rights, abortion rights, minority rights and immigrant rights; outsourcing our GOTV efforts and not relying on grassroots volunteers; not working hard enough to engage women, African Americans and Latinos (the lifeblood of the Democratic party); and, if you believe one Boston Globe article, the fact that Kerry's campaign manager never called Paul Begala back to come work on the campaign when he decided (after much deliberation) to leave Crossfire to help Kerry win…the list goes on. Sure, some people are upset about gays and lesbians getting married. And some people are upset we waged war on Iraq for no reason. And others are upset gas prices are so high and that we don't have enough flu vaccine for the winter. Alone, none of those issues tip an election. I know we feel tired and drained and discouraged. But don't. We are in the middle of the first civil rights movement of the 21st century. We are an active part of the national agenda and discussion, for good and bad. This will not be easy because no civil rights movement has ever been easy. We need to understand how to harness our new power, our new leadership, our new civil rights messages and agenda. We need to applaud the work of our Mayor and make sure we continue the fight with all of our courageous leaders…Assemblyman Mark Leno hasn't forgotten our fight continues until we reach full civil rights. We have to stay focused and we have to work together, more than ever, to find the messages that will work to move our civil rights agenda forward. We need to be on the same page. And we need to be introspective of our own community and our own advocacy groups. Was it right for some of our advocacy groups to spend so much energy and money fighting for gay marriage three months before such an important presidential election? Should we be fighting for gay marriage or civil unions? Should we be spending more time educating gay couples about all the new rights, responsibilities and liabilities in AB 205? These are the questions we need to ask, and have people from all parts of our community answer, debate and strategize about. To make sure we start this dialogue early, Alice, Milk, Mark Leno and many others in our community are coming together to discuss how we move the gay marriage civil rights issue forward. We are hosting a "Regional Summit on Marriage Equality" to be held at the end of January, 2005. Planning has just begun, so if you are interested in helping us work on this summit, please e-mail Laura Spanjian (lspanjian@yahoo.com) or Rafael Mandelman (Rmandelman@goldfarblipman.com). Let's continue to be courageous, dedicated and principled in this fight. And focused. And on message. We will always take two steps forward and one step back to reach the rights we deserve like any other struggle for civil rights. Backlash is a part of the journey. As we have seen this year, San Francisco and the leadership of Mayor Newsom and our elected officials can change the national agenda, particularly for the LGBT community. ALICE - After the Election Underdog Norman Yee, an Alice-endorsed candidate and a favorite of long-time Alice Board members who have worked with him for many years, surprised everyone with a smashing second place victory…placing above several other incumbents in the School Board race. Congratulations to Norman for a great victory. Here's to making our schools better! In addition, everyone who works with Alice will remember this year
as the one that really brought the LGBT community together. We also became much closer to Miguel Bustos who wowed many with his passion, compassion and tireless energy. We hope to work with Miguel and his supporters in District 9 over the coming months. And Heather Hiles became an Alice friend as well during her many months of hard campaigning. We invite Miguel and Heather, both dynamic LGBT leaders, to stay connected to Alice and work with us on the issues that matter to San Francisco: better public schools, affordable housing and an improved local economy. ONE BIG Alice TO-DO IN DECEMBER (Note: This will be fun and will not cost you a dime!) Alice Annual Holiday Party Come celebrate the holiday season with your pals at Alice. Also, if you are interested in becoming more involved with Alice in the new year, please join us. We would love to meet and get to know you. We've worked very hard the past few months. We look forward to
taking a collective deep breath, sharing the spirit of the season
with you, and then getting back out there and fighting harder than
ever. Laura Spanjian & Rich Kowalewski Reese's
World: Perspectives from the Editor
At the time, Jewel's song 'You Were Meant for Me' was very popular and I would play that song over and over and over, because I too believed that he would return any day now. I fully believed that at any moment he would call or write or email or walk back into my life with an appropriate apology, a hug, a kiss, a change of heart. I waited and cried and hoped and lived in denial and cried again about this horrible reality that wasn't of my making. It just couldn't be real. Eventually, over a great amount of time, and many friends' ears being red from hearing about my drama, and a change in my own direction, and a recognition of the reality that was, I pulled myself together. I learned a new life that I never dreamed before. And it was frankly a better life than I could have imagined. I created my own reality even while living within a Bizarro world that I couldn't have earlier imagined. There were times I still longed for that dream I once had, but I came to know that these weren't a real longing for a return to the relationship, but more of a longing for the simple dreams I used to believe in. I eventually recognized all of this and became happier and stronger and better than I thought possible. I remember telling myself during the roughest times early on, 'eventually, I'll get through this and I'll get to be strong and happy again.' that was hard to say and hear because it meant that I had to let go of my original dreams, the ones that seemed so right and beautiful, and create new dreams and hopes within my new reality. I eventually learned that it was a moment of great opportunity, in that I was able to start a clean slate and do with my life what I wanted for me instead of worrying about him all the time. It was as if I was in art class or cooking class. And my teacher came to me and said that my piece wasn't working and I needed to start over. But I was attached