Political notes: Clinton hearts Latinos, Giuliani's early 5 de Mayo

Clinton's Raza man: Yesterday, Hillary Clinton tapped former National Council of La Raza president Raul Yzaguirre "to co-chair her presidential campaign and lead its outreach to Hispanic voters" according to the Associated Press.

Deemed the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the country, I'm not necessarily sure just what that means. Surely, La Raza has a history of beltway work and probably has a bigger name in the Southern and South West than elsewhere in the United States, but they have little brand recognition or political inroads in Northwestern or Northeastern states. The same, actually, might be said about presidential candidate Bill Richardson, which might speak more to why the Clinton camp hired Yzaguirre than anything else.

The anti-immigrant right has always tried to paint La Raza as an extremist threat to the United States and gone as far as mistaken it for the truly crazy California based newspaper La Voz de Aztlan. And I guess if you are truly anti-immigrant, La Raza could be seen that way, but on policy the agency has been pretty middle of the road and sometimes actually conservative, a legacy of Mr. Yzguirre's term as their president. I mean, La Raza was all goo-goo over Alberto Gonzalez when he was nominated to serve as Attorney General so if you are waiting for them to ask for his resignation (which they should as it would probably give La Raza some stature they sometimes lack) don't hold your breath.

But I digress, by then Yzaguirre had resigned as president. What sticks with me from his tenure, though, is the agency's lack of interest in working with Latino gay advocacy agencies or advocates on LGBT issues. If it wasn't for Martin Ornelas, then CEO of the National Latino LGBT Organization (LLEGO), La Raza would have probably avoided gay issues all together. As it was, they pretty much always passed the buck to LLEGO anyway. So, in some ways, a disappointing pick by Hillary.

Guiliani's 5 de Mayo comes early this year: In the meantime, at least La Raza has credibility and some legislative muscle on certain issues. The DC-based Latino Coalition, on the other hand, hasn't seen a Latino-pandering politician they don't like (whether it's George "macaca" Allen or the esteemed former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Sr., M.D.) or a press release distribution agency that they won't flood. So when it comes to the Coalition the less said the better?

Except that of all the presidential candidates they have invited to their annual 2-day Small Business Economic Summit in DC, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the first to confirm his attendance (he'll make an appearance on May 1st).

Among their stands, the Coalition supported the more draconian immigration bills surging through the nation's legislative bodies last year by lambasting the McCain-Kennedy bill as "polarizing" and criticized New York Senator Hillary Clinton last year for standing her ground in protecting HIV prevention funds for affected communities in the larger urban centers.

Surprisingly the Coalition ended up endorsing Clinton in her Senate re-election bid last year. In the past they have also endorsed IL State Senator Barack Obama. If Guiliani is the only one to show and pander, will he get the nod?

Do Republicans get a pass?

So a minor political dust storm was kicked earlier this week when both leading Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seemed to hesitate for a moment on whether homosexuality was "immoral" in the wake of General Peter Pace's comments to the Chicago Tribune.

Both Clinton and Obama quickly released statements (here and here, respectively) seeking to quell the rising sentiment that they were perhaps more concerned about losing potential votes from centrist Democrats or moderate Republicans.

But what about those leading Republican presidential candidates?

The Politico has asked the question to representatives from the top three Republican presidential candidates (McCain, Giuliani and Romney) and - guess what - they all dodge the question as well.

In the meantime, John McCain seems to have stumbled on a question he didn't like either. No, not just on the issue of "immorality" of homosexuality but on the use of condoms to stem the transmission of HIV/AIDS.

From the Washington Post's On the Campaign Trail blog:

And then someone asked about public funding for contraception in Africa to prevent the spread of AIDS.

"I'm sure I've taken a position on it in the past," he stammered as he looked to his communications director. "I'm sure I'm opposed to government funding."

Sensing a vulnerable moment, reporters kept the questions coming. What about sex education in the schools? Should it mention contraceptives? Or only abstinence, like President Bush wants?

"I think I support the president's present policy," he said, tentatively.

More questions: Do condoms stop sexually transmitted disease?

A long pause.

