Get Out and Vote!

UPDATED: Creigh Deeds puled out a significant win today in the Democrat primary setting up a rematch between himself and Bob "taliban Bob" McDonnell come November. He did surprisingly well in urban areas as well as rural areas that he was expected to carry. While he is nowher near as gay friendly as Brian Moran, he's light years better than McDonnell who would reintoduce the sodomy statutes if he could to appease the Christianists who are his strongest supporters. Hopefully, Deeds will be able to expose the real McDonnell and thereby convice moderate Republicans to vote for him rather than the Christian Taliban candidate.

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In the race for Lieutenant Governor, Jody Wagner crushed Mike Signer with roughly 70% of the vote.

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Today is the day of the Democrat Primary here in Virginia and it's important that people get out and support their candidate. In my case, I am supporting Brian Moran for Governor (lower left in the photo) and Jody Wagner for Lieutenant Governor. It is absolutely essential that the Democrats field a candidate that can defeat Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell in November. The thought of McDonnell as Governor is most frightening.

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In short, if Virginians do not want policy decision to be dictated by Pat Robertson, The Family Foundation, and the folks at Liberty University, McDonnell MUST be defeated. Hopefully, whichever Democrat prevails today they will quickly begin exposing the falsity of McDonnell's claim that he is a moderate.

Brian Moran for Governor

The Richmond Times Dispatch has a article out this morning that provides a great profile on Brian Moran, one of the three candidates for the Democrat nomination for Governor. I have met Brian twice and had great conversations with him and I truly believe that he is the candidate that Virginia needs as opposed to Terry McAuliffe who strikes me as a modern day carpetbagger with ZERO previous experience in Virginia politics or Creigh Deeds who is too far right of center to convince me that he's in a position to carry the must win areas of Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads. The boyfriend is so taken with Moran that we have a yard sign out in front of the house and he is wearing a Moran campaign button every day to his salon. One thing that strikes me about Moran - besides his ability to see LGBT Virginians as regular everyday citizens - is that he comes from a background that allows him to know what life is like for the common citizen and that he has not forgotten where he came from. Here are some highlights:

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The reserved Moran -- known for studious qualities -- doesn't suck the air from a room like McAuliffe. While Deeds speaks in a native Virginia drawl, Moran delivers his decades-spent-fighting-for-Virginians speech in a hard-edged Boston accent. Moran says he has been working for Virginians for 20 years, from Arlington County, where he served as a prosecutor, to the halls of the state Capitol.

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It was him -- not the others -- who in 2004 sat with Republicans in a 24-hour diner to draft a budget reform compromise on a paper napkin over beers, he says. "I do believe that we are on the right track," in Virginia "and we need somebody that's been there and can lead us," Moran said this week. "I truly believe I have that ability."

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"What you have with Brian Moran is a knowledgeable, competent legislator who has won the respect of his peers in Richmond," said Steve Farnsworth, political scientist at George Mason University. "I describe him more as a workhorse and less of a show horse. In modern media-dominated politics, people seem to be drawn to show horses more than workhorses. And show horses with money -- that is a second advantage."

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Moran started working at 14, bagging groceries near his home in Natick, Mass., a suburb west of Boston, where he lived with his parents and six siblings. He lived there until moving away to the University of Massachusetts, where he briefly played football. By the end of his junior year, cancer had tightened its grip on his father, and Moran moved home to help. He never returned to the university, instead putting himself through the local Framingham State College and later Catholic University law school working jobs on a construction site, at a gas station, in a bar, and as a subcommittee aide on Capitol Hill.

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One misfortune in particular has stuck with Brian and his oldest brother. The way Jim Moran tells it, their father was a loyal, hardworking employee for a beer distributor. That was, until one day, when the company was bought out. Their father was shown the door and the family's station wagon -- his company car -- was towed out of the driveway. "These people who came in didn't have loyalty to the company or the product or anything else," Jim Moran said. "They just wanted to make a quick buck."

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[W]hen the candidate steps out at events, he often talks about lessons from his childhood. He says nursing his father gave him perspective on elder care. And he'll never forget the day the family car was hauled away. "Whether voters decide I'm the best candidate or not, I'm going to put myself out there. I really want to take Virginia to the next step building on where we've come," he said. "I think because of my upbringing I am truly empathetic with what people are going through."

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I believe that Brian has a compelling personal story and that he has the best vision for Virginia. I also believe that he would represent the best candidate to defeat Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell in November. Virginia cannot afford to have a puppet of Pat Robertson and The Family Foundation in the Governor's office.

