North Carolina primary - and Jim Neal's bid and the big picture

Canvassing in Indianapolis

I was canvassing for Clinton Sunday evening along with 2 gentlemen, one from GA and the other from TX. It turned out that 2 of us were gay and 2 of us were Jewish.

Shoes on the Ground: Canvassing for Clinton in Indianapolis
http://themoderatevoice.com/po...

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by: Holly in Cincinnati @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 18:58:06 PM CDT

"Afternoon Celeb Jammie Romp"

"Married" "homosexual" activist she-devil Pam Spaulding was caught in an afternoon electronic orgy by an Obama activist as he went door to door, pushing the elitist liberal agenda down voter's throats.  Spaulding, decked out in heavy heart-clad party wear, answered the door in a "fever" and appeared suspiciously disheveled.  No explanation was offered for the tell-tale sheet creases on her right cheek.

Spaulding opened a "political" chat pad on her homosex-obsessed blog today, then retired to her "home" and jumped into lingerie.  The connection is obvious.  One can only imagine the blur of sweaty fingers flashing across the keyboard of vice.  Revoltingly, she bragged about the affair on her blog (URL withheld to protect tender Christin sensibilities.)

Reporting to you live from the shrubbery in front of the Spaulding den of iniquity, this is your upright heterosexual Christian reporter, LaPeter Barbarian.

Now that you're famous, I figured you'd like a little Brittney press. :D

Click HERE and sign up: Campaign For Military Partners.

Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 19:00:20 PM CDT

Aside from Lurleen's sensational "news flash"

Just a note to say thanks for the continued coverage of the election and all the other issues that PHB covers.  And a side note of thanks to Kate as well!

But now that you are SO well known, please don't forget that when you and Kate get to the land of the Larry Craig Toe Tapping Shrine (aka. FallingBridgeApolis), you have a hot, steaming cuppa waiting for both of you...

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by: bkmn @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 19:06:51 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I just nearly spit Diet Coke all over my computer

That was the best laugh all day! The idea of Pam being as trashy and pathetic as Brittany is itself a riot.

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by: CPT_Doom @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 19:12:21 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

OMG

Thank you for your caring and respectful reporting of this disgusting incident, Mister Barbarian. You are a good American.

No doubt next there will be photos of "MS" Spaulding stepping out of her car to pump gas while wearing stilettos, an ultra mini, and no underwear...

What next? Partying with Paris and shaving her head? Oh, she's out of control... SOMEONE PUHLEEZE think of teh childrun!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ralph (aka Sallie) Homemaker

Click HERE and sign up: Campaign For Military Partners

Click here for DADT photobook

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by: Louise @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:53:37 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Pam you're always a star in my book

I noticed the same thing in Virginia-- a young woman braved the bitter cold back in the primary in February to canvass for Obama door to door, and another stood out in the bitter cold at the polls, while I never heard anything from the Clinton campaign. It actually made me feel bad I wasn't voting for their guy. But there's something like a 50/50 chance he'll get the nomination and then I'll be out there for him (in nicer weather, heh).

Here's what I find about compromise--
don't do it if it hurts inside,
'cause either way you're screwed,
eventually you'll find
you may as well feel good;
you may as well have some pride

--Indigo Girls

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by: Hypatia @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 19:43:38 PM CDT

looks like Hagan is way ahead

of Neal, but only about 20% pcts have reported.  
http://www.wxii12.com/politics...

Click HERE and sign up: Campaign For Military Partners.

Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 20:08:24 PM CDT

ciao hillary

obama 08 hooray!  i didnt know the NC primary was today for the senate seat?

http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com

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by: hippie4lyfe @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 20:46:17 PM CDT

Obama canvassers

Yeah, here in Northern CO, Obama folks were everywhere, but nary a call from Clinton folks.  At our precinct, us Obama supporters, who were following our training and organizing the precincts, were accused by Clinton folks of preventing Clinton supporters from showing support for their candidate(how? from putting up posters, giving out cookies? what?). It was strange.  I asked a few women who were upset by the lack of obvious Clinton support who they had been working with to support their candidate.  Both said that no one had contacted them, they had no posters available to them, and no local organizers.

Things changed after Super Tuesday, tho!

Kelley H.

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by: kelleya1 @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 21:14:48 PM CDT

Please thank Jim

His courage in running this campaign will not be forgotten.

As a former North Carolina resident (Efland!) I know how hard this must have been for him to do. It took bravery.

Someday.

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by: TeddySanFran @ Tue May 06, 2008 at 22:20:41 PM CDT

I remember back when the Civil Rights Act passed and...

black people started to come out in droves to vote. Then black people started to run for office. The thought of a black organization NOT endorsing a black candidate was just beyond the pale. And here we are with an almost ideal gay candidate and member of the LGBT community and the big LGBT muckety-mucks refused to endorse him. I believe that this bodes as the beginning of the end for our national orgs as they have rendered themselves nothing more than fund raising engines that have compromised their original reasons for being. We have learned our lesson. We are anonymous. We are legion. We will not forget.  