A stern look.

"I've never gotten into these issues or thought much about them," he said, almost crying uncle. "Obviously, we all want to stop the spread of AIDS. Everybody wants to do that. What's the most viable way of doing that?"

Well? The reporters asked?

In a last ditch attempt to rescue himself, McCain told an aide to go get a briefing paper prepared by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a doctor, who he said has been advising him on "these issues." But the aide couldn't find the briefing paper. "We've lost it," McCain mumbled.

"Whether I support government funding for them or not, I don't know," McCain said about contraceptives. He then said he'd look into it for the reporters, who finally let him off the hook and moved onto other subjects again.

Yikes! This sure will be one looong presidential race...

Homosexual Immorality

It might have been shocking (if not surprising) to hear General Peter Pace, the Joint Chief of Staff and top military leader in Iraq, call homosexuals "immoral" in a Chicago Tribune interview a couple of days ago but it's even more shocking that the two leading Democratic presidential candidates have had so much trouble distancing themselves from his comments.

You would think that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be smart enough to unequivocally oppose those comments. Alas, neither did.

To wit:

• "Hillary: Homosexuality Immoral, Maybe" (The Politico, March 14, 2007)
• "Obama Mum on Gay 'Immorality'" (Newsday's Spin Cycle, March 14, 2007)

There is no reason why in 2007 any Democrat (ole Republican for that matter) should hesitate at all on this question. I doubt either truly thinks that homosexuality is immoral but that they should even hedge on the issue speaks to political pandering at its worst.

UPDATE: Both camps issued clarifications through spokespersons according to The NY Times.

Local Latino legislators praise Barack Obama for sponsoring immigration bill

Interesting: While everyone seems to be talking about African-American support for Barack Obama, some local Latino legislators stood outside City Hall yesterday to urge Hillary Clinton to back The Citizen Promotion Act, a bill sponsored by Obama, which would freeze immigration application fees at the current levels and provide funding to promote citizenship among immigrants.

Speaking for Assemblyman Jose Peralta and City Councilmember Miguel Martinez, Councilmember Hiram Monserrate told assembled reporters

This is not a press conference to announce endorsements for any presidential candidate. I think what's clear here is that, in particular Senator Obama has taken a bold step and has stood up for millions of residents here in the United States who want to become citizens.

Hat tip to Azi Paybarah over at The Politicker who also caught the press conference on video and posted it here.

A few updates to recent posts

Michael Sandy's death: On Wednesday, additional charges were brought against three young men arrested in connection with the death of Michael Sandy. Anthony Fortunato, 20, John Fox, 19, and Ilya Shurov, 20 now face manslaughter and assault charges with additional penalties should they also be found guilty of committing a hate crime.

Gay City News reports that hate crime charges are usually brought up when a defendant acts out of prejudice at the moment they are committing an attack but, in this case, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said he was applying a "little-used" section of New York's hate crimes law that would consider the fact that the men consciously sought out gay men as robbery targets as indication of a hate crime.

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that a 16-year old had also been arraigned but has yet to be indicted.

CONLAMIC watch: On Tuesday, we wrote about The Latino Coalition's endorsement of Hillary Clinton for New York State Senate noting that they had usually marched lock-step with the Bush agenda particularly on social issues such as the right of gay couples to marry. In the post we mentioned that the Coalition had worked with the conservative religious Latino organization CONLAMIC in the past in supporting some of the most draconian immigration legislation proposed under this administration, including a proposal to raise a wall between the United States and Mexico, a bill that President Bush signed yesterday. No surprise then that while it boggled our mind any Latino organization would support the bill, yesterday CONLAMIC joined The Latino Coalition in lauding the initiative. As you know, we've kept an eye on CONLAMIC ever since they organized a rally outside the Bronx Courthouse against the right of gay couples to marry.

As for Hillary Clinton, after years of avoiding meeting with the major LGBT political clubs in the city, a meeting finally happened. Hm, I guess it's election season.

Gray's Anatomy: Fluff stuff but there is an apology.

