Human Rights Campaign info on candidates.

[blm]

Keep the facts straight about the candidates in respect to gay issues. Don't react the way Rove expects.

Let's not give in to spin.


http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/HRC/Get_Informed/Campaigns_and_Elections/Presidential_Candidates/2004_Candidates.htm

[JohnLocke]

1. Hmm...

[quinnox]

2. A kick for the truth about Kerry

It is so rare in this forum nowadays.

[revcarol]

3. 7/16/03 "Three support gay marriage"

DK, AS & CMB. 'Nuf said.

[JI7]

7. i support civil unions for all

whether same sex, hetero, whatever couples. i think it should be civil unions for all.

[tishaLA]

4. Is this the same HRC

That supported D'Amato over Schumer?

[dsc]

6. they did

but to be fair they do know their own issues. The candidates did what they said the candidates did.

[tishaLA]

11. Nobody will convince me D'Amato was better

than Schumer on LGBT issues. Jamais.

[dsc]

16. I don't agree with what they did

but their theory was that D'Amato had a good record on gay rights (he had supported gays in the military, ENDA and hate crimes) and as a incumbent he got the nod. I actually stopped giving them money after this endorsment.

[tishaLA]

18. I did the same thing n/t

[AP]

8. There's a legitimate argument that HRC is more interested in giving

big corps a channel through which to direct market to a niche demographic than they're interested in progressive politics.

[Jerseycoa]

9. So did Al Sharpton nt

[JI7]

10. doesn't d'amato have a good record

on this issue ? so i can understand that. he has a good record on abortion rights issues also. he was at some pro choice gathering and was cheering on al sharpton during his speech last year.

[AP]

13. It's a joke to think D'Amato was better for anyone who works for a living.

Don't get confused. Gay marriage isn't a spiritual issue. It's a material issue. It's about helping people accumulate wealth, have more options, and live happier lives by smoothing out the path -- giving people rights that allow them to share responsibilities and benefits better and more easily.

To think that D'Amato was better for any New Yorker or American on these issues is a JOKE.

He existed for one purpose: MAKE BANKS RICHER. And that goal is totally incompatible with the liberal project in America today.

[oxymoron]

5. This is important information.

I have been posting links to this page all day. John Kerry has been a great friend of the gay community for many years. I'll take a verifiable record on gay issues over bullshit spin every time.

[gottaB]

12. ngltf too

ngltf elections page.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force also has beaucoup info. It's instructive to compare the Democrats with Bush, as they do.

A lot of people want to downplay facts and vote on the basis of identity. That's not smart. It allows people to be misled by ideologues and propagandists. You might have good reasons for identifying with a candidate. You definitely have good reasons to know the facts, and to weigh things appropriately before making any decisions.

[oxymoron]

14. kick

[curse10]

15. thanks for posting this blm

:-)

[IndianaGreen]

17. Psst, HRC does not speak for all gays

And all of those widget counts of Congressional votes don't tell the whole story. For example, the Congressional record shows that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh voted against Bush's tax cuts (which passed Congress). What the record won't show is that a few days earlier Bayh voted for a rather lucrative tax break provision on investments in the same bill. This provision passed by 2 votes in the Senate.

Bayh personally benefited by voting for a provision on the bill that lined his pockets, and he benefited politically by having his vote against the overall tax cut bill make it look like he stood for the people, instead of himself.

We must also look with a jaundiced eye to Kerry's votes and ratings.

[oxymoron]

20. The HRC certainly has a LOT more credibility than whispers and

innuendo do. When you have hard evidence that Kerry hasn't been a champion of gay rights for over 30 years, please let me know. Until then, I will support Mr. Kerry for his outstanding record on Gay rights and vote for him if he is on the ticket.

John Kerry's rating by the Human Rights Campaign:

http://www.hrc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/HRC/Get_Informed/Campaigns_and_Elections/Presidential_Candidates/2004_Candidates.htm

<on edit> National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce:

http://www.ngltf.org/electioncenter/index.cfm

[gottaB]

22. And neither does the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

speak for all gays, but they do keep tabs on congress critters. We're talking like year after year of legislative action, votes that are scrutinized for their effects on gays and lesbians. To reduce all that work to widget counting is to deny a significant source of information. Why?

Evan Bayh, btw, has a 100% rating from hrc. Is that meaningless? Beats Dick Lugar. Beats that god-awful Dan Coats.

We must also cast a jaundiced eye on that species of cynicism that fails to distinguish between what's okay and what really sucks.

[IndianaGreen]

23. Evan Bayh opposes gay marriage and even civil unions

As Governor, Evan Bayh supported and signed a law that required women seeking abortions to view pictures of aborted fetuses.

As Senator, Evan Bayh voted to restrict abortions when he voted for the so-called "partial birth" ban.

[gottaB]

24. uh-huh

Evan Bayh has like an 86% or "mixed" rating from Planned Parenthood because of that pba vote (link). That rating's not going to earn Bayh an endorsement from Emily's List or NARAL or Planned Parenthood or NOW in any national election, but it does set him apart from Dick Lugar who is completely anti-choice. I take that as evidence that Planned Parenthood's widget counting reliably gauges the positions of candidates, and can be used to make informed decisions.

On the marriage issues and hrc, that hasn't come up in their congressional score cards, but they have put out questionnaires and sponsored a forum and monitored statements, and they actually do tell you as best they can where the candidates stand on the issue. The same goes for ngltf.

[gottaB]

19. kick

[oxymoron]

21. kick