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by: chandler in hollywood @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 00:03:56 AM CDT

Greetings leaders of the DNC

We are Anonymous. Over the past few years we hsve been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation against those perceived to be weak. Willfully turning a blind ear and eye when your members have cried out for change, for freedom. With the latest case of Jim Neal's run in NC the extent of the malign influence of the "old guard" has become obvious. There are those who trusted you, called you leader even when things were down. You have abandoned them and for this it has become obvious that your organization must be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind--for the laughs--we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the DNC in its present form.

Believers will awake and see that the price of true freedom is not in whst you demand but in how they believe in themselves.

We cannot die for we are legion. For each one of us falls, hundreds will take our place. America shall be free again.

Knowledge is free.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect us.

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by: StillLiT @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 03:09:41 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

don't chuck all the national orgs

just because one does some very disappointing things.  most of our national orgs are wonderful and deserve ongoing support.

Click HERE and sign up: Campaign For Military Partners.

Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:01:41 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

2010

I was there tonight (I was the stalkerlike fanboy that squealed when I saw you and asked you to pose for a picture with me so I could brag to my sister that I met you), and the last thing Jim told me before I left was that he would run in 2010. If he can pull out these numbers in just months of campaigning, imagine the win he'll pull out in two years!

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by: wbenpc @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 02:58:26 AM CDT

I hope he does!

I need to get a bumpersticker "Jim Neal 2010!"

watashi no yomeiri wa doko desu ka

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by: belfrieboi @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 08:55:19 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

what the race was about

I crossposted my entry to BlueNC and it generated this comment:

Jim's race was never about LGBT equality. It was always about just plain old equality. Equality for the poor. Equality for Blacks and Whites, Hispanics and Asians. Plain Old Equality.

Jim ran a great race, I was proud to vote for him. I look forward to seeing Dole lose in the fall, and I pray that the US Senate becomes even just a little more concerned about equality because of Jim's campaign.

My response:

I won't disagree with you there, he did run on a "full equality for all" agenda. That's the general (and correct) political perspective. I was speaking from my soapbox as member of the LGBT community. Jim's race was significant because it didn't focus on his sexual orientation. Remember, he could have chosen not to run as an openly gay man. As we know, it happens all the time. Why we have already had gay representation on the Hill from inside the closet, right? We have enough self-loathing elected gay folks who have no interest in promoting equality.

Those of us in the LGBT community who supported Jim's candidacy know that visibility matters, and when in the closet, our issues tend to remain closeted, particularly in the south. The presidential Democratic candidates learned between 2004 and 2008 that they could openly discuss LGBT issues without the earth opening up and swallowing them. That's how you move the ball forward on every level. Running openly means the issues make it to the table for all the candidates running. When the issues can be discussed, it means you create a dialogue to reframe the issues for those unaccustomed to dealing with them, including Dem and GOP candidates at every level of elective office. The next race is then easier. Others can follow.

I cannot tell you how many prominent LGBT activists, loyal Dems I have heard from who were appalled at the way Jim was treated behind the scenes by HRC and Beltway entities. The HRC endorsement debacle was the last straw for many LGBT activists, because it generated honest "WTF" questions from straight progressive allies, who were perplexed as to the lack of support. It's painful to have to explain to allies that our main advocacy organization has viability in mind ahead of supporting trailblazing because of its dual role as a lobbying organization interested in reinforcing its ties to the Hill and party/DC infrastructure. Not that the latter is evil or anything (since legislative advancement is extremely important), but it ties the organization's hands in the case of true advocacy time after time.

We down here at the grassroots level need national LGBT leadership that can focus on advocacy without those ties -- and has equal gravitas as HRC, because its sheer size and presence means the ally community and the MSM automatically assume it speaks for the LGBT community at large, which of course helps it maintain and/or grow HRC's size and pre$ence. Save an advocacy counterweight, we are hampered as a movement, as we've seen, when it comes to efforts like this race.

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by: Pam Spaulding @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:31:17 AM CDT

More prominence for the Victory Fund?

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by: NancyP @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 09:41:36 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Victory fund was the "raise $1 million" entity

they got the backhand in my last post on this topic.

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by: Pam Spaulding @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 10:06:01 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Moving the ball

Pam - you're absolutely right about Jim Neal's valiant efforts to win the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. While winning is nice, we all know that the winning candidate isn't always the most qualified or the best legislator.

I've supported many losing political candidates - candidates I knew would have a tough go at the ballot box but were worthy of my financial and organizational investment. By having unconditional support from a core constituency, a candidate can "move the ball" for future progressive candidates. We should continue to urge our national LGBT political organizations to boldly invest in a new tier of political leaders.

As I wrote on Jim's Facebook page, the entire LGBT community should be grateful for Jim's courage to run for the U.S. Senate. We all expect wonderful things from him and he has done us proud.

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by: Clark414 @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 21:25:11 PM CDT