Steven Mackin (coolukman on LJ): I just spoke to Steven's boyfriend and I have confirmed that Steven is back home in Kentucky surrounded by his family. Things have deteriorated progressively and quickly and the family is doing everything possible to make sure he is as comfortable as he can be. He is no longer checking his cell text or voice messages. Please pray for Steven to be at peace and surrounded by nothing but love. I tried to keep my promise. Farewell my sweet, sweet amazing friend.

Anti-gay Latino organization endorses Hillary Clinton for NY Senate

Here's an interesting tid-bit from today's Los Angeles Times: The DC-based Latino Coalition has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton in her re-election bid for the New York State Senate. This is news because the group - purportedly a "non-partisan" entity - has pretty much rubber-stamped George W. Bush's agenda since giving him their 2004 endorsement.

For example, back in March they endorsed the building of a wall across the Mexico-U.S. border (or increasing "physical barriers along the border," as they called it); blasted a McCain-Kennedy bill that would have provided a pathway to residency for undocumented workers currently in the United States; and, when immigration reform failed, they promptly blamed Democratic Party for the defeat as well.

Politically they have also endorsed Alberto Gonzalez for Attorney General, Arnold Schwarzeneger for California Governor and conservative judge Miguel Estrada, a Bush appointee to the DC Appellate Court. Some Democrats have also received the Latino Coalition's endorsement in the past but they tend to be centrist Democrats, a couple of exceptions being the other Democratic New York State Senator, Chuck Schumer, and Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, both in 2004.

Earlier this month at the Small Business Economic Summit, which the Coalition organizes in DC every year, they held a discussion on "The Looming Crisis South of the Border: Venezuela and Argentina - The Hemisphere's Troubling New Axis."

At the event they also released the results of a poll on Latino community attitudes towards the political parties. In the intro to the poll results, available online in pdf form, the Coalition explains the "one ray of hope" that remains for Republicans when it comes to Latino voters:

According to the results of the survey, the one ray of hope for Republicans is that Latino voters continue to support a conservative social agenda and a conservative economic policy. By a margin of 61-8% Latino registered voters prefer lowering taxes to grow the economy; by a margin of 48-40% registered voters prefer to be covered by a private health care plan over a government-run program like Medicaid; by a margin of 54-36% Latino voters consider themselves pro-life; 59% said they would be less likely to support a candidate that supports gay marriage and 67% said they would be more likely to support a candidate that support parental notification before a teenage girl can have an abortion.

In the past, the Latino Coalition has joined forces with other anti-gay Latino institutions, such as CONLAMIC, so it's no surprise that they have polled individuals on this issue in order to advance their conservative agenda.

Now, it is known that Hillary Clinton does not support marriage rights for same-sex couples but that alone does not explain the Coalition's endorsement. As a matter of fact, back in August the Coalition blasted Clinton for trying to save millions in funding for some of the urban population worst hit by HIV/AIDS.

The Times article says that the Coalition's endorsement of Clinton is a sign of how the immigration debate has roiled Latino support for Republicans but, considering the Coalition's past support for some of the most restrictive of the recently proposed immigration measures, I'm not so sure that the theory applies. Most probably, it's just one more desperate face-saving attempt by the Coalition now that their fortunes have run afoul of a sinking Republican ship.

As for their Clinton endorsement, EvilPaula over at Daily Kos, pulls up more dirt on The Latino Coalition while noting that neither Clinton nor California Democrat Diane Feinstein list it on their campaign websites.

Who has them listed as endorsers? Those seeking to draw the conservative Latino vote including Republican George Allen in his bid for the Virginia Senate (yes, the Coalition endorsed him despite Allen's widely-reported racist comments during a campaign stop) and "independent" Connecticut Senate candidate Joe Lieberman.

A City Hall Meeting on Marriage

In A political experience (March 25, 2006), I shared thoughts about a meeting I attended the day before at Gracie Mansion on the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples. The meeting, which was called by Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, drew some criticism when it turned out that the Director of the state's most-powerful LGBT advocacy organization, Alan Van Capelle of the Empire State Pride Agenda, was asked not to attend.

