Here's another race which may become of some interest nationally, even if you've never heard of any of these folks. Annise Parker (D) has a decent chance today to become the first openly gay mayor of a major American city. That this may happen in Houston, Texas of all places will surprise some people.
Parker is currently running a close second to a city councilman named Peter Brown (D) who has poured millions of his own money into the race. There are four legitimate contenders, three Democrats and one Republican, with the likelihood that a Democrat will replace outgoing mayor Bill White. If no one secures 50% there will be a run-off election in December.
UPDATE: Annise Parker finished first with 30.5% of the vote, and will face off next month against Gene Locke who had 25.9%.
In 19 days we will know whether we beat back NOM and the Catholic Dioceses and protected marriage equality for Mainers, or took yet another step backwards at the ballot box for equality. 30 states have had votes on marriage equality since 1998 and the right-win has won in all 30 of them. We are going to stop that streak in Maine, but we can't do it without the resources to fuel a massive get-out-the-vote operation.
Today at midnight is the last major financial reporting deadline and it also marks the first day of early voting. If you were planning on giving to No on 1 and haven't yet, or have the resources to give again, today is the day to do it. Luckily, we at Blue America have a little sweetener, courtesy of Howie:
Meanwhile we have something nice to offer to donors today. The first 9 people who kick in at least $30 at the Blue America '10 page each wins a special DVD of Barbra Streisand's spectacular 1966 television special Color Me Barbra (which includes a rare poster). And if that wasn't fabulous enough, we also have something pretty mind-blowing for the person who donates the most by 6AM (PT) tomorrow. The picture is above. It's a gorgeous Joan Osborne RIAA custom double platinum award for both Relish and "One of Us." It's rare, collectible, unique and... well, what a gift it would make for anyone who you happen to know who went bonkers over the song below! And, more important, what an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Maine!
I take you back to 1997 when, after nine attempts spanning 20 years, the Maine legislature finally passed a basic civil rights bill preventing discrimination in employment, housing, credit and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation. Governor Angus King signed it. The law was put on hold while the religious conservatives---trying to marginalize our very existence by denying us any official state recognition---launched a war to repeal it by a citizens veto referendum, very similar to the kind they're waging now. They got the signatures they needed and the fight to take away our newly-won civil rights was on.
The polls had our side up by several points. The result? The 1998 referendum passed. The fundies won. The final vote: 51.9% to 48.1%. It's one thing to feel disappointment when your favorite candidate loses. It's quite another when you are the one being voted on by your neighbors, and a majority of them agree that, yes, it should be legal for a Maine business owner to pull you aside and say, "I don’t want no faggots workin' here. You're fired." It took another seven years to finally make that against the law. To this day I still get a knot in my gut when I think about what happened 11 years ago.
The only way we stop this from happening again is to make sure that we can get our voters out to the polls. The No on 1 campaign needs your help to make sure they have the resources to execute their field plan. So give today and maybe take home a platinum Joan Osborne album, or a rare Barbara Streisand poster and DVD.
The Courage Campaign is sending me back to Maine in a week or so. Expect more reports from on the ground there on how your generous donations are being spent. I was there a couple weeks ago and can assure you, the campaign is a tightly run ship, simultaneously on the offense and firing back at the lies spewed from the other side. No on 1 is IDing and turning out their voters, relying on thousands of in state volunteers and assisted by out of state phone bankers from around the country. They know how to win in Maine "and can do it with your help.
Yesterday, the No on 1 campaign released this great new ad, featuring a Catholic mom who wants nothing more than for her gay son to have the same rights as everybody else.
“Everybody knows the Catholic Church is opposed to counterfeit marriages. The Church believes marriage is a natural institution, vindicated by common reason that serves both men and women, and the needs of children. The Church defends marriage as a civic institution believing marriage and family to be the fundamental unit of society,” explained Burch.
“For homosexual groups to suggest that the Catholic Church believes otherwise is disingenuous, dishonest, and an insult to the intelligence of Catholic voters in Maine,” said Burch.
We are on offense here in Maine, pushing back at the Catholic Church which has raised over $214k for Stand for Marriage Maine last quarter.
But the campaign needs your help to win this election, to be the first to protect marriage rights at the ballot box, to keep the momentum up that we have gained since Prop 8. And they need the resources to do it.
We are launching a "moneybomb" for Maine, with a big push to get as much cash in the door for No on 1 by Oct 15th, the last major financial filing deadline and the first day of early voting.
After that date money in the door just isn't as useful for the campaign. They need to figure out their budget for the last few weeks of the campaign.
