The trouble with the Democrats is best summed up in one line by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman who wrote that Americans are looking for “a leader who believes his job is not to read the polls but to change the polls.”
Bingo.
In politics, there has been no bigger offender in reacting to polls and engaging in short-term tactics, at the expense of long-term strategies and goals — than the Democratic Party.
If the Dems truly believe in what virtually all leading scientists are saying about the danger of “Climate Catastrophe” — they ought to enact an aggressive plan.
If the Dems are genuinely in favor of LGBT rights — they ought to make a full-throated case to the American people and then swiftly move to outlaw all forms of anti-gay discrimination in a single vote.
If the Dems believe in medicare for all — that is what they should have fought for.
If the Dems are for Energy Innovation — the Party should have made a powerful case for ending our addiction to fossil fuels.
As a result of the Democrats not standing up and advocating for their professed beliefs, the Republicans have swooped in to fill the void. While the GOP offers nothing but cultural, moral, spiritual, governmental and economic rot — at least they know how to sell their snake oil with conviction.
The Democrats all too often act as if they are ashamed of their beliefs and seem to whisper their lackadaisical arguments. This inexplicable reticence has angered much of the base, including major donors. A New York Times article today discussed how Sugar Daddies — such as Peter Lewis and George Soros — have shifted their donations away from the Democratic Party and towards progressive causes.
Of course, this scares the hell out of me because the last thing we need are Tea Party nuts running Congress. However, their reluctance to fund the Party should be a wake-up call. It is time for Democrats to start fighting and shaping polls to prepare for future victory. If this party will not defend its values, many voters will not value the party enough to donate or vote.
The media and some Democrats have made progressives out to be intransigent and uncompromising. This is far from the truth. We realize that politics is the art of the compromise and one rarely gets a whole loaf. All we are asking is that the Democratic Party clearly define the loaf they want, articulate why this particular loaf is good for America, and then fight like hell to keep as much of the loaf as possible.
Tintin at Sadly, No! points us to a column written by gay quisling Alex Knepper, he who defends date rape, which outright states that Tyler Clementi’s suicide is neither tragic, nor sad, nor anything else. Yep, he’s blaming Clementi, in a column for Tucker Carlson’s Daily Choler:
First of all: forgive me if my sympathy runs thin for someone who commits suicide over a sex tape. This incident is humiliating and shameful, to be sure — but in the grand, cosmic scheme of things, it doesn’t even begin to rank as tragic. We have got to be realistic when assessing this event and maintain publicly that humiliation is a preposterous rationale for suicide.
[...]
[T]housands of people are humiliated on this scale in the United States on a yearly — perhaps monthly — basis. Most of them deal with the shame in ways other than throwing themselves off of a bridge. Are we to assume that this guy, who we keep getting told was brilliant and talented, didn’t have the cognitive skills to think this through?
Yeah, so instead of considering the possibility that there might have been other mitigating factors here, that maybe Tyler wasn’t ready to come out, that maybe he hadn’t worked through his acceptance of his sexuality, maybe we should just make fun of him, right Alex?
It’s unfortunate that I find myself compelled to discuss this event in such terms, but there’d be no need to discuss it at all if ideologues weren’t trying to appropriate it for their own purposes. As is typical when these sorts of events transpire, the Gay Party — in this case, its representatives are Garden State Equality — is jumping all over this bizarre saga to hijack it for its own wants. To recapitulate: the organization’s spokesman deemed the incident a “hate crime” and said that he was “sickened” that anyone would “consider destroying others’ lives as a sport.”
Yeah, Garden State Equality are the real villains here. Hey Alex, did you hear about the other kids who committed suicide in the past two weeks? Have you used your little quisling fingers to make fun of them yet? I suppose we’re just jumping all over those too, appropriating them for our own purposes.
Knepper goes on to suggest that, hey, maybe those kids who filmed him didn’t hate gay people at all! Maybe they were just funnin’! Then he calls the people at Garden State Equality “ideologues.”
Tintin responds in the only appropriate way:
The real crime here is the one being committed by Knepper as he collaborates with, and gives support to, the forces that want us to pretend that bullying doesn’t exist, or that it is only directed at gay youths, who don’t count because they’re gay or, worse, who don’t count because they allow humiliation to drive them to suicide.
Pardon me for thinking that the world would be a better place if it was Alex Knepper who jumped off the GW Bridge and not a talented, sweet-tempered young violinist.
Delaware Tea Party GOP nominee for Senate and former anti-gay activist, Christine O’Donnell, is running a lazy, ego-driven campaign that eschews living, breathing voters.
Instead of interacting with real people, the stage horse has devoted all of her time to appearing on national cable television shows. Clearly, O’Donnell does not think she can win and is positioning herself as a cable or radio talk show host.
Given that reports say that she is broke and having the campaign pay her rent — it may be a wise move for “Crazy Christine” to secure a lucrative media contract. Here is what the New York Times had to say about her uninspiring, nearly-invisible effort on the campaign trail:
If Ms. O’Donnell is actually running anything like a traditional campaign for the Senate, there isn’t much evidence of it right now. The campaign’s Web site lists no public events at which voters or reporters can meet her or hear her speak. (And in any event, Ms. O’Donnell has declared herself off limits for interviews with national reporters.) Last week, a spokeswoman for Shirley & Bannister, a Virginia-based consulting firm that the O’Donnell campaign recently hired, said she would find out about any scheduled appearances by the candidate, but then she stopped returning e-mails.
