Recently in Hillary Clinton Category

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s campaigns have been visibly courting LGBT voters in Pennsylvania in the few final days leading up to today’s primary. The media have focused attention on the LGBT electorate with prominent stories in different regional and national outlets, picking up on why LGBT voters support who they support, and highlighting each campaign’s LGBT outreach strategies.

LGBT press reported heavily on Chelsea Clinton’s Friday night out at Philadelphia’s gay bars. She was accompanied by prominent Clinton supporter and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. But Chelsea’s night out wasn’t all the media saw. National cable TV outlets, as well as local Pennsylvania press, picked up on her recent walking-tour, where she campaigned for gay and lesbian votes. Mainstream and gay outlets both covered Chelsea interacting with the community in a more social setting, and were just as interested in her more traditional campaigning.

Monday’s Patriot-News featured a story on why LGBT voters were voting for one candidate over another.  Nearly all of the coverage focusing on the LGBT Pennsylvania electorate has explored the reasons behind why individual voters are supporting their candidates.
 
According to the Patriot-News piece, LGBT voters seem to be expressing personal preferences that aren’t related to the candidates’ positions on LGBT issues, but rather broader issues like health care, the economy or the war in Iraq. As we have seen from the beginning of this election season, journalists are framing LGBT issues (like marriage for gay and lesbian couples) as larger social issues. In return, the media are reflecting the diversity of LGBT voters, and reporting on the fact that LGBT voters care about issues across the board, and that voters across the board care about LGBT issues.

Paul Karr is the Director of Media Field Strategy

On Monday, April 7, Ellen DeGeneres hosted Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton on her daily talk show, Ellen. Though the two joked about Clinton’s relationship with Madonna (they’re cousins!?) and the Senator’s attempt to “bowl for voters” (you've got to see it for yourself), the conversation turned serious as Clinton told Ellen she was vowing to “defend gay rights as President and eliminate inequalities for same-sex couples in Federal law.”

Clinton went on to tell a personal story from her childhood about her family’s gay neighbors and how her close-minded father grew to love and accept them — and how the candidate herself saw firsthand how her family’s dear friends were denied hospital visitation rights when one of the men got sick. “That made such an impression on me,” she told Ellen, “and I’m going to do everything I can so that people like you and [partner] Portia have a chance to have rights...We just have to make this much more fair.” 

 

Kudos to Ellen for making sure Clinton addressed issues that are not only important to her personally, but to many in her audience as well. As we’ve seen in recent months, Ellen has spoken passionately about the shooting death of teen Lawrence King and about Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern's anti-gay rhetoric. With the immense popularity of Ellen the show, Ellen the entertainer is able to create a bridge that makes the discussion of LGBT issues accessible and urgent for all Americans, and to hold the candidates accountable for their support of the LGBT community.

 

Damon Romine is Director of Entertainment Media 

Though many musicians have spoken up on behalf of the candidates they support for president, many LGBT public figures — musicians and otherwise — remain tight-lipped, likely because no candidate has pledged their full support of the LGBT community. As we approach November, out celebrities have the opportunity and the platform to make a difference by publicly calling on the presidential candidates to be leaders in the quest for equality.  

Last Thursday, March 27, out rocker Melissa Etheridge participated in a national conference call for the Stonewall Democrats, along with Chelsea Clinton, out Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Oklahoma Corporations Commissioner Jim Roth, the state’s first openly gay public official. More than 1,000 Stonewall Democrats listened in at house parties across the country as the four discussed how the LGBT community can continue to keep its issues on the forefront of presidential politics well into the general election season.

Etheridge is no stranger to the political platform. Back in August, she participated as a panelist in the HRC/Logo Presidential Forum. At that time, she had not announced her support for any candidate, but on the Stonewall Democrats call, she spoke as a representative of Sen. Barack Obama.  

Sir Elton John has been a long-time supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, and is pulling out the stops to help fill Clinton’s campaign coffers. On April 9, the music legend is hosting a special concert to help raise funds for Clinton’s campaign. Elton and Hillary: One Night Only is taking place at Radio City Music Hall in New York. This will be John’s first solo concert at the venue in eight years, and seats are filling up quickly.

As November approaches, we hope to see more out celebrities play a vocal role in talking about the issues facing our community this election season. 

Damon Romine is Director of Entertainment Media

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

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.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton recently underscored the need for LGBT-inclusive federal hate crime legislation in the wake of the tragic shooting death of openly gay California junior high student Lawrence King (left). On Feb. 12, a classmate shot King in what prosecutors have called a premeditated hate crime based on King’s perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I was deeply saddened by the recent death of 15-year-old Lawrence King who was killed at his school in Oxnard, CA,” Hillary Clinton said in a statement. “No one should face intimidation or violence, particularly at school, because of their sexual orientation or the way they express their gender identity.”

“We must finally enact a federal hate crimes law to ensure that gay, lesbian and transgender Americans are protected against violent, bias-motivated crimes,” Clinton went on to say. “We must send a unified message that hate-based crime will not be tolerated.”

In a statement, Barack Obama also called for hate crime legislation that equally protects LGBT people:

It was heartbreaking to learn about Lawrence King's death, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. King's senseless death is a tragic example of the corrosive effect that bigotry and fear can have in our society. It's also an urgent reminder that we need to do more in our schools to foster tolerance and an acceptance of diversity; that we must enact a federal hate crimes law that protects all LGBT Americans; and that we must recommit ourselves to becoming active and engaged parents, citizens and neighbors, so that bias and bigotry cannot take hold in the first place.  We all have a responsibility to help this nation live up to its founding promise of equality for all.

Although the Los Angeles Times, CNN and The New York Times have covered the many vigils honoring King, the Democratic candidates' discussion of inclusive hate crime legislation has yet to garner national media attention.

We will continue working with the media to call attention to the broader issues of hate crimes and bullying and will continue urging the press to question the candidates on their positions concerning these issues.

Cindi Creager is the Director of National News

As Barack Obama swept the Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. primaries yesterday, openly gay Reverend Irene Monroe provocatively weighed in on the sincerity of the candidate's commitment to LGBT equality with a posting on The Bilerico Project. 
 
While Obama supports civil unions, federal employment non-discrimination protections and inclusive hate crimes legislation, Rev. Monroe questioned his unwillingness to make LGBT equality a visible cornerstone of his campaign.  Pointing to Obama's request to not be photographed with San Francisco mayor and marriage equality advocate Gavin Newsom in 2004, Rev. Monroe expressed concern that Obama's "big tent" strategy of bringing together diverse voters--even those who hold anti-gay views—suggests that he will end up neglecting the LGBT community if he is elected president.
 
Despite considerable enthusiasm among many Democratic LGBT voters about the prospective candidates, there is still a great deal of hesitation about how the candidates will work to meet the needs of the LGBT community if elected.  Though many mainstream media outlets are touting the support that Clinton and Obama have from the LGBT community, a lot of LGBT bloggers continue to question whether the candidates will still be as supportive after the primary season is over.
 
Overall, Rev. Monroe remained optimistic about Obama's long-term commitment to equality.  However, she said that Obama's LGBT supporters and their allies must remain visible and politically engaged in order to maintain his commitment.  She says, "If we neither hold him to his promises to us nor have him expound on them we will then have participated in the closeting of ourselves and the disenfranchisement of our full and equal rights when he's elected.”