This morning at a meeting called by Speaker Quinn and held in the Red Room at City Hall two things were different: The Empire State Pride Agenda was present and Mayor Bloomberg was not.

Officially, this was not a follow-up to the Bloomberg meeting but rather to a March 16th Washington, DC meeting that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton convened, which included the Democratic Senate Steering and Outreach Committee, which Alan also attended.

Compared to the Bloomberg meeting, there were also a greater number of people in the room (about fifty people) which included staff members from Senators Clinton and Schumer's office (if not Clinton and Schumer themselves) - and a staffer from Congressman Jerry Nadler's office - along with Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymembers Danny O'Donnell and Deborah Glick, Congressman Anthony Weiner, political consultants Emily Giske and Ethan Geto, representatives from some of the city's political clubs (Gary Parker, Dirk McCall, Brad Hoylman) and LGBT organizations (Richard Burns and Myriam Young from The Center, the great Matt Foreman of NGLTF, Adam Francoeur from Immigration Equality, Joe Tarver and Desma Holcom from the Empire State Pride Agenda, Phyllis Steinberg of PFLAG NYC, Ron Zacchi and Cathy Marino-Thomas of Marriage Equality New York, and Daryl Cochrane from HRC). There were also representatives from the Log Cabin republicans and the organizers of the Staten Island pride parade.

Though not necessarily extensive, there seemed to be obvious efforts to reach to some people of color organizations and leaders including George Gates from People of Color in Crisis, Joey Pressley from the New York AIDS Coalition, Tokes Osubu from Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition, Charles Rice-Gonzalez from BAAD! as well as I.

Discussion mostly centered on proposed federal legislation to amend the United States Constitution to ban marriage rights for same-sex couples which Senate Majority Leader Bill "M.D." Frist is planning to bring up for yet another vote, since everything else seems to be failing to energize the Republican vote in the upcoming elections.

On the table was also the upcoming May 31st New York State Court of Appeals hearing on whether refusing to let same-sex couples obtain marriage licenses violates state constitution for which several briefs have been filed arguing for the right to marry (over at the Gotham Gazette, reporter Andy Humm has a great breakdown of what is at stake in "Same-sex Marriage Show Down").

I'm proud to say - in a historic first - some of the New York City Latino LGBT grassroots organizations recently joined one of the friend-of-the court briefs filed for the hearing which was submitted by the Empire State Pride Agenda. These include Las Buenas Amigas, the Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association (COLEGA), the Gay and Lesbian Dominican Empowerment Organization (GALDE), Latino Gay men of New York, Mano a Mano and Primer Movimiento Peruano.

Funny, the court hearing is two weeks away and yet - unless you have followed the issue - not that many people out in the street probably know about it. Let's hope that the court, which could rule as early as this summer, will come down on the right side of history.

UPDATE: "Quinn convenes amendment confab" (Gay City News, May 18, 2006)

OutPOCPAC hosts Jonathan Tasini

Jonathan Tasini, center, meets with members of OutPOCPAC

Tonight, the Out People of Color Political Action Club (OutPOCPAC) held a general club meeting and had New York Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini as the night's guest. Though not an endorsement meeting, it was my feeling that Tasini wowed the club and could end up wowing some of the other LGBT political clubs in the city as well. This could be significant as he is challenging incumbent New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has not necessarily been great on LGBT issues.

Fernando Ferrer's own "Leonora Fulani"?

Photo: Hispanic minister's anti-gay marriage rally in the Bronx, March 14, 2004. More photos, including those of our counter-demonstration, here.

Earlier this summer, as the Mayoral candidates sought the gay vote, they found themselves at Manhattan's LGBT Community Service Center for a mayoral forum. As some of us sat in the audience we noticed some flyers being passed around the room which attacked Fernando Ferrer for having supported the homophobic State Senator (and Reverend) Ruben Diaz, Sr. in Diaz' victorious 2002 Senate race. Those of us who had heard Ferrer talk passionately about his opposition to the Reverend's homophobic views, felt that the "anonymous" flyer was a crass attempt to tar Ferrer's considerable record on LGBT issues.