More Kool-Aid

The Frankenstein monster Christian Right just keeps on giving to the GOP as evidenced by recent statements by Christianist - let's amend the Constitution to track the Bible - Huckabee. There were some that courted these people and now that they have effectively taken over the GOP rational Republicans (or at least the few that are left) are looking for a wooden stake or silver bullet to somehow stop the lurching of the party into irrelevance. The problem with the Bible beating party base is that they continue to be so delusional that they will not accept the fact that it is they who are killing the GOP. The problem for the GOP exists at both the national level and here in Virginia. Indeed, one attendee at the Brian Moran event last night stated that they have always considered them self a Republican, but Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell is too much of an extremist for them to support notwithstanding McDonnell's efforts to pretend that he is a moderate. Here are some highlights from CrooksandLiars:

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Mike Huckabee isn't happy about the talk that the GOP should be more open to the American people to expand their party by diminishing the views of social conservatives: In an interview with the California newspaper The Visalia Times-Delta, Huckabee said the GOP would only further decline in influence should it alienate social conservatives — largely considered the most energetic and loyal faction of the party.

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What he's saying is a big problem for Republicans. To be a more inclusive party they would have to try and entice Latino voters over, but since the extremists want to round up Latinos and are so opposed to anything that will handle our immigration problems, that's a "no go."

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If they want to appear more moderate in the gay rights arena, then they will alienate the religious-right bloc that has been a significant part of their base for year now, and has enjoyed enormous influence within the GOP ever since Bush took office (and Rove used them to win in 2004), so that's a "no go."

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The Washington Monthly has more: But Huckabee's point isn't wrong. If the religious-right crowd no longer feels welcome or valued in the Republican Party, and the GOP is left with a country-club base, it's not likely to do well in national elections. It might as well be "the end of the party."

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On the other hand, if the Republican Party takes the culture warriors seriously, and signals to the rest of the country that the GOP is dominated by far-right activists who are principally concerned with gays, abortion, Terri Schiavo, and state-sponsored religion, the party will remain stuck where it is now. And that's not a good place to be. It's quite a conundrum. Good luck to the whole gang.

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Since Rush Limbaugh constantly rips any "moderate Republican" and even whips conservatives that he likes if he perceives them straying even slightly, even for a minute -- I'd say a new party is brewing. And to me it looks like Newt Gingrich wants to lead the new revolt for Republicans. I so dub them "The Twigs." It'll be made up of social conservatives, dittoheads and teabaggers.

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Those who embraced the Christian Right out of cynical expediency have no one to blame but themselves for the GOP's current predicament. Of course, if they had cared at all about the Constitution, they never would have tried to fuse extremist religious belief with the civil laws. I wish the continued electoral losses.

Brian Moran for Governor of Virginia

The boyfriend and I attended a fundraiser for Brian Moran (pictured at left), one of the Democrat candidates for Governor of Virginia this evening at the home of friends in Norfolk. This is the second time that I have had the opportunity to speak with Moran - we last spoke at the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner on April 4th - and once again I was struck with his sincerity as well as his acceptance and comfort with LGBT Virginians. As I have stated before, I believe that it is imperative that the GOP candidate, Bob "Taliban Bob" Mcdonnell be defeated, and I believe Brian Moran represents the best candidate for the Democrats to accomplish the task of defeating McDonnell.

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Frankly, while Terry McAuliffe has plenty of money, he has zero experience in Virginia government unlike Moran who has been in the General Assembly for 13 years. One might even say that McAuliffe is a modern day carpet bagger. I have very real concerns as to McAuliffe's ability to resonate with regular Virginia voters. On the other hand, Creigh Deeds, the other contender for the Democrat nomination hails from far southwest Virginia and I have grave concerns about his ability to attract voters in Northern Virginia and Tidewater which are literally different worlds from Deeds' home turf.

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Lastly, this issue on Brian Moran's website means a lot to me:

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Brian believes that all Virginians deserve basic civil rights, and he has stood for equality throughout his legislative career. He has consistently fought against writing discrimination into Virginia’s Constitution.• Fighting for Equality: Brian is the only candidate for governor who voted and campaigned against the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006. He does not support efforts to specifically exclude gays and lesbians from basic civil rights by writing discrimination into Virginia’s Constitution. Brian has also supported allowing adult patients to authorize visitation rights for whomever they choose and opposed employment discrimination.

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I hope Virginia readers will join me in voting for Brian Moran in the June 9th Virginia primary.