At the state Republican headquarters in Wilmington, staff members said Monday that they had no information about whether Ms. O’Donnell was out campaigning. A pile of O’Donnell yard signs, leaning against a wall near the door, was the only obvious signal that the party even had a Senate candidate. (The headquarters continues, though, to get calls from out-of-state voters who are furious at the local party for not supporting Ms. O’Donnell.)
Is Crazy Christine running for office or running away from voters? I think the answer is quite clear. If I had as little knowledge has her on the issues, I’d be hiding too.
Vox Day is an idiot. Seriously. Sadly, No! has untold numbers of posts detailing the moronic spew that comes out of that writer’s cheeto fingers on a daily basis, so I won’t delve into the record too deeply. If you want a for instance, he once drew a parallel between forced clitorectomies in Africa and parents sending their children to public schools in the United States.
Wing. Nut.
But now Vox Day has decided to blame Tyler Clementi’s suicide on, yes, the gay rights movement. [Wayne, I might get mad in a minute, so...] Let’s look at it:
It was obvious from the start that the orientationally-challenged activists would attempt to blame Clementi’s death on his roommate. But the surreptitious filming of sexual activity, while an obvious breach of etiquette as well as the law in some states, is neither uncommon nor tantamount to attempting to destroy someone’s life. Nor should the online streaming be considered anything but a joke;
Ha ha! Some would consider it a form of rape, but…
The problem is not that American university campuses are intolerant of the orientationally challenged, as the subtext of the media coverage suggests, but rather that they are much too tolerant.
Right, if only they had hated gays a little bit more at Rutgers…
It is obvious that Clementi didn’t kill himself simply because his actions were made public; as a musician, no doubt he had been filmed before and some of those films may have even been put online. He killed himself because he could not live with the shame of knowing that everyone would be aware of his submission to what he apparently believed to be evil desires. While giving in to our desire for evil is something that we all do from time to time, it is also true that some desires happen to be more shameful or humiliating than others.
I wonder what created a climate that would have put in Tyler’s head the asinine notion that being gay is shameful! I wonder!
While Clementi may have been taught that his desires were wrong, (we don’t have any details on his upbringing, but the last name suggests a Catholic heritage), he was also steeped in years of indoctrination telling him that his abnormal desires were perfectly right and should not be resisted. That is why he felt free to act on them as soon as he got to college and out from under his parents’ eyes.
Oh, bullshit! The mere fact that the kid was so scared of being found out shows us that he was indeed indoctrinated by pig ignorant fools to believe that the sexuality that was natural for him was in some way evil.
Despite literal decades of preaching about the morality of homosexuality, despite the pansexual propaganda of the public and private schools, the knowledge that what he was doing was shameful and wrong still managed to penetrate Mr. Clementi’s mind.
Yeah, somehow unrepentant, uneducated bigots like Vox Day managed to damage Tyler Clementi. I can’t imagine how. I guess 13 year-old Seth Walsh was feeling the same way about his “shameful” actions. And 14 year-old Asher Brown. And 15 year-old Billy Lucas. And really, Vox, Matthew Shepard had it coming, didn’t he?
If anyone other than Mr. Clementi should be blamed for his suicide, it is those who repeatedly encouraged him to behave in a way that would fill him with such guilt, remorse, and shame.
Commenters: Please use all the words I am holding myself back from using right now, as freely as you’d like, about this repugnant boil on the grundle of humanity.
First of all, for the record, the official arms of the Religious Right have been unsurprisingly silent about the wave of gay teen suicides in the news. They know, on some level, that this is partially their fault. Their minds are small, so they have a hard time figuring out the connection, but they know that when we point at them as culprits for creating the climate that leads to kids killing themselves, that we’re not just making things up, and that they are a large part of the problem. If you see a response from any important wingnut, let us know, but I haven’t seen one yet.
But I wanted to highlight two very different Christian responses to the existence of gay teens, in light of what’s going on. Dan Savage highlighted them first, so let’s look at them. We’ll go with “bad” first, because I want to end all blog posts on a happy note today, so work with me, world.
As you all know, Dan has started a YouTube project called “It Gets Better,” where LGBT adults and allies simply talk to LGBT youth with that simple message: It gets better. So, of course, we have a creepy Christian with his own response. Dan sets it up:
[W]hen I listen to a grown man fantasize about a 15 year old boy being tormented in hell for all eternity, an infamous name pops to mind: John Wayne Gacy. And the resemblance in this case is striking.
Yeah, it IS striking. The man in the video at the link below is a predator, pure and simple. The video can’t be embedded [which is fine, because it keeps the creepy, disgusting man's face off my blog], but if you click here, you can watch a “Biblical response” to Dan Savage, called “It Gets Worse.” You will note that his YouTube video allows no comments, which is par for the course among wingnuts. He explains in the