Yesterday, Mayor Mike Bloomberg pulled another one of those endorsements that have a greater symbolic impact than their actual worth: The Association of Hispanic Ministers, led by a Julio Mercado, appeared at a press conference in Brooklyn where they announced the endorsement alongside the Mayor. New York 1 has been carrying images from the press conference all day long and all major newspapers are reporting on it today. And, while the Post says that a website search for the organization did not bring back any results, the Times actually says that the group also endorsed Bloomberg in 2001.

Interestingly, the Post also reports that Bronx Assemblymember Ruben Diaz, Jr. (Reverend Ruben Diaz' son who is not as homophobic as his dad), while also calling into question the organization's existence, said that his father "intends to endorse Ferrer as leader of the New York Hispanic Clergy" (though the younger Diaz made an appearance at Thursday's Democratic Unity Rally where major political figures united in support of the Ferrer bid, the elder Diaz was one of the missing figures).

As in the 2001 elections, Bloomberg has sought and accepted the endorsement of the Independence Party, despite allegations that its leader, Leonora Fulani, has made anti-semitic remarks for which she has not appologized. His political calculation is that - while distancing himself from Fulani - he can actually benefit from being on the Independence as well as the Republican line when election day comes (though others, such as Hillary Clinton have simply refused their endorsement in the past). [Late word is that Fulani might be actually removed from her post today]

If the Reverend Diaz and his New York Hispanic Clergy do decide to endorse Ferrer, it would pose a similar question on Ferrer's desk: Will he hold his nose and accept the potentially influential endorsement from the Reverend and his followers or simply say "No thanks?"

Though the Reverend ran for the Senate on the Democratic line, he has increasingly veered to the right and not only on gay issues (he supported Bloomberg in 2001 as well as the Iraq War). But the gay community in particular remembers that he was instrumental in defeating the Children of the Rainbow Curriculum in 1991 - which sought to instill respect for diversity accross the city schools - because 3 of its 500 pages focused on gay and lesbian families; his attempts as a former councilmember to ban the 1994 Gay Games claiming that the event would spread HIV accross the city; his pending 2003 suit against the City of New York over public funds given to the Harvey Milk School; and the lead role he played in staging a massive demostration against same-sex marriage last summer (photos here).

It is easy for certain politicians to express themselves against the Reverend because they do not necessarily come from or have a Latino constituency in the areas they represent and little risk of losing votes, so for Ferrer to have been vocally opposed to many of the Reverend's stands has been courageous. Other political leaders also characterize the Reverend as a fringe figure in State and City politics, which might be the case, but not when it comes to his standing in the Latino community. But accepting an endorsement from the Reverend would certainly dissapoint those of us who have defended Ferrer against charges that he supports the Reverends homophobic views.

As for the Reverend? Well, in an interview that many might miss because it runs in today's Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa, the Reverend is not necessarily talking endorsements yet but he does go on record on the issue:

"Biblically or spiritually," says Diaz, "neither [Ferrer or Bloomberg] have anything to offer... I supported Bloomberg because I thought he would do a better job, but he defrauded me specially for his actions against the city's elderly and on the issue of education."

The article goes to say that the Reverend "aknowledged that - on social issues - Fernando Ferrer's platform was closer to the interest of the community" and that, due with his disenchantment with Bloomberg, he believes that "Ferrer is the better option and that [the Reverend] has been sharing this sentiment with his organization's clergy."

Let's see if his son's comments to the Post come to fruition.

UPDATES:

• September 30, 2005 - "Fernando Ferrer Bites It"
• October 4, 2005 - "Still Voting for Fernando Ferrer"
• October 4, 2005 - "Bloomberg's lawyers on Gay Marriage"
• October 6, 2005 - "Ferrer: I will withdraw City's appeal to same-sex marriage ruling"
• October 6, 2005 - "LGBT Political Leaders support Ferrer - Photos"
• October 6, 2005 - "Blabbeando in the news"

Meeting Hillary Clinton

I guess I will have to wait for another day to tell you how the experience of meeting the Hill is, because I had train trouble and stood her up this morning (though she went ahead without me anyway).