Let's see, she's white, she's a lesbian, but the Demos have their doubts even though she won her election. I know, "let's have a recount!"

Link to story.

Hmmmm, maybe she could get some advice from one of the republican African-Americans in the House.

Oh wait, never mind.

"Inclusion wins!"

Wait, let me get this...they knew she was gay but didn't know she was white? I've heard of uninformed voters, but this is ridiculous! Niether should matter. If they do, shame on those racist folks who judge her by the color of her skin, not the content of her character.

Why the demeaning title of this thread? Would you use it if two Republicans, one a White lesbian and the other an African-American, were battling it out over a 59-vote margin? (But then again, it's likely that matchup would be so rare in GOP-land to make it worth calling them "superstars.")

How demeaning ... and to whom? I chose the title because it illustrates perfectly the inanity of both "race-based" and "minority" politics, and the Demo's dilemma, given their ridiculous dedication to same, over whom to support in this election. Showing more intelligence than their party's hacks, the voters made their choice - and it should stand.

Fantomas, the tread title is meant to bait, which it apparently did quite well. Rethuglicans love to use this tactic. Shame on us for falling for it.

No, the title, as well as the post, was meant to expose the silliness and hypocrisy inherent in selecting anyone for anything - political office, job, whatever - based on anything other than their merit and qualifications, and how that absurdity is highlighted when conflicting rationales for any other method of selection come into play. Nonsense like this needs to be highlighted so it crawls back into the hole from whence it came, hopefully never to return - barring a Democratic majority in Congress, of course.

"As goes Alabama, so goes the nation?" - NOT! :mad:

Gee, gmginsfo, I wonder if you consider the following racist:

(If the links don't work, contact me directly and I will forward them to you.)

Last week, Republican Senator George Allen used a racial slur against a non-white audience member. This kind of bigotry has no place in America. Can you join us in telling the Republican National Committee to take a stand against these tactics and withdraw support for Sen. Allen?


Click Here

Watch the Video
Dear MoveOn member,

On Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low. At a campaign stop the senator singled out the only non-white member of the audience—S.R. Sidarth, a young Indian-American volunteering for his opponent and called him "macaca" (a racial slur meaning 'monkey').1 He went on to say, "welcome to America." As it happens, Mr. Sidarth was born and raised in Virginia.

Republicans have used racism to try to win over voters for decades, but this kind of pandering has absolutely no place in our politics. That's why we're standing with Color of Change to ask the Republican National Committee to withdraw support from Sen. Allen. We need to send a strong message that America won't tolerate bigotry.

Can you sign the petition and add your voice? You can sign and watch video of the incident on this page:

http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?...OwO8Zs00x2Q&t=3

The sting of Sen. Allen's words upset me personally, and I'd hoped to see his colleagues in Washington censure him for this display of bigotry. But just yesterday, Senator John McCain stood with him at a town hall meeting. Race-baiting continues to be a time-tested tradition for the Republican party in the South. And it's got to stop.

This is our opportunity—hundreds of thousands of us standing together will make a major statement to our elected officials and the media. I'll deliver these comments to the Republican National Committee when we reach 250,000—we're aiming for the end of the week.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first incident of its kind. Sen. Allen—who's a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008—has a long history of demeaning minorities. Here are just a few examples of his racial hostility.2
He used to display a noose—hanging from a tree—in his law offices.
When running for governor he admitted to displaying the confederate flag in his home.
As governor, he proclaimed April as "Confederate Heritage and History Month" and issued a proclamation calling the civil war "a struggle for independence and sovereign rights" (the statement did not condemn slavery).
He opposed the creation of a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.
All of this would be bad enough if Senator Allen were a small-time politician. But he's running in one of the key Senate races, and currently, he's ahead.

The media is watching this story closely and you can help show that ordinary Americans are ready to stand up for each other when a powerful man uses race to divide us. Can you sign the petition today?

http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?...OwO8Zs00x2Q&t=4

Thanks for all you do,

–Nita, Eli, Ben, Wes and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, August 17th, 2006

Sources:

1. "'Macaca' or 'Macaque'," Jefferey Feldman at MyDD, Monday, August 14, 2006
http://mydd.com/story/2006/8/14/17325/4950

2. "George Allen's Race Problem," The New Republic, April 27, 2006
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060508&s=lizza050806
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:

http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.h...OwO8Zs00x2Q&t=5


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://political.moveon.org/?id=8462-56999...OwO8Zs00x2Q&t=6
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.


