Annie
Diamond Member
- Nov 22, 2003
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LOL! First was this story, yesterday:
Frustrated Gay Voters Split on Supporting Dems - Yahoo! News
and right now:
Obama appoints record number of gay officials - Yahoo! News
Hope and change live on!
Frustrated Gay Voters Split on Supporting Dems - Yahoo! News
The Atlantic Wire
Frustrated Gay Voters Split on Supporting Dems
Alex Eichler Alex Eichler Mon Oct 25, 5:47 am ET
WASHINGTON, DC President Obama's term thus far has been a mixed bag for the LGBT community. Encouraging gestures, like Obama's recent message for the It Gets Better Project, have alternated with significant disappointments, like the administration's decision to prolong "don't ask, don't tell." Now, with the midterm elections a week away, the Associated Press reports that many frustrated LGBT voters are wrestling with the question of whether to support Democratic candidates at all.
* The New Swing Voters "Across the country, activists say gay voters are angry... and some are choosing to sit out this election or look for other candidates," writes Tammy Webber of The Associated Press. "In places like Cook County, Ill., where the gay population represents about 7 percent of voters, that could mean the difference between victory and defeat in some races." Webber quotes Robin McGehee, director of the advocacy group GetEQUAL, who says of the feeling in the LGBT community: "Either we're important enough to fight for our equality or we're worth losing ... Right now we're being treated like we're worth losing."
...
and right now:
Obama appoints record number of gay officials - Yahoo! News
Obama appoints record number of gay officials
AP
Barack Obama AP FILE - In this June 22, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama delivers remarks during a LGBT Pride
By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press Sam Hananel, Associated Press Tue Oct 26, 3:11 am ET
WASHINGTON Less than halfway through his first term, President Barack Obama has appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in history.
Gay activists say the estimate of more than 150 appointments so far from agency heads and commission members to policy officials and senior staffers surpasses the previous high of about 140 reached during two full terms under President Bill Clinton.
"From everything we hear from inside the administration, they wanted this to be part of their efforts at diversity," said Denis Dison, spokesman for the Presidential Appointments Project of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute.
The pace of appointments has helped to ease broader disappointment among gay rights groups that Obama has not acted more quickly on other fronts, such as ending the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military...
Hope and change live on!