| Here's California Assemblyman Mark Leno on the state of marriage equality in the Golden State:
From James Hormel's keynote; this snippet's on ENDA:
Other notes from the conference...
 Sussex County (Delaware) Recorder of Deeds John Brady (left) stopped by to speak with me as I was typing away and uploading video at the Internet Hub during the conference, and he was joined by my fellow Tar Heel (and Chapel Hill Town Councilman) Mark Kleinschmidt. Mark is one of only five openly-gay North Carolinians to be elected in state history.
John Brady, who is out, Republican and quite popular in his conservative district, had me rolling. I thought I was going to start crying from laughing so hard at his tales of the miscreants running loose in his state that he has been called upon to defend (he's also an attorney). What's rich is that an unfortunate number of these folks are conservative elected officials and family members of same who cannot seem to find other recreational activities to do in Delaware besides getting lit. (Here's just one colorful example that was big news there on a local blog). I'll have to ask my brother Tim, who lives in DE, about these shenanigans. North Carolina pols are not nearly as exciting as these guys.
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During my panel on "LGBT Leaders and the Media," there was a good Q&A, and I had a chance to discuss the situation with NC U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal, when I was asked about what I was going to be paying attention to in the 2008 races (Jim was at the conference, by the way). Since many of the folks out in the audience are out LGBT elected officials and those running for office, I wanted to make note of the fact that not only do they face hurdles dealing with anti-gay undercurrents from opponents, but it's pretty clear that there are additional hurdles out there from their party establishment at the national level, particularly for Democrats. This is a curious and disturbing phenomenon, and one that tests principles of equality that the party gives lip service to. In practice, it's clear that they are afraid of backing openly gay candidates running in what the party establishment deems to be difficult (read: perceived conservative) areas. Instead of letting the people decide, frightened party powerbrokers, are scrambling to find hetero candidates to anoint to ensure the out gay candidate is deep-sixed before the general election.
It was quite revealing to learn at this conference that Jim Neal is not the only out candidate for office that has been given the cold shoulder at the national level. This is a problem, folks. Party dealmakers have to realize that out candidates need to rise or fall on their own merit, not short-circuited from afar because of fear, ignorance and regional assumptions. It will never be the right time for a gay candidate if they aren't given the backing to try in the tougher races without a heavy hand coming in from elsewhere. All this behavior does is reward the closet, something one expects from the GOP -- to see it emerge in this curious, manipulative way in the Democratic party is disconcerting.
Another good question at the panel was asked by Andrew Martin, who is running for Congress to represent District 3 in Nevada (check out his why I'm running page). He wanted to know what out gay candidates can do to receive more coverage in the LGBT media and national blogs about their races. My advice on the blog front is to make sure that you (the candidate) makes direct contact with the media and bloggers -- we certainly appreciate press releases with important information we may not be aware of, however, opportunities to interact directly with online communities, be it liveblogs or the candidate writing diaries here on the Blend about their campaigning can be quite compelling.
I cited BlueNC as a great example of a state online community, a virtual town hall. Many candidates for statewide offices are flocking there, it's an opportunity to reach a different base of support. I think the mistake many candidates make is that it's an either/or thing -- courting online political activists and interested citizens, versus offline citizenry. These groups overlap, in many respects, but you cannot replace face-to-face contact with voters. You also cannot ignore the importance of the online town hall, where what a candidate says can be spread virally directly from you, the source to many eyes around the blogosphere, and that can translate into offline action and support as well.
I think politicians and elected officials still feel a level of discomfort because of the rough and tumble nature of the online world (that uneasiness also applies to the consultants who advise them), but ignoring new media really isn't an option any more; it's a matter of how to engage and embrace it to your best advantage. It would really be a great idea, as Mark Kleinschmidt suggested in a comment in an earlier thread, to hold a training session for candidates about the blogosphere: I've been quite disappointed with the lack of online literacy among many GLBT elected officials. You should do a workshop on the issue at next year's conference in D.C. I think a lot of the reticence is due to the lack of engagement with bloggers and online communities in the real world. Politicians are generally used to face to face (or even phone) communication, and it's quite difficult to establish relationships with faceless bloggers, and I'm sure that for the pols who meet me for the first time now can place the words on the screen with the person. Though my writing style is quite personal and my "voice" pretty accurately reflects my personality, it's quite different to actually interact with me, to place the snark or emotion in context with flesh and blood. It is a distinct limitation of the online world. While the world has become smaller because of the Internet, the truth is that time and distance makes offline interaction -- and the benefits that come from it -- more difficult to achieve.
This is why it is important to attend conferences like this from time to time. Alas, I don't have the luxury of either 1) being able to afford to go to these events, 2) have time off my day job to attend them, or 3) live in an area of the country that is convenient to make frequent offline connections with folks.
But back on the topic of how out gay candidates can make contact and establish a rapport with online communities -- I'm pretty sure Blenders would like to learn about what it's like as an out gay candidate running in various parts of the country -- what works, what it's like doing door-to-door and interacting with people who may not have met an openly gay person. I'd be curious to learn how candidates address questions that come up about one's orientation and its impact on a race. To hear from the candidates in their own words puts a face on what it takes to commit to public service. It helps to understand the challenges of balancing the cultural novelty of running out and proud with the need to focus on the on community issues that everyone cares about.
NOTE: I'll have my exclusive interview with Tammy Baldwin up on Monday.
Here's a short video of Suzanne Westenhoefer, emcee at Friday's opening plenary.
Related coverage:
* In Vegas again
* Photos from the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference |
Many of you know about the marriage equality efforts of California's 
U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg (1999-2001) 