Virginian Partisans for Justice Endorse Brian Moran

At the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Coalition Dinner earlier this month the boyfriend and I had the opportunity to meet and have a lengthy conversation with Brian Moran, one of the Democrat nominees for Governor. I was very impressed with him and his gay supportive views. Indeed, close friends in Norfolk will be hosting an event for Moran in a week and a half at their home and I look forward to speaking further with him. Meanwhile, The Virginia Partisans, a gay Democrat organization has endorsed Moran for Governor. The full release can be found here. As the blog Raising Morgan points out, this endorsement is a bit out of the ordinary and likely arises from Moran's position on gay marriage. Here are some highlights:

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So what happened? Why did Virginia Partisans break with their normal behavior to step out and recommend Moran for governor? I think the answer can be found in each primary candidates answer regarding the possibly of gay marriage in Virginia during recent Farm Team debate. The video can be found on Vivian’s blog, but here’s a transcript of each candidate’s take on the issue.

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Creigh Deeds: “I’m not sure it’s a major issue for governors around the country, but it is a major issue…I grew up with a pretty fundamentalist background, but like most people I’m a work in progress. I’ve come to believe that marriage isn’t something the state should be involved with.”

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Brian Moran: “Equality to me is one of the reasons I’m a Democrat. Everyone should have the same start, and treating our gay and lesbian Virginians equally is important to me; it’s a Democratic value. I’m the only one up here who stood on the floor of the House of Delegates and publicly condemned the marriage amendment, the Marshall-Newman amendment. The rights of a minority are protected in our constitution. That’s why we have a constitution. The rights of the majority are dictated by elections, but we are sworn to uphold the constitution and the constitution protects the minority, whether it be religious rights, or the right to assemble, the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, or the right to vote. To put discriminatory language in our constitution, to say no to civil unions, to say no to gay marriage, to say no to contacts between same-sex individuals is absolutely wrong. If I’m elected as governor, I will fight to repeal the Marshall-Newman amendment.”

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Terry McAuliffe: “I believe the Republicans have tried to use this as a divisive wedge issue. They’re going to try to do it in the fall campaign. In order to change it here, you know, it has to pass two sessions of the legislature with an election in between. That’s a hard thing to try to get done. Let’s deal with the reality of what we have to do. I’ve always been for contractual rights for all individuals. We should not have any discrimination against anyone. I’ve said that as chairman of the party, and in all the things I have fought for. I believe when it relates to gay marriage, it’s a religious issue, and we ought to treat it as a religious issue. To think that I can actually change it, to go and try to deal with a constitutional amendment with what we need to do, that’s not going to happen because as I said you have to have two votes in the General Assembly with an intervening election.”

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So, for Virginia Partisans and all Virginians, the choice is between a candidate who has a shaky history and would like to avoid the issue, a candidate who stands on Democratic ideals and will fight to equality, and a candidate who won’t try to because it’s too difficult.

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I agree with Joel - I believe that Brian Moran is the best candidate for Governor of Virginia. He is everything that Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell is not.

Equality Virginia 20th Anniversary Dinner

The boyfriend and I traveled to Richmond yesterday for the 6th Annual Commonwealth Dinner which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Equality Virginia. The event had over 1,100 attendees and was a wonderful affair with LGBT Virginians and straight allies from all over the state. Ellen Qualls, Senior Advisor for Strategic Planning for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was the mistress of ceremonies - with whom I hope to speak further this coming week. The dinner also honored 20 outstanding LGBT Virginians - past and present and among those honored were my former law school classmate, Clarence Cain, on whom the movie Philadelphia was based, Charles Whitebread, a former law professor from my days at UVA Law, and Claus Ihelemann, a friend from Norfolk. I will admit that I got a little veklempt when photos of Clarence and Charlie were projected on large screens in the ballroom. The lighter side of the entertainment for the evening was Leslie Jordan -a/k/a "Beverly Leslie" on "Will and Grace" and "Brother Boy" in Del Shores’ adaptation of his play "Sordid Lives" - who had the crowd laughing loudly with his storytelling.

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Also attending were some of the candidates for political office in the November, 2009, elections here in Virginia. The governor's race was represented by Brian Moran who seeks to be the Democrat candidate against the GOP's Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell. The boyfriend and I had a very good conversation with Moran and may well get involved in his campaign. The boyfriend and I also had a great conversation with Michael Signer who is seeking the nomination to be the Democrat candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Also in attendance as were campaign staff personnel for Pat Edmondson who is likewise seeking the Lieutenant Governor nomination. I hope to be speaking with all three campaigns this coming week and will be posting interview results and/or thoughts on these candidates. The Democrat Primary is on June 9, 2009. All three of these candidates are publicly taking pro-gay positions and Moran actively campaigned against the Christianist hate-based Marshal-Newman Amendment to Virginia's Constitution. I was very disappointed that Jody Wagner apparently had no one from her campaign at the event at the event.

