2008 Presidential Election: March 2008 Archives

On March 29, national newswire Reuters reported that residents of certain states – including Florida, a key swing state - will not only be voting for a president this November but also for ballot initiatives that would ban marriage for gay and lesbian couples.  While the ballot initiative has received local coverage, the Reuters article highlights the ways that anti-gay initiatives might not turn out voters in the same numbers during this election cycle for a national audience.

 

In contrast to the 2004 election, these types of ballot initiatives may not have the same power to mobilize anti-gay voters to support Republican candidate John McCain. Reuters pointed out that these voters may already view McCain's political platform as insufficiently anti-gay. "I have a hard time envisioning social conservatives who want to ban gay marriage in Florida getting excited about John McCain at the polls," said Daniel Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida at Gainesville. "McCain doesn't have the credibility on the issue that Bush had and so people who come out to vote on it may not vote for McCain." As ballot initiatives develop in Florida and other states, it seems that McCain's past opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment – which President Bush had championed – may prevent him from reaping the spoils of the anti-gay vote.

 

Cindi Creager is Director of National News  

When Philadelphia’s largest gay political group, the Liberty City Democratic Club, endorsed Hillary Clinton Monday, LGBT blogs and newspapers took notice. Though both Clinton and Barack Obama spent time campaigning in Ohio and Texas via LGBT press by giving interviews, publishing op-eds, and taking out ad space, they haven’t been as active in Pennsylvania LGBT press. Despite the absence of targeted campaigning, Philadelphia Gay News’ publisher has been quoted as saying: “The Clinton campaign takes the GLBT community very seriously.”

LGBT outlets in Philadelphia have focused their candidate coverage on Clinton this week, recapping that two of the city’s three LGBT Democratic groups have endorsed her. It will be interesting to see if Obama or Clinton will reach out to LGBT outlets like the Philadelphia Gay News or EDGE Philadelphia the way they did in Ohio and Texas. Stay tuned to see which candidate the LGBT community in Pennsylvania stands behind during the April 22 primary.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

Former President Bill Clinton fielded some tough questions from college journalists about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s and his current feelings about the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibits federal recognition of marriage for gay and lesbian couples, during a recent editorial board meeting with mtvU. Referring to singer Melissa Etheridge’s comment during the HRC Logo Presidential Forum that he threw the LGBT community “under the bus,” reporter Lily Lamboy of the Smith College Sophian asked President Clinton about DOMA and where Sen. Clinton stands on the issue. 

It is encouraging to see that young reporters are willing to ask political leaders such challenging questions about their support for LGBT equality.  It is also noteworthy that President Clinton misstated his wife’s position on DOMA when he asserted that she favors a full repeal of the legislation.  Sen. Clinton wants to repeal only a part of DOMA, which could have two possible outcomes. The repeal could prevent conflict between states that have different marriage laws on the books, while leaving the door open for individual states to follow in Massachusetts’ footsteps.  However, by only repealing one section of DOMA, states could still continue to reinforce bans on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. The media would do well to remember that even the closest advisors and supporters of the presidential hopefuls can misrepresent the facts when it comes to the candidates’ positions on complex issues related to the LGBT community.

Cindi Creager is Director of National News

Media have a tendency to talk about LGBT issues using the broadest strokes, and nowhere is that more obvious than in election coverage.  Despite being such a pivotal year for LGBT voters – major presidential candidates have never before so publicly courted LGBT communities and advocates – mainstream press has remained largely silent on the role of LGBT Americans in the 2008 presidential primaries.  Where media coverage has existed, much of it has been limited to generalizations, painting LGBT voters in sweeping terms that only scratch the surface or designating issues related to LGBT equality as “wedge issues,” just as many outlets did during the 2004 presidential elections.