to my work and I didn't want to let it go; I just wanted to try to reshape it. But my teacher took it away and gave me a new set of boundaries within to create. I initially would reject the boundaries and I would long for my original piece. But eventually I would begin to recognize how exciting it would be to create something brand new that I would never have imagined within the old boundaries. And I would thrive anew with an amazing piece that wasn't available to me before. I feel like that's how my life became after I learned to deal with the new reality of my abandoning ex. I eventually realized that I had to create my own new piece of artwork out of my life; and I did. And I'm stronger and happier and more fully realized that I ever was in the old reality. I just couldn't see it or foresee it at the time. It hurt and I hated it and I was just plain sad. But I kept my faith and kept on keepin' on. And here I am as my newly created and fulfilled me. Election night, I had that terrible pit in my stomach again. I realized that I hadn't felt that horrible stomach ache since my breakup. I again refused to believe this horrible new reality, especially since I had been so invested in my hopes and dreams for my country. It was so hard to take and I wanted to go to sleep and wake up outside of Bizarro world into the world I wanted. Ironically, I also heard Jewel's song on the radio the next day and it again hearkened me to the time of my breakup. And as the song refers to 'dreams last so long, even after they're gone,' and waiting for that old reality to come back and make us happy again, I recognized that this again was a new beginning that I didn't see coming. It was a horrible, depressing, heart-breaking end to a reality I had hoped and dreamed of, but it was a new beginning within new constraints and I could create my own new piece of artwork that I never imagined before. I didn't want this new reality. But maybe, later, I'll realize that this was the best direction for life to go because my new art and my new life and eventually my newly realized country down the line would be better and stronger for this setback. I don't know the answers or the reasons why the election went so
horribly wrong. I don't know why my ex left me. I don't know why
most things happen. But one thing I learned from the horrible time
of my breakup years ago, is that life goes on and we can create
life as we hope and dream even if our current Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
On
the Mark in Sacramento
The great news here in California is that we held every one of our legislative seats in spite of the efforts of a popular Governor and tens of millions of special interest dollars spent in racist and homophobic campaigns to defeat us. Democrats will return to Sacramento with strong voter support to continue our fight for workers', consumers' and environmental protections, at the same time we attempt to restore fiscal responsibility to state government. As planned, we will re-introduce the Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act on December 6 with the support of recently elected new members for whom many of us campaigned these past months. In Assembly races to fill seats being vacated by Democrats, 100% of the candidates who pledged their support for marriage equality beat their anti-gay challengers. The fact that voters in these districts embraced candidates in support of equality for all provides us a light in the midst of this darkness. I commend state party chair Art Torres for pointing out the lack of facts backing up the claim that the issue of marriage equality was responsible for John Kerry's defeat. In Chair Torres' words, "I believe that historically an incumbent president at war is always difficult to defeat. The main factor in this campaign was terrorism and Iraq. On both counts, Bush prevailed, especially among married women - the so-called 'security moms.'" Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise that our equality and our community should be set up as scapegoats and blamed for the election results. It is a far too simplified explanation of a complex matter. We cannot afford to buy into this right wing "divide and conquer" strategy at a time when we need to be most unified as a community. The more important question for us is how we respond to the scapegoating. Do we courageously march on in our "blind self-righteousness" as one community member recently called our efforts, or do we accept the admonition "wait, not now?" Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of homophobia to say "wait." But then we must look at the cost in human terms:
Then we come to understand why it is difficult to wait. If we put off our fight for LGBT people's right to live together, form families, and participate in society as first class citizens, it will make it that much more difficult to address these fundamental issues of self esteem and offer a vision of the future that inspires gay people to lead productive, full, healthy lives. We cannot forget that we are San Francisco and we are California, and people look to us to lead the way. If we abandon our effort to stand up and make the case that we are equal, how can we ever expect the LGBT activists in red states to do the same? We desperately need more leaders like Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi, Phil Angelides, Kevin Shelley, Steve Westly, John Garamendi, Fabian Nunez and Ted Kennedy who understand that civil rights and full citizenship, including marriage equality, for all Americans are core moral values of our great democracy. We need to articulate these moral values proudly, loudly and repeatedly. We have an obligation to reach out to our friends who are struggling with these issues because the fight is difficult. And we must fight back those who would limit life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to only a chosen group. As long as the love of same sex couples and their families are denied equal status and protection under the law, a destructive stereotype is perpetuated which suggests that there is something inherently inferior and unstable about the way we love. That is our common humanity. There is nothing that all of us walking this planet have more in common, regardless of our race, religion, creed, nation of origin, the language that we speak, than our ability to love - and our desire to love another human being in an intimate and committed fashion. That is the one thing we all share. Until we demand that our elected leaders proclaim and fight for our common humanity, expect to see more hate violence, more substance abuse, more suicides and more HIV sero-conversions. These are the facts. Let's not turn away from them. We can be buoyed and supported by the words of Dr. Martin Luther
