Openly gay Dean staffer allegedly derided at Gephardt rally

[dajabr]

An openly gay staffer from Howard Dean's presidential campaign was reportedly pushed and grabbed by staffers at a rally for presidential candidate Dick Gephardt in Iowa on Tuesday, one of whom called him a "faggot," according to a Dean campaign press release. It is common practice among campaign staffers to attend events for other candidates so that they can report on what opposing candidates are saying, said Dorie Clark from the Dean for America press office.

More: http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=10323&sd=10/30/03


Dean Campaign Complains to Rival Gephardt (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--Democrat Howard Dean's presidential campaign complained to rival Dick Gephardt about an angry confrontation between staffers at an Iowa event.

The incident occurred during a Gephardt speech at a Des Moines senior center Tuesday. Hunter Allen, recording the speech for the Dean campaign, said one Gephardt staffer grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him out of the crowd. A second staffer pushed him out the door.

``The one who was pushing me out was grabbing my arm, and at other points, he physically shoved me.'' Allen said, adding that the pair swore at him and used a derogatory slur. ``I was in shock at being treated that way.''

In a letter to the Gephardt campaign late Tuesday, Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi said, ``I urge you to find the staff member responsible and fire him, and send a strong signal to the rest of your staff that behavior of this kind will not be tolerated.''

More: http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/ap_story.html/National/AP.V3773.AP-Dean-Gephardt.html

[Brucey]

1. Shit happens, but that is sickening.

Something one would expect from repugs... but we would hope that those on our side were cooler.

[Sean Reynolds]

2. I am glad the Dean campaign didn't attack Gephardt.

They were very classy in how they addressed the problem; stating that Gephardt is strong on gay rights. This person should be kicked out of the Gephardt campaign because it goes against everything our party stands for.

[DemBones DemBones]

3. Hmmm. . . Gephardt just chose a gay man for

a position on his campaign staff (don't remember the title of the position) and Gephardt has a strong record on all civil rights issues, plus an out-of-the-closet Lesbian daughter. I think he can be counted on to do the right thing.

[dsc]

5. His record on gay rights is mediocre

He voted for DOMA to site one example. He will likely do the right thing but lets not go overboard.

[XanaDUer]

9. I did not know he has an out-of-the-closet gay daughter.

And I do think he will do the right thing.

[LuminousX]

4. How did the Gephardt staffer know the sexual orientation?

[Punkingal]

6. Well, isn't that a good question?

How did they know?

[dsc]

7. Maybe he told them

He was openly gay. Maybe he is on the effimate side and they made a guess. Maybe he came with another guy. There are an awful lot of ways people can figure out openly gay people are indeed gay.

[LuminousX]

8. True

but there seems to be more of an issue here than meets the eye.

[dsc]

10. Clearly this is disputed

as the Advocate article makes clear. I would be surprised if there isn't some form of tape that will come forward to settle this.

[Hieronymus]

11. If being effeminate

guarantees one is gay then Karl Rove is a screamer, not to mention a few other right wingettes.

[dsc]

15. I didn't say that

I said that maybe the person was effeminate and that the people guessed (in this case correctly) he was gay. Assuming this happened the person who did it would likely be bigotted toward homosexuals. People who are bigotted tend to use stereotypes. Hence what I posted.

[Punkingal]

17. Well, dsc......

my best friend is gay, he is open about it, but he doesn't just go around announcing it to people. This story just seems odd to me. Is the inference that he was treated that way because he was gay? Or just because he was a Dean staffer? I think the distinction is important.

[ModerateMiddle]

27. I think the issue was

in two parts: (1) How the Dean guy behaved at the Gep event - supposedly the two camps had recently agreed on terms for each to have "monitors" at each other's events - and (2) Did the Gep guy call the Dean guy a "faggot"?

A good question is why was the guy's orientation something that would be "known" by the Gep guys?