Too often, media portray the election as if it were a NASCAR race – who is inching ahead today in the polls, who is slipping behind – and lose sight of the issues that matter most to voters. By scrutinizing media claims around LGBT issues and this year’s elections, we will hold the media accountable to standards of fair, accurate and inclusive coverage.  This means coverage that doesn’t represent LGBT issues as inherently marginal, divisive or irrelevant to the electoral cycle.  And more importantly, that media don’t give a pass to the anti-gay stance of high-level supporters of the major presidential candidates as well as their statements about other constituencies.  Finally we want to see stories that go beyond speculation about the influence of proposed marriage bans on voter turnout to discuss the impact these ballot initiatives have on the lives of committed lesbian and gay couples in communities throughout the country. 

It’s an exciting year for our community, with 22 openly LGBT superdelegates and the first-ever transgender community member, Diego Sanchez, appointed to a Standing Committee by a DNC Chair.  With the many unprecedented opportunities of the 2008 election, we want to see media improve their coverage of LGBT issues this year.  We hope you’ll join us as we continue to scrutinize and respond to LGBT representations in media as the presidential race unfolds.  

Rashad Robinson is Senior Director of Media Programs

In recent weeks, the media have been busy scrutinizing controversial statements made by the supporters and associates of the leading presidential candidates. We recently noted the work of journalists who brought to light the extreme anti-gay statements made by John McCain supporter and televangelist John Hagee. On the March 14 broadcast of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, correspondent Tom Foreman continued to take a close look at the anti-gay backgrounds of McCain's high-profile supporters. Foreman brought attention to the alarming anti-gay comments made by televangelist and McCain supporter Rod Parsley, who McCain has called a "spiritual guide."  Parsley was quoted as saying in the report, "I will lift my voice against the agenda of America's tortured and angry homosexual population."

It is encouraging that the media keep raising awareness of the anti-gay comments made by these high-level political supporters.  We hope they continue to question whether this divisive rhetoric reflects the candidates' platforms as well as the views of most Americans.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

Although the media is following every twist and turn of the campaigns of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, the work of candidates to reach out to the LGBT media and to seek LGBT endorsements has yet to be addressed by many mainstream reporters, despite the unique role that LGBT movement leaders and LGBT media have had during this campaign season.

Recently, Obama's campaign announced that a diverse group of prominent LGBT leaders and advocates has publicly endorsed him.  The new group of 40 supporters includes transgender advocates Donna Rose (who is also on the GLAAD Board of Directors) and Pauline Park, GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings, actor Wilson Cruz, Missouri State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford, and Pride at Work (AFL-CIO) Executive Director Jeremy Bishop.  The Advocate reported that one of the key issues that motivated many LGBT Democrats to support Obama over Clinton is his support for a full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  As opposed to Obama, Clinton would still allow states to determine their own marriage laws by only repealing the part of DOMA that prohibits federal recognition of marriage for gay and lesbian people. 

It's a novel trend in an election year for a major presidential candidate to publicly reach out to LGBT voters.  Many LGBT blogs and publications have already discussed the current work of the Obama campaign to mobilize the LGBT community by courting LGBT endorsements and by specifically advertising in the LGBT media.  Clinton's campaign has taken similar steps to pursue LGBT voters, including the Super Tuesday eve release of a "Message to LGBT Americans" proclaiming: "America deserves a President . . . who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love.  I want to be that President.  I want to be your President." 

As the mainstream media continues to cover the many unprecedented aspects of the 2008 election, it will be encouraging to see journalists take note of the innovative work of candidates to address the diverse concerns of LGBT Americans and to actively seek their votes.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News.

Conventional wisdom has been that having an anti-gay initiative on the ballot increases turnout among conservative voters, but now that theory is being called into question.  An article in The Tampa Tribune from February 24th quotes political scientists and experts on ballot issues and they seem to believe that the mere presence on the ballot may be of no significant influence on driving more voters to the polls on either side.

This coming November in Florida there will be such an amendment on the ballot, which would amend the state’s constitution to explicitly ban marriage or any other similar legal arrangement for gay and lesbian couples.  After the 2004 election came down to the state of Ohio, which had a similar amendment on the ballot at the time, many observers were quick to point out that President Bush’s slim victory in the battleground state may have been aided by conservative voters turning out in higher numbers because of the initiative.