It's your party, gmginsfo. I'd like to know what action YOU are willing to take against blantant racism.

[ August 18, 2006, 12:23 AM: Message edited by: millerbeach ]

Here's the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund's take on this matter. Note that while they employ the traditional rhetoric of "stealing elections" and "spewing hate," they fail to identify the thieves and spewers, who are Alabama Democrats in this case. (The original should be visible on their site; this came to be via e-mail.)

"They're trying to steal the year's biggest LGBT Victory...

Patricia Todd held a press conference Wednesday to fight attempts to reverse her victory.
Alabama voters chose Patricia Todd, an out lesbian and the first openly gay elected official in state history, to represent the state's 54th legislative district. Now some party bigwigs are trying to overturn the election , claiming voters weren't fully aware she was a lesbian, and throwing up other smokescreen issues to justify handing the election to Patricia's opponent.

But she’s not going down without a fight.

For too long, the LGBT communities in Alabama have had no voice in government, even while mean-spirited politicians spew hate from the floor of the state legislature. Patricia's win is a milestone moment for LGBT Alabamans and we're standing with her as she fights to preserve a historic victory!

Please join Patricia and the Victory Fund as we work to bring our voices to the American political discussion.

Courageous, committed, qualified candidates like Patricia are running in close races across the country, and they need your help to counter the same insider tricks and outright bigotry Patricia faces now. Your support made the difference in Patricia’s race, and it will again for candidates just like her.

Click here to help the Victory Fund’s courageous LGBT candidates make history!

Yours in Victory,

Robin Brand,
Sr. VP, Politics & Strategy"

And yes, Millerboy, of course the incident you referred to, though completely unrelated to the issue in this thread, is deplorable and racist. Instead of my telling you what I'm GOING to do, how about, at the risk of sounding "self-aggrandizing," telling you what I've DONE against crap like this, not just in my party but elsewhere.

Several years ago, while I was on the board of a nominally "non-partisan" G&L PAC, that despite its pretensions usually gave money only to Democrats, they had a party at one of the Directors' homes; he was an active Democrat. I asked if I could bring a friend from LCR to the party and he assented, albeit reluctantly, perhaps fearing what one more heretic might do. When my friend, who happened to be black, and I arrived, the crowd studiously ignored him and made absolutely no effort to be the least bit welcoming or cordial to him. We left after about 20 minutes, and went and had dinner - and a much better time.

A year or two later, at a board meeting of this same PAC, a youngish black guy was the newcomer. He was introduced by one of my white colleagues as, "our new African-American member." His eyes met mine at this gaffe, we both looked skyward and opened our plams, as if to say, "what can I say?" and after the meeting ended, I never saw him at another one.

VA is not CA, but in the CA GOP, locally and at the State level, I've worked with the black GOPers to increase their stature in the party, even though some are VERY conservative on our issues; read, homophobic. I've been endorsed by black GOPers when I've run for positions in and out of the party, and last month was nominated to be the vice-chair of my city's Board of Ethics by one of my black co-committee members. I could go on and on, but I won't - until you next trot out some irrelevant, however deplorable, racial matter unrelated to the matter at hand.

That should answer your question.

Latest updates on this story from the AL and national press:

Link to Birmingham Weekly story - the better, more detailed of the two. I like the part about the bounced check best, but the Birmingham social whirl is a hoot, too!

Link to AP Story.

[ August 18, 2006, 11:46 AM: Message edited by: gmginsfo ]

Hello Mr/Mrs Homophobe - Im here to increase your stature.

That sounds about right.

Well, she's been reinstated by fellow Democrats, which is good. Now, one hopes, they'll address the homophobic group within the party that tried to prevent her candidacy in the general election.

Yes, all's well that ends well. I'll bet she turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to her constituents - and maybe she'll break the machine that tried to block her while she's at it. Demo Dyke dominates in 'Bama? Who knew! :cool: