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His last non-answer (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by andgarden on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:15:18 PM EST
at the bottom of the last page just makes me cringe.

He's incapable of apologizing.

[ Parent ]

Yep (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by spit on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:26:08 PM EST
it's a total non-answer, and it doesn't calm my fears about his tendency to "hear all sides" and take no stands. The McClurkin thing wasn't in itself a deal breaker for me, but it made me quite angry and I would really like to have seen him show some better perspective on the whole thing than a sort of shrug and "people can disagree" thing.

But then, I didn't really like the "I haven't been doing community specific interviews because I'm talking to a broader audience" thing, either. Sure, you have to reach the broad audience with these issues some, but there are also specific community concerns that tend to be ignored if you don't very specifically address them. I could criticize other bits, too -- a few statements stand out to me -- but I'll leave it.

Dunno. In some ways, it's a troubling interview for me. OTOH, at least he finally did one, and though I find both candidates far less than perfect on queer issues, they both IMO do represent some movement in the right direction, which is my personal litmus test for now.

[ Parent ]

Well (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by andgarden on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:29:10 PM EST
The McClurkin thing wasn't in itself a deal breaker for me
It was for me--at least in the primary.

He has had multiple opportunities to make it right, but he just keeps digging in.

[ Parent ]

Totally understood (none / 0) (#43)
by spit on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:38:02 PM EST
I was willing to wait and see, but the more he digs in on it, the less willing to cut him a break on it I become.

I know plenty of folks who walked away from him then, and I understand it quite well.

My primary vote is done, so at this point I'm personally looking toward the general. That may help clarify my litmus test thing -- I will only vote for candidates in general elections who take us at least a bit in the right direction. I don't need them to be perfect, but I do need them to represent some real progress. In this case, I shouldn't have too much trouble on that front with either potential nominee, though I really do find Clinton better versed on queer issues (or at least more willing to talk about them more specifically).

[ Parent ]

Donnie McClurkin (none / 0) (#96)
by kayla on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 01:50:50 PM EST
to me is more in denial of his sexuality than homophobic.  He's just plain pathetic.

[ Parent ]
Yeah (5.00 / 1) (#30)
by Kathy on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:32:02 PM EST
"Some of my best friends are gay, even the ones whose names I can't remember."

I also love the line about how the gay proff was comfortable in his own skin and didn't "proselytize."  Yeah, don't you hate it when they rub it in your face?  Ew!

This takes the cake, though:

Had the race stopped cold in the snows of New Hampshire, gays and lesbians would have been left with one interview of record for each Democratic candidate in total.

Which is BULLSH*T.  Clinton called the HRC to her senate office and strategized with them on how to defeat the gay marriage ban and how to make sure it never came back.  She was the first first lady to march in a gay pride parade.  She has been a staunch supporter of gay rights from the get-go.  Some of y'all might not remember what it was like to be gay in 1992, but it wasn't all Will and Grace.  It was death threats and hate out in the open.  

It just gobsmacks me that anyone in the gay community can get excited about taking these scraps from Obama.  The disloyalty is gut wrenching to me.

[ Parent ]

The message that I get from him (none / 0) (#36)
by andgarden on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:35:15 PM EST
is "I can take you or leave you." He makes me feel like I'm trying to sell a car or something. It's really the perfect antidote to Hillary's (admittedly quite generic) "you are not invisible to me" slogan.

[ Parent ]
I really don't find that "generic" (none / 0) (#53)
by Kathy on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:46:00 PM EST
and I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, but the Advocate really ticked me off making it sound like Clinton was just as bad as Obama about giving interviews to the gay press.  The Advocate is not the only gay "news" mag she has spoken with:

Clinton has done interviews with Dallas Voice, The Washington Blade, The Philadelphia Gay News, and two gay newspapers in Ohio. Last week, The Philadelphia Gay News left a blank space next to the newspaper's interview with Clinton to draw attention to Obama's snub.

As a senator, Clinton worked very hard to open a gay and lesbian only high school in NY city.  She was appalled by the statistic--which has held since I was in high school--showing glbt teens have a significantly higher rate of suicide.  She used a lot of political clout and ticked off a lot of upstate conservatives with this, but she helped get it done.

She's not just there for interviews when she's running for election.  She knows the issues, she knows what is important and she knows how to get things done.  How many US senators do you think summoned the HRC during the gay marriage amendment bullsh*t to try to figure out what to do?

And don't even get me started on O's macho "Don't-worry-folks-I'm-a-real-man!" chuckling about being tested for HIV during one of the debates.  People in the Community who let him get away with this crap, when we've got one of the staunchest defenders of gay rights running against them...should not talk to me about this right now because I can really, really cuss really well.

[ Parent ]

You missed this paragraph (none / 0) (#124)
by facta non verba on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 02:18:59 PM EST
that prefaced the interview:

Unlike his rival Hillary Clinton, who's given interviews to Logo and several local papers since appearing on the cover of The Advocate last fall, the Illinois senator has only talked once, to address the Donnie McClurkin controversy.

So I didn't get that impression. Of course I have also read some of the Clinton interviews in the gay media. I think most gay men who read the Advocate (which is subscription and national) would also be reading their local gay newspaper (which are free). I love my BAR (Bay Area Reporter) and read several more online.

[ Parent ]

Agreed. (5.00 / 5) (#31)
by dk on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:32:21 PM EST
He actually defends the use of McClurkin in his campaign.  Essentially, he said he is willing to pander in any way, even in ways that reject the human dignity of certain groups of people, to win votes.  I guess his defenders call that inclusiveness.  I call that a failure of leadership.

[ Parent ]
Oh No Mr. Bill (none / 0) (#25)
by BarnBabe on Thu Apr 10, 2008 at 12:27:50 PM EST
Not another one of those......

[ Parent ]

Open Thread | 171 comments (171 topical)

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