King from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail in April, 1963. He said,
"Let us hope that the dark clouds of prejudice will soon pass
away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our
fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the
radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great
nation with all their scintillating beauty." Yours, P.S. Should you have questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact me at any time through my District Office at 415-557-3013 or keep updated on the web via: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a13. I have also recently published my first email newsletter-"The Leno Report"-where you can find detailed information about my work locally, statewide, and nationally. If you are not already receiving the emailed report, please sign up by emailing me at: Assemblymember.Leno@assembly.ca.gov
Letter
from the Chairman
I am sure you have all heard the spin in the last few weeks about what exactly went wrong in the rest of the country on November 2. Various factors have been blamed for the Kerry loss. For example, the gay marriage issue has been blamed for increasing voter turnout among Evangelical voters nationwide and in the 11 states where various versions of gay marriage bans were on the ballots. Let's look at the facts: in the 2000 election, nine of the eleven mentioned above voted for Bush and two (Oregon and Michigan) voted for Gore. In 2004, these same nine states again voted for Bush and the same two voted for Kerry. It should also be noted that Bush did not gain ground in these states from 2000. "As Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center points out, there was no disproportionate surge in the evangelical vote this year. Evangelicals made up the same share of the electorate this year as they did in 2000. There was no increase in the percentage of voters who are pro-life. Sixteen percent of voters said abortions should be illegal in all circumstances. There was no increase in the percentage of voters who say they pray daily." ("The Values Vote Myth," David Brooks, NY Times 11/6/04) In addition, another theory we hear in the post election "explanations" is that Bush was re-elected because 25 percent of people interviewed agreed with his "moral values." As David Brooks points out, "much of the misinterpretation of this election comes from a poorly worded question in the exit polls. When asked about the issue that most influenced their vote, voters were given the option of saying 'moral values.' But that phrase can mean anything - or nothing. Who doesn't vote on moral values? If you ask an inept question, you get a misleading result." In short, I believe that historically an incumbent president at war is always difficult to defeat. The main factor in this campaign was terrorism and Iraq. On both counts, Bush prevailed, especially among married women - the so-called "security moms." Sincerely, Senator Art Torres (Ret.)
David Binder attended our last Alice membership meeting and gave his bi-annual post-election wrap-up presentation. Check out all of his great statistics and anecdotes from the November election. Statistics include national and local races. Download report in PowerPoint format NGLTF
Creating Change Conference The Editor attended the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's 17th-Annual Creating Change Conference in St. Louis in November and came away with many useful materials to continue our fight. Several good powerpoint presentations and articles were specifically written for the conference, and since, that refute the media-driven and inaccurate assumption that the Democrats 'lost' the election due to marriage equality. Several of those insightful pieces are linked here for your further resource and information: NGLTF Power Point Presentations (in PDF format): From the NGLTF
website
Statement
from Nancy Pelosi on Reelection as House Democratic Leader
"We are a little bit behind schedule because we just came from the most invigorating House Democratic Caucus I have ever attended. We started at 9 o'clock this morning, and I am very pleased to announce that our leadership was elected unanimously by acclamation. The unity that we have had for the past two years was reflected in those votes. "But that was just the start of it. We heard from a Caucus that was eager to move forward, to move ahead. Democrats are going forward with our initiative for prosperity and for security for our country. Prosperity where we create jobs, and expand access to educational opportunity, and expand access to health care in our country. Security from terrorism at home and abroad, the best prepared military that is possible, as well as security in our neighborhoods, safe and clean neighborhoods. And accountability for how we do this in a fiscally-sound way. "We talked about issues, and we talked some about politics, because we were welcoming our new Democratic Members. But it was very exhilarating. "As one who took the helm of this party two years ago and tried to persuade people that Democrats could take back this House of Representatives, coming through this election now, I can say without any question that this Democratic Caucus is now ready to do that. We have fought the fight. We have been out there. We have introduced 15 magnificent new Democratic Members of the House. "And we are in a place now where we see our moment. Our moment to make the contrast between the Democrats and the Republicans in the Congress of the United States. Our moment to find common ground with the Republicans wherever possible. Our moment to take all of this to a higher level for the American people." "I am honored to lead this Caucus, which is one of the greatest forces for integrity, idealism, and innovation in our country. "Democrats will continue the historic unity we had this year. We will continue to highlight the differences between Democrats and Republicans. And our New Partnership of America's Future will be the foundation of our legislative agenda. We will always be true to its core values of security, prosperity, opportunity, community, fairness, and accountability."