Give now if you can on Blue America's ActBlue page. Maine is a cheap state. Here's a breakdown of what your donation will "buy".
$1,000 we can blanket the state with radio ads for 1 day
$800 pays for one field organizer for a week
$720 would fund 20 canvasses in key counties around the state on a Saturday
$550 pays for one channel of cable for a day
$420 pays for one much needed field organizer for a week
$330 is 2 radio commercials to beat back their lies
$210 pays for 70 $3/day cell phones to talk to targeted voters
$186 about the cost of 1 radio commercial
$137 will buy supplies for 4 door-to-door canvasses
$108 buys about 100 yard signs for visibility
$72 will pay for signage for visibility for one weekend on a targeted campus
$66 pays for about 20 $3/day cell phones to talk to targeted voters
$54 buys 50 yard signs for visibility
$36 will fund supplies for one door-to-door canvass
Dkos released yesterday the first public polling numbers on Ballot Question 1 in Maine, which asks voters if they want to repeal the marriage equality law passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.
We are up by the narrowest of margins: 46 YES, 48 NO. That is essentially were we were at this point in the Prop 8 campaign, prior to the Yes side's devastating ad campaign.
The other side is excited about these results. From a Yes on 1 press release:
We are encouraged by the results of a poll released today by Daily Kos which shows that Mainers support protecting marriage between a man and a woman over legalizing homosexual marriage by a 48-to-46 margin.
Our lead is particularly significant given that the poll was conducted after our opponents had the television airwaves to themselves for two-and-a-half weeks and our ad had aired for just two days. It is clear that their message of fairness and equality do not compel voters to support homosexual marriage, particularly against the backdrop of the serious, real consequences to individuals, small businesses and religious organizations that we raise.
They are right. We are yet to see the effects of their messaging on the polling and that makes me really freaking nervous. We have never won a marriage fight at the ballot box. Losing in Maine would really set back the marriage equality movement, particularly after all of the momentum post-Prop 8.
But we all have the power influence the outcome of the race.
Maine is small. (For us out in California, it is really freaking small.) They are only expecting about 500k voters and have a budget of $3 million. They are as they like to say, "a cheap date".
That means we, the netroots can have a huge impact on this race.
I'm proud to announce that Blue America's 2010 ActBlue page is now live and No on 1 Maine is the first campaign to be list. They need your help to make sure unlike the Prop 8 campaign can stay up strongly on the air and continue to build their robust field program.
Give whatever you can. Early money is much more useful than late money, especially when so much of the vote will come in through the mail.
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CNN's Frediricka Whitfield talks to GLADD incoming President Jarrett Barrios about President Obama's upcoming meeting with leaders of the gay community on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
WHITFIELD: Gay pride activities shift into high gear this weekend with marches in New York, San Francisco, gay marriage tops a long list of issues affecting the gay and lesbian community. Joining me from Boston is Jarrett Barrios he is the incoming president of GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Good to see you.
JARRETT BARRIOS: Hi Fredricka, how are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing good. So, as early as this Monday. This is a big weekend and the big week coming up for you, because this Monday you are among those invited to White House to talk to the president about what?
BARRIOS: About fundamental equality in a time that it's the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.
WHITFIELD: What do you expect to -- what kind of commitment do you expect from the White House? Or what kind of advancement are you looking for from the White House? Because there has been some criticism in recent months the White House has not been doing enough, quickly enough as it pertains to gay and lesbian rights?
BARRIOS: You know, I think that first of all we are appreciative, or I for one, am appreciative that the president has decided to commemorate Stonewall. This is a very important symbolic act from the White House. Stonewall goes back to 40 years this week to when few folks who used to go to a bar and couldn't go -- breaking the law when they went to a bar, stood up to the police and stood up to blackmail and discrimination. And we mark this, we remember this, as sort of the first time we started asking for equality.
And I think what's going on today is the same thing. It's really asking the president, and really, America, to recognize the same basic rights, the stuff that all of us take for granted as Americans, but that gay and transgender Americans can't take for granted.
In 30 states it's legal to kick somebody off their job just because they're gay. In 37 states just because they're transgendered and that really goes against the grain of what America is about.
You know, if you live, you work hard, you play by the rules, you should be able to be valued for what you do and shouldn't be kicked off the job. That's the kind of stuff that we are talking about.
How dangerous is gay marriage to the fabric of our society? No matter how bad you think it would be for the country, it's worse. Way worse. This little video will let you know that even though gay marriage is the worst thing that could ever happen ever, there are things you can do to keep gay marriages from happening. Watch and learn.