Citing a wide range of nuanced studies from an array of states, Dan Smith, a University of Florida political scientist was quoted as saying, “Most voters who come out are going to be coming out to vote for the president.  People are going to be revved up about the candidates, and it’s not likely to bring out more people who otherwise wouldn’t vote.”

After looking at a detailed analysis of the vote in 2004, John Matsusaka, the president of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California points out that Bush won Ohio in 2000 with a slightly higher margin than he did in 2004.

“It might have helped the Democrat [Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts], by driving opponents to the polls as well as backers,” Matsusaka said.

Even with these studies though, advocates from opposing sides on the issues in Florida still think that the amendment will aid the GOP and Senator John McCain in November.

McCain voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004 on ‘federalist’ grounds, but supported a failed amendment to Arizona’s constitution. 

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

As influential religious and political figures endorse presidential candidates, the media have begun to examine how their statements about different constituencies square with the candidate’s political platform.  San Antonio televangelist John Hagee's (right) recent backing of John McCain led journalists to scrutinize Hagee's incendiary anti-gay and anti-Catholic comments.  On The Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive's "On Faith" website, writer Claire Hoffman questioned whether McCain's proud association with Hagee – who had asserted that God's anger at an upcoming New Orleans gay pride parade caused Hurricane Katrina – reflected the Republican candidate's aspiration to unite a diverse coalition of voters.

Similarly citing Hagee's offensive remarks about gay people and Catholics, both MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric recently raised questions about McCain's uncritical acceptance of Hagee's endorsement. If the media continue to responsibly examine the anti-gay background of presidential endorsers, they will look into McCain's recent appearance with and praise for Ohio televangelist Rod Parsley.  Parsley, like Hagee, is known for his espousal of virulently anti-gay rhetoric.

This is not the first time the media has questioned the association of anti-gay figures with presidential hopefuls. Last fall, Donnie McClurkin, a conservative minister and supporter of the degayification attempts of so-called “ex-gay” activists, took part in South Carolina rallies for Democratic candidate Barack Obama. After media brought to light McClurkin's anti-gay background and scrutinized it in the context of Obama's inclusive political platform, Obama publicly stated that he "strongly disagrees" with the preacher.  

It is encouraging that the media are continuing to ask whether the anti-gay views of presidential endorsers conflict with candidates' promises to build inclusive and unifying political campaigns.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News

Election coverage this year has often featured conversations among voters in homes, community centers, local restaurants and other places where people gather. One of the strongest media narratives of this election has been how the grassroots are increasingly engaged in the ’08 election.  Much of this has to do with the growing influence of Facebook and other online communities, but it could also be that political candidates are increasingly willing to connect with voters in a wide variety of public spaces. Just last week, Chelsea Clinton, Gloria Steinem and Rob Reiner campaigned in two popular Dallas gay bars: JR’s and Sue Ellen’s.

The mainstream media has been focusing more attention toward the places where LGBT people meet. A recent article in The Washington Post focused on the organic conversations going on in the Texas LGBT community about the election. In the case of Gun Barrel City, Texas, the meeting place for LGBT folks in the small town of 5,000 is Friends, the local gay bar. As influential news sources realize the importance of the LGBT vote, they are trying to get the pulse of the community at the grassroots level.

With the media and politicians engaging the LGBT community in new ways, there is the opportunity to elevate the stories of people who are often overlooked. Who knows, perhaps next time you go to your local haunt Wolf Blitzer will be there to ask you who you’re voting for. 

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

On Feb. 29, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee appeared on The Tyra Banks Show to discuss his run for the White House. During the interview, Banks laudably asked Huckabee several questions on his views about equality for LGBT people. Banks asked Huckabee, "What if [gay voters] say, I want to vote for you Governor Huckabee, but I'm a gay man and I want to marry my man. What do you say to that?"
 