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Candidly, I was a bit surprised when the Edmondson staff sought me out after seeing us talking with Mike Signer. To my surprise they were aware of this blog and want me to discuss the pro-gay positions that Pat Edmondson is taking. At some point I will likely endorse candidates based on who I think will be the best candidate over all and in the best position to defeat the GOP rivals come November. It is absolutely essential that Bob McDonnell NOT be elected governor since it would be tantamount to having Pat Robertson and The Family Foundation setting state policy through the Governor's Office. Based on the close race in 2005 that saw Bob McDonnell win the Attorney General race by fewer than 400 votes, LGBT Virginians could well decide who wins these races in November and we all need to get informed and get to the polls come November.

Why Virginia Must Elect a Democrat Governor

The Washington Blade has a lengthy article that looks at the race for governor of Virginia this year. Among the three contenders for the Democrat nomination, it's not clear that there is any front runner to date. My fear is that in the process of seeking the nomination, the three contenders - Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran, and Creigh Deeds - may damage one another and allow the nightmare scenario of Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell being elected. Among the three Democrats, Deeds carries the baggage of having supported Virginia's draconian "Marriage Amendment" that made LGBT Virginians third class citizens. Moran has the most pro-gay voting record in the Virginia General Assembly of the three Democrats. Nonetheless, any of the three would be preferable to McDonnell who shares the anti-gay views of Pat Robertson (who likely will give McDonnell a nice big contribution) and James Dobson. Dobson's Virginia affiliate, The Family Foundation, more or less controls the Republican Party of Virginia. Here are some story highlights on the Democrat contenders:

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As candidates seeking to become the next governor of Virginia vie for the gay vote, the race’s Democratic contenders met for the first time with a gay group to answer questions and hear concerns before the primary.The three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination reached out Feb. 21 to the Virginia Partisans, a statewide gay Democratic group, during the organization’s board retreat in Arlington.

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Charley Conrad, president of the Virginia Partisans, said in a statement Monday that the meeting was historic for gay Virginians.“There was a time not very long ago in Virginia when no politician wanted to even say the word ‘gay,’” he said, “and now we have all three Democratic candidates for the top elected office coming to us for an endorsement.”Conrad said Virginia Partisans would endorse a candidate in April. The Democratic primary is set for June 9.

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Moran never voted contrary to how Equality Virginia, a statewide gay activist group, asked lawmakers to vote on legislation in the General Assembly. Pro-gay legislation that he’s supported includes a hospital-visitation rights bill in 2007 and legislation in 2008 that set up the medical registry. Moran voted in 2005 against legislation that would have prohibited adoption by gays.When the Marshall-Newman Amendment came to the House floor in 2005 and 2006, Moran was one of three delegates to speak out against it. The measure, which made a prohibition on same-sex marriage and civil unions part of the state constitution, became law in 2006. In addition to voting against the amendment twice, Moran campaigned against the amendment by fundraising for the Commonwealth Coalition and attending “Vote No” events.

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All the Democratic candidates committed to renewing the executive order barring job discrimination based on sexual orientation in the state workforce. Former Gov. Mark Warner initially issued the order during his tenure as governor and Gov. Tim Kaine renewed it.But the candidates were reluctant to pledge to expand the order to include explicit protections for gender identity.

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What is not clear is what the Democratic candidates would do to better protect gay Virginians since the Virginia Attorney General's office is currently challenging the power of the governor to grant protections by way of Executive Order. As for Bob McDonnell, the story states in part as follows:

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McDonnell has a history of taking anti-gay actions as a public official — starting in 2006 as attorney general and before that as a lawmaker in the Virginia House. In 2006, McDonnell issued an opinion that concluded Kaine’s executive order prohibiting discrimination against gays in the state workforce was unconstitutional.

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McDonnell voted in favor of the bill that would have prohibited adoption by gay Virginians. In 2004 and 2005, he voted against bills that would have allowed insurance companies to provide coverage to the partners of their gay customers. And in 2005, McDonnell voted in favor of the Marshall-Newman Amendment. His campaign also donated $1,000 in support of the effort to pass the Marshall-Newman Amendment.

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McDonnell as attorney general issued an opinion stating that the Marshall-Newman Amendment wouldn’t interfere with contracts, wills, medical directives and other agreements, and that it wouldn’t modify the “enforcement of Virginia’s domestic violence laws.”The opinion enabled municipalities in Northern Virginia to issue directives requiring officials to treat domestic violence calls for gay couples the same way they’d treat such calls for straight couples.

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Candidly, McDonnell's opinion on the Marriage Amendment was issued in an effort to avoid a challenge to the Amendment under the federal constitution and should not be taken as a gay friendly step on McDonnell's part.