The Minority Leader. It will be interesting to
watch how Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, newly
elevated into the position of House Democratic leader (and, in
effect, the shadow Speaker), plays out. As the
Washington Post reports:
There's little doubt that on issues of trade, gun control and tax cuts, House Democrats are about to take a left turn.... As Democrats sift through the wreckage of last week's elections, many fault party leaders for rushing too quickly to the center and failing to excite the party's base of abortion rights supporters, environmentalists, minorities and union members. But as more exit polls come to light, it appears that Democrats lost several key elections by failing to attract swing voters, particularly in the "red" states Bush carried in 2000.
In 1983, Pelosi defeated gay San Francisco Supervisor Harry
Britt to win election to Congress, and she's been re-elected easily
ever since. She's a strong supporter of gay rights -- especially
when it invokes big government intervention, such as with the
proposed Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Here's part of
her
statement celebrating this year's San Francisco Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Pride:
This weekend marks the 32nd annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration entitled, "Be Yourself, Change the World!" This is our time to celebrate San Francisco's proud history of advocacy for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons and to recognize the important contributions the LGBT Community makes to our City and to our nation". [We] reaffirm our commitment to the fight for equal rights for all and our belief in the beauty of our diversity.
Now it's GOOD to have the highest Democratic official in the House affirm gay equality, even if the language is a bit hackneyed. But it remains to be seen if Pelosi will actually focus on achievable victories for gay inclusion, which will require building alliances with centrist Republicans, or turn to rhetorical posturing in an attempt to "fire up" the gay base, with few if any actual results.
It will also be worth noting whether the Republican leadership uses Pelosi's gay advocacy -- as opposed to her general leftism -- against her. So far, I haven't seen this happen, which is a positive sign. As I said, it will be interesting to watch what develops.
Toeing the Line. Here's an example of the just-beneath-the-surface authoritarianism among so many gay activists worldwide. It's an item from The Australian newspaper about a cadet reporter who was kicked out of the recent Gay Games in Syndney:
Last week AAP cadet journalist Jonathan Moran, covering the Gay Games, asked organisers at the wrestling tournament about the homo-erotic aspects of the sport. They were not amused. "The homo-erotic is simply through the eyes of the viewer -- if you have ever done it out there, there is no way in hell you are going to get excited," International Federation of Gay Games wrestling director Gene Dermody told Moran, who reported the quotes in a wire story headlined "Nothing sexy about Gay Games wrestling: Officials". Dermody, a Yank, then promptly had other officials throw Moran out, telling him his comments were "offensive". Organisers of the homosexual sporting tournament later apologised to Moran who, by the way, is gay.