[dsc]

36. and of course if you had read my post

I didn't say he necessarily had. I am gay and have been known to do the following things. Read the Advocate or other known gay literature or books in public, arrive at places where people who know me and know I am gay are also. There are a myriad of ways, short of this person saying he was gay, for this person to have been known or suspected of being gay. I have been asked if I am gay before just due to not being married at the age I am or when I lived in a gay area upon people finding that out. This is a small, Iowa area. If this guy was openly gay in a small town and known as such by the people in that small town they aren't going to all of the sudden forget just because Gephardt came into the room.

[Punkingal]

42. I did read your post.....

and I see no reason for you to be rude in your response.

[dsc]

44. I am sorry

I shouldn't have been rude but I must say your response to a post mentioning several ways that didn't involve telling someone you are gay saying that you know someone who doesn't tell people he is gay seemed a little like you hadn't read my post. I am sorry I was rude though.

[dsc]

37. I can't believe I didn't think of this

Just how many times have you seen a kid called gay in highschool (or words more like what was alledged to have been said here). If I had a dollar for all the times I got called that in school, and rest assured I was by no means telling people I was gay, I would be fairly well off.

[peaceandjustice]

45. could he have been recognized? (n/t)

[Cocoa]

19. also, how did they know he worked for Dean?

yes, there obviously is more to this story. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense the way it is.

One thing I don't get is the need for Trippi to make this public, especially when the facts are in dispute.

[ModerateMiddle]

28. I think it was clear he worked for Dean

I don't think that was in dispute. He was there as an official "monitor" for the Dean campaign, and this is standard practice - to monitor each other's campaign events.

However, the immediate action of the Dean camp to make this a public matter, especially given the disputed facts in the case, is a "hmmmm...." kinda thing.

[Mixxster]

31. Regarding how the staffer knew he was gay.

Does it matter? Is it any better to call a straight person "faggot"?

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[genius]

12. Dean's campaign pushes around kids who work for other candidates

It was probably self-defense. I urge the Dean campaign to clean up it's campaign.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

13. What??

I'm sure I will be sorry for responding to this -- usually works better to ignore these blind swipes -- but this is ridiculous. "Dean campaign pushes around kids who work for other candidates??" Where did this happen?

[dajabr]

14. Don't hold your breath...

Dollars to donuts we won't get any response in this case...

[dsc]

16. That poster never

and I mean never, researches his or her posts. Never does he or she provide links for this stuff, rarely if ever is it accurate. This, would be no different.

[AWD]

21. Lemme give you a little sociology lesson

If somebody runs around saying "I have a big penis" to everybody they can find, chances are they are severely lacking in that area and are desperately trying to convince people in the phallic fallacy.

Now, look at the poster in question. What is their screen name??

Nuffsaid.

[Padme Amidala]

33. I'll Back you up on that Genius.

I have first hand knowledge of the Dean campaign attacking kids.

Furthermore on the issue of this thread the Gepheart supporter probably had some non-apperant reason. How was the Gepheart supporter supposed to know that the Dean person was gay? I know, he must be telepathic.

[JohnKleeb]

34. I dont know if that happens or not however if its true

Thats sad. Now on this matter, terrible thing really but its not a reflection of Dick Gephardt himself I know.

[ModerateMiddle]

18. Interesting aspect to this story

is how fast the Dean camp made this fellow available to the media. And that the alleged slur is a "he said/he said" situation that won't be resolved.

[LuminousX]

20. Dean, accessing the media in a rapid fashion? We've never seen that before

:eyes:

[ModerateMiddle]

29. It would be a non-issue

except for the alleged "slur" which is a matter of dispute. I guess Trippi felt the need to make it an issue, even if it was only an allegation?

Why didn't the Dean guy get it on tape? He was taping the event.

[jmw25]

22. Dean is playing dirty

http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/22630305.html

"In response, officials with the Gephardt campaign called the accusations "absolutely false" and said they represent a "dirty trick" by the Dean campaign."

I have a hard time believing the Dean side on this story. This just seems like a cheap, and very dirty, political ploy. I'm not saying that Dean was directly involved, but I think that the Dean staffer could be exagerating the story. Isn't it interesting how quickly this became national news, instead of being resolved between the Gephardt employee and the alleged "victim".

[RogueTrooper]

23. Is this how you usually treat accusations of homophobia?

Attack the victim?

Do you have any proof that Dean is "playing dirty" or are you just trying to spin for the Gephardt campaign?

[jmw25]

25. what proof do you have....

that this actually happened? And I'm not a supporter of Gephardt, I just don't believe this story one bit.

[RogueTrooper]

I will take the campaign's word that this happened

I was not impressed with the Gephardt campaign's response to the initial letter of complaint. I would have thought the least they could do was to at least investigate the allegation.

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Larkspur]

24. A similar incident happened in Connecticut last year when Gephardt

came to CT's 2nd District to help our Dem US Rep candidate against the Republican incumbant, Rob Simmons. One of Simmons aides was "roughed up" by Gephardt supporters.

[ModerateMiddle]

30. Link?

that's something that I'd need to see substaniated.

[dsc]

35. Why on earth should we have to do that?

Not one but two different posters alledged that Dean staffers push around kids with no links and nary a word from you. But now all of the sudden you are the link police. Give me a break.

[Cocoa]

38. I'm interested in seeing a link too

thanks.

[redqueen]

39. On another thread,

someone states that Trippi is from Chicago, and that this is classic dirty Daley strategy.

I'll care about this issue when it's backed up with evidence.

[Cocoa]

41. on C-span he said he was from Jamestown, NY

and moved to L.A. when he was a baby.

[dsc]

43. I have heard the man (Trippi) speak

and he isn't from Chicago. His accent is definately east.

[Pez]

40. wow; this was much more tame last time i heard about it

why didn't this "version" come out initially? the guy was quoted before... now it's a hate crime?

what is up.

[yelladawg]

46. Gephardt names Gay Activist as National Co-Chair

Dick Gephardt For President
www.DickGephardt2004.com
1620 L Street, NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
www.dickgephardt2004.com

For Immediate Release:
October 27, 2003

David Mixner Named Campaign Co-Chair

Washington, DC - Rep. Dick Gephardt today named longtime gay Democratic activist and fundraiser David Mixner as co-chair of his presidential campaign.

"I am honored and proud to have David's support and friendship and know that his political and fundraising skills will be invaluable to our efforts," said Gephardt. "Together, we're going to fight for an America where our economy is strong and our families are secure. We're going to build a country where no American is left out or left behind."

David Mixner has been involved in public policy for nearly forty years and has worked in over seventy-five campaigns as campaign manager, fundraiser or strategist. Most notably, Mixer served as senior campaign advisor for Bill Clinton's 1992 candidacy for president and is well-known for having garnered him considerable support from the gay and lesbian community. Over the years, Mixner has raised more than $15 million for candidates and charity organizations and nearly $1 million for openly gay and lesbian candidates across the country

Mixner is also a successful international public affairs/strategic-planning consultant with an expertise in HIV/AIDS. He is currently working on projects involving Russia, Ukraine and Africa. In addition, he continues his work fighting HIV/AIDS here in the United States.

Among his other activities, Mixner has been a past member of the National Democratic Committee, the Democratic Party National Commission on Delegate Selection and Party Reform, Congressional Fund, MECLA, former national co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Ambassador to the Wilton Park International Conference, the Presidents Salt II Committee and Pro Peace.

"I have known and worked closely with Dick Gephardt for over a decade on important issues, including HIV/AIDS, human rights and concerns about the state of our planet," said David Mixner. "He has been there when we needed him and the workers of America have no better champion than Dick Gephardt. I have always found him to be powerfully committed to justice and freedom with dignity."

Contact: Erik Smith/Kim Molstre [phone]


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