Banks went on to press Huckabee about whether or not he was comfortable with marriage for gay and lesbian couples, and instead answered that he was opposed to marriage equality. Banks then explained, "I'm asking you so many questions about this because I love the gays and the gays love me. And I know I cannot walk down the street here in New York City if I didn't press that issue and truly ask you that."
 
Huckabee is not the first candidate to appear on Banks’ show. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards have all appeared on the show during the campaign season.
 
There is no question that pop culture has a huge influence on politics, now more than ever before. During this election cycle, candidates have taken bigger steps to reach out to potential voters by appearing on daytime or late night talk shows, or by writing articles and giving interviews to celebrity magazines.  In these venues, the candidates often tailor their stances in a way that is more relatable and authentic for the audience, and LGBT issues are no exception. Instead of discussing specific policy goals, they talk about their broad approach to the issues that resonate most strongly with the audiences that they are speaking to.
 
As election coverage continues, we will be encouraging viewers to look at the different ways political candidates answer questions about LGBT issues, whether they’re doing an interview on a 24-hour news channel or in a celebrity magazine.

Though Huckabee is no longer in the race, his appearance on The Tyra Banks Show gave voters another opportunity to gain insight into his stance on LGBT issues – and ongoing election coverage in all types of media outlets will hopefully continue to do the same.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News
 

With the much anticipated Ohio and Texas primaries just one day away, the candidates for the Democratic nomination have been reaching out to the LGBT community as they campaign. Last week, Senator Barack Obama made news with his paid advertisements in LGBT press outlets in Ohio and Texas and his open letter to the LGBT community.  On February 27th, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton held a  conference call on LGBT issues, and answered questions for reporters from several LGBT press outlets, including the Texas-based Dallas Voice, the Ohio-based Outlook Weekly and Gay People’s Chronicle. She has also conducted interviews with other LGBT outlets, including The Advocate, Logo and The Washington Blade, and published a “Message to LGBT Americans” on OurChart.com. “Let me tell you what I have been telling voters across America. I am fully committed to the fair and equal treatment of LGBT Americans,” she wrote in that posting.

Given her media outreach, it will be interesting to see how Clinton’s efforts play in tomorrow’s primaries – especially in the large gay communities of Dallas and Houston, and in Ohio, which has the country’s sixth largest LGBT community.  While Clinton has made serious efforts to reach out to LGBT voters, Obama has seemingly received more media coverage – fairly or not – for his efforts, especially from his recently published open letter (some bloggers have gone so far as to accuse him of stealing from her playbook). We will find out tomorrow how all this plays out with LGBT voters in Texas and Ohio. One thing is for sure: both Democratic candidates are reaching out to the community in an active way we have never seen before in a presidential election.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

During this election, media often fail to scrutinize candidates' statements about LGBT issues. The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire recently reported that Republican candidate John McCain told a Texas town hall forum that he opposes the repeal of the military's “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The article quoted McCain saying, “There are some issues in which we just have to rely on the views of our military leaders.” Unfortunately, The Wall Street Journal did not question McCain's assertion that no military leaders oppose discrimination against gay soldiers.

In fact, a number of prominent military leaders have publicly stated their support of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  Most prominent among them is former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John M. Shalikashvili (right). In January 2007, General Shalikashvili penned a much-discussed op-ed in The New York Times stating, “I now believe that if gay men and lesbians served openly in the United States military, they would not undermine the efficacy of the armed forces.”

Justifying his view on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” General Shalikashvili wrote, “Last year I held a number of meetings with gay soldiers and marines, including some with combat experience in Iraq, and an openly gay senior sailor who was serving effectively as a member of a nuclear submarine crew. These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers.”

In addition to General Shalikashvili's column, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and others published pieces noting that 28 retired generals and admirals signed a public letter urging Congress to completely repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

As the media continues to discuss the presidential candidates' statements about issues that profoundly impact the lives of LGBT people, we will encourage journalists to examine whether candidates' assertions reflect the reality that increasing numbers of Americans, including some military leaders, now support the ability of gay people to do their jobs and serve their country while living their lives openly.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News