Netroots Nation, Dan Choi, Harry Reid, & My Equality

(Also at Pam's House Blend and Daily Kos)

So today, I get a nice little message from Lt. Dan Choi and GetEQUAL. I read they want to "keep Sen. Reid accountable to his promise" to ensure the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell". OK, I agree with that. I'll toast to that.

I just want to say that this should be easier than some expect. In the last year that I've lived here in Southern Nevada, I've learned things about Harry Reid that I never knew before.





Before I moved here last year, I just assumed that Reid was just "Mr. Mormon Limp Dick" who didn't know what he was doing. But as soon as I moved here, I learned things I had never realized before. Reid's a master vote counter who can count his way to a win better than anyone else I know. He's the best friend Nevada's LGBTQ community has had, and the door is always open for us to go and ask about what's happening with ENDA or DADT. And for being so "conservative", he's much better than past "Democrats" elected as Senators here (Pat McCarran was a notorious McCarthy ally, Howard Cannon lost his touch with the locals, Richard Bryan was never interested in anything progressive).

There's an interesting back story on Reid that I've been learning since I moved here, and the more I know the more I come to love "Grampa Harry". He's not perfect, but he's our Senator and he's done a damned good job for us.



Because Harry Reid is Mormon, it's often assumed he's a "homophobe". Maybe in the distant past there were problems, but today that couldn't be further from the truth. He received plenty of flak from his church when he publicly disagreed with the church leadership's decision to finance California's Yes on H8 campaign to repeal marriage equality. When the National Equality March went to DC last October, Harry Reid proudly endorsed it.



Plus, I can tell you about what I've observed since I moved here to Vegas. Whenever we at the Stonewall Democratic Club (Disclosure: I'm the Secretary & Political Director) have wanted to talk to him about ENDA or DADT or hate crimes, the door has always been open and he's always been on the same page. When the Las Vegas LGBT Center needed help with a new TV for the youth program, Reid's office got it for them. When we were preparing for Las Vegas PRIDE in early May, Reid's office was there for us and made sure we had enough resources to do voter registration and be a major presence.

OK, so Reid isn't perfect. Who is? I wasn't impressed at first... Hey, I was used to calling Barbara Boxer my Senator! But you know what? It was all these little things, combined with some really important big things, that created the soft spot I have for Harry Reid.

And this is why I know we can count on him to fulfill his end of the promise to end "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and make sure what happened to good soldiers like Dan Choi won't happen to anyone else again. I think my change in attitude toward Reid is similar to his evolving relationship with our community. As he's come to know all of our LGBTQ families in Las Vegas, in Reno, in Winnemucca, in Pahrump, and all around our great state of Nevada, he's become more of a friend to us.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses. And I'm not saying it's wrong for GetEQUAL or any other LGBTQ advocacy group to demand full equality. As a gay person myself, I'm 110% there with you! I'm just saying that Harry Reid is NOT the enemy, but rather a friend who I know wants to do the right thing. Sometimes we need to give him the extra push and "make him do it", as both he and Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday at Netroots Nation. But in the end, it's important to keep building these relationships, holding leaders like Reid and Pelosi accountable when necessary, but also remembering that these are our friends and we don't have to fight against them.

OK, enough of my rambling rant. I have some phone calls and door knocking to get back to. ;-)

Netroots Nation: On Being "On the Scene"

You know what? This Netroots Nation thingy was quite something, wasn't it? Once upon a time, they were mocked as "nutroots"... But now, even the traditional "mainstream media" are noticing.





And so are candidates and elected officials all over. I heard from Congressional candidates in California, a Lieutenant Governor candidate in Texas, a Congressional candidate in Minnesota, a Congressional candidate in New Hampshire, and far more. Oh yes, and I heard from this guy. ;-)



Yep, that's Harry Reid, all right! Our friends at ProgressNow Nevada hosted a very special reception with Senator Reid at The Rio yesterday, and I had a chance to listen in on these quick comments. Oh yes, and I got that picture at the top. I think the Senator is starting to recognize poor lil' moi!

And that was before this...



Obviously, people were getting frustrated over what seems like the lack of progress on a number of issues, from climate & energy to LGBTQ equality to job creation. And I understand. Yes, there are times I'm quite frustrated. However, it hasn't been easy to accomplish what Congressional Democrats like Reid and Congresswoman Dina Titus have done since President Obama took office. As I was trying to explain to Steve Friess yesterday (It wasn't in full context, but I think my point still comes across), this has been the most productive Congress since the Depression Era, with much progress being made on health care reform, financial regulatory reform, economic recovery, and civil rights. However, there is still plenty of work to be done and it's our job as the progressive netroots & grassroots to build support for progressive change on the outside while urging those on the inside (like President Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi) to deliver that change.

And in the next couple days, as I share more of my thoughts and observations from Netroots Nation, I hope you'll see this. This was a chance for Democratic leaders to come and explain the progress they've been making on enacting a better, progressive agenda, and for "we the activists" to urge them to keep moving forward. I believe Reid got the message, and so did Pelosi and many of the other Democratic leaders there. And I believe activists are getting smarter on how to win campaigns, and on how to better choose winning progressive candidates.

It was just so awe-inspiring to be right in the middle of all of it. The rumors that GetEQUAL would disrupt Pelosi's and Reid's respective keynotes to ask about ENDA and DADT. The private chats with Reid himself at the ProgressNow reception. The breakout sessions on messaging. The candidate speeches in the main hall. The panel discussions on what to watch for in this year's Congressional elections. The Nevada Democrats' after party with Al Franken. I was inside. I was outside. I was all over the place.

And hopefully in these next few diaries, I can show you some more of what was happening while I was on the scene at Netroots Nation.

(And by the way, there's even more from #nn10 at my Twitter @atdleft.)

DADT: Is This Repeal? Is This Fake? What's Happening?

So the odious "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy banning LGBTQ soldiers from serving openly in the military may finally be repealed... Or will it? The language is quite squishy, and at best it will allow Congress to give The White House and The Defense Department the authority to stop the discharges after studies are done. So maybe we'll see DADT repealed, but not until 2011 at the earliest and that isn't even a guarantee so long as Defense Secretary Bob Gates keeps slow-walking this.

So what do we have? Progress? Maybe. Mission Accomplished? Certainly not. Equality? Not yet.

So what's to be done? I don't know.

I guess something is better than nothing... But really, aren't we tired of saying this? Didn't President Obama promise DADT would be repealed this year? I don't remember him saying that maybe Congress would pass a measure allowing for The White House to consider repealing DADT perhaps some time next year.

What about the good soldiers being discharged for no good reason?



You know what? Lt. Choi and the folks at GetEQUAL are right. This is a positive step, but it isn't enough. President Obama needs to commit NOW to stopping the discharges as the studies are underway and Congress passes this legislation. The President can do this, so he needs to do this to show he really cares about our national security and our equality.

78% of Americans now want DADT repealed. More and more military servicemembers want DADT repealed. And now, the Senate is finally moving on the legislation to start repealing DADT.

Now the ball is in Obama's court. And since Congress looks to be putting it there, The President must act to stop the discharges NOW and get the ball rolling on formal repeal ASAP.

Message from Cleve Jones on Passing ENDA

(Also at Stonewall)

Robin McGehee of GetEQUAL will be one of our special guests at our next Stonewall Mixer at The Arts Factory in Las Vegas on April 5. They're currently working on getting Congress to pass ENDA. And while our Nevada Democratic delegation has come forward in strong support, we need for them and Democratic leaders to urge their colleagues to get moving. A special request from legendary LGBTQ equality activist Cleve Jones is below:

We would like to share with you this open letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Cleve Jones, a pioneering equal rights activist featured in the film "MILK," creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and Senior Advisor to the Courage Campaign. Last week, 10 people were arrested for peacefully sitting in Speaker Pelosi's office - one group in DC, and another group in her San Francisco district office - for refusing to leave without a commitment to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to the House floor for a vote this month.

Please click here if you would like to join GetEQUAL and our friends at the Courage Campaign in signing on to Cleve's letter and petition to Speaker Pelosi asking her to prioritize the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act:

http://getequal.org/speakerpelosi

Robin McGehee, Kip Williams, and the GetEQUAL crew







Dear Speaker Pelosi --

I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude for your relentless perseverance in the passage of health care reform. Along with President Obama, your steadfast leadership and personal commitment has fundamentally changed the lives of millions of Americans.

You and I have known each other for a long time, since we first met as political organizers in San Francisco. I was proud when you were elected Speaker and proud again on Sunday night when you gave a powerful speech on the floor of the House of Representatives about the meaning of health care reform, eloquently asserting that:

"When it comes to health care for all Americans, 'All politics is personal.' It's personal for the family that wrote to me who had to choose between buying groceries and seeing a doctor. It's personal to the family who was refused coverage because their child had a pre-existing condition..."

This profound statement about the power of politics to change the lives of everyday people touched me deeply. And it reminded me of the opportunity we have right now to transform the lives of Americans again -- the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

As shocking as it may be to believe in the year 2010, LGBT people can still legally be fired from their jobs in at least 29 states of our country simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That's why the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is so vitally important.

Once passed, ENDA would provide to all Americans basic protections against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. As my friends at Pride at Work describe it, ENDA is "based on the labor principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits as a worker" and is similar in nature to other federal civil rights laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

We've seen the passion you've brought to the challenge of passing health care reform. Now more than ever, we need your passion and skill to achieve the passage of ENDA.

As you know, many Americans in the LGBT community -- especially young people -- are increasingly frustrated and cynical about the pace of progress in Washington.

We want you to show them that cynicism is not the response at this time. They need to believe in the process, Madame Speaker, and you can restore their faith in this process by moving expeditiously to bring ENDA to a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.

I know your values, Madame Speaker, and I know that you strongly support ENDA. Now I want these young people to know what is in your heart.

With the knowledge that health care reform has been achieved and that enough votes now exist in the House today to pass ENDA, will you work with Rep. George Miller, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, to ensure that ENDA is passed out of committee and brought to the floor of the house immediately?

I am writing this open letter to you and sharing it with my friends in the Courage Campaign and GetEQUAL communities, thousands of whom will sign a petition to you asking that ENDA be prioritized for passage now. You can read the petition -- and Americans can sign on to it -- here:

http://www.getequal.org/SpeakerPelosi

Congratulations again on your historic achievement. Along with thousands of other people reading this letter, I wish you the best.

Cleve Jones

Senior Advisor, Courage Campaign