Reese's
World: Extra "I'm yours, 24/7-put me to work. What do you want me to do first?" That's pretty much what I told Danny upon walking into the Coordinated Democratic Headquarters in my hometown of Independence, Missouri, an old-time blue-collar Democratically-leaning suburb of Kansas City. Danny and Scotty were the relatively new, young co-directors of this suburban offshoot of the downtown headquarters-after a guy named Marco, who had previously run the place, got re-dispatched to Ohio a few weeks prior to my arrival. Both were in college and lived quite a distance from the headquarters-one from the Kansas side of the state-line, and the other from rural Cass County. Both dedicated their lives to the cause, even sleeping overnight many times in the office in order to keep the work going. They were thrilled to have me there. I was thrilled that they let me get in there and go. They had a regular volunteer force, and even one or two who were consistently there almost as much as they were, but the thought of having a "Kerry Traveler," as they were wont to call me, boosted their morale and gave them an opportunity to think larger. The first night, after canvassing dilapidated, broken-down neighborhoods around my old high school and talking the talk in my naturally-returning native drawl, they were having a volunteer night to energize the regulars, motivate for the week ahead, and watch the documentary "Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry." All of the sudden during their speeches pumping up the group, they invited me up to the front, as the "Kerry Traveler," to give an impromptu speech. Initially, I thought, well who am I to be up in front telling these locals what I thought? But then I reminded myself and the group, I was a local. This is my hometown. And I did have something to say about our local community members, from wherever we are around the country, coming together in body and spirit and hope for a common and just cause. Over the course of the week prior to the election, I got to know many of them quite well. What heartened me about my fellow Democrats, was how diverse we all were. There were guys in overalls, union jackets, young single mothers, grandparents, liberals, conservatives, veterans, college kids, various races and backgrounds, poor people, rich people, moderate Republicans, and rainbow-wearing guys like me. And yet, we were connected for a time and a common cause. And we bonded. We got to know each other. We worked together daily and expressed our hope and optimism and love and excitement and frustrations with each other. We came together and fought the good fight to take our country back. They all treated me like I was a saint for helping them in their community. But they are the saints. They live there day-in and day-out, fighting for a better life there. I moved away, in the search for a better life of my own. These Democrats stay to fight on difficult, receding territory. They are my heroes. I'll have more to say about my swing back home in coming editions,
but for now, here's a few pictures of the headquarters full of my
hometown heroes:
Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club General Membership Meeting 2nd Monday of each month You can now join online www.alicebtoklas.org/abt/joinonline.asp, or fill out the application below Membership Application Yes, I want to join the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club! __$35 Regular __I am renewing my membership __I will be a new member __I am a registered Democrat Name ______________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________State: ______Zip: _____________ Phone: Day __________________________Eve: _____________________________ Email: _________________________________________ Please send checks payable to “Alice B. Toklas
LGBT Democratic Club” and mail to: |
Sigh.
Years
ago when my ex deserted me I felt like I was living in some kind
of bad dream. I had this terrible emptiness in my stomach. My stomach
physically hurt from the emotional pain. I couldn't eat. I cried
regularly every day for months. It all seemed too surreal, as if
I had awoken in some kind of alternate reality-- like Superman's
Bizarro world-- where everything was opposite to the way it was
supposed to be. I wanted to go back to sleep and wake up in my reality
of what I wanted to be. Physically and emotionally I was a wreck
and I refused to give in to the horrible reality of what was happening.
hopes
and dreams may turn out to have mistaken. The point is, we still
have hopes and dreams and we still can create art out of scratch.
I don't know what that artwork is or what it will entail and how
it will become, but I know that it will be beautiful as long as
we continue to create. I'm not giving up on creating the world I
want to live in and the art I want my life to be. I hope you won't
either. Cause there's so much to do!
Dear
Fellow Democrats:
Washington,
D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke at a news conference
in the Capitol this morning after being unanimously re-elected to
serve as House Democratic Leader in the 109th Congress. She was
joined by the entire Democratic Leadership team, all re-elected
by acclamation, Whip Steny Hoyer, Caucus Chair Bob Menendez, Caucus
Vice-Chair James E. Clyburn, and Assistant to the Minority Leader
John Spratt. Below are Pelosi's remarks:
