Columbus, OH, Pride 2002. Is the gay rights movement captive to how-goes-it with the Buckeyes in 2008?Under a critique of leadership, he wants Presidential candidates to answer direct questions plainly.
Since EW is a full-fledged leader himself and well paid for his advocacy, here are two direct questions that the grassroots would perhaps like to see him answer, too (not to pick on him, exactly, but to get the whole truth on the matter, as best as possible):
- To remove the constitutional bans and DOMA statutes - what is the role of a national organization (like Freedom To Marry, etc.) in relation to local ones, what is the/their strategic plan, how long will it take, and what has been done in the four years since the first bans/restrictions have gone onto paper to repeal/remove them?
- What clear-cut proof is there that a pro-marriage candidate can win in the key swing states that drive national elections (i.e. who has put the polls in the field, who has done the focus group work, who has crafted a strategy around that and who has the numbers that they can share, accordingly, both current ones and those in prospect for 2011).
possibly a third: - Does a concerted, local-national partnership effort to remove constitutional bans or DOMA statues undercut a national effort to elect a gay-friendly Democrat to the Presidency (i.e. would such a plan simply amount to serving up the old "Rovian" divide-and-conquer "emotive issues" at an unwanted time, possibly)?
AN LGBT SWING STATE PROJECT
Everyone probably knows the swing states, but here is a closer look:
Of course, it's been a holy grail of LGBT politics to marry grassroots with national money and savvy. It may well be that the "LGBT community" just simply isn't up to becoming a 'voting block' or being 'politically organized', in the strict sense of the term. (These are long simmering and vexing issues that I know I'm not competent to judge, but that doesn't mean one cannot hope, even for the short term.)
UNPERSUASIVE
National opinion polls do not matter, so much, when you are trying to win key states. Re-election rates from Massachusetts and California may not be predictive in places like South Carolina (circa 75% approved Constitutional Amendment), etc., not to mention for Presidential candidates. "Supporter-of" re-election doesn't give a sense for what is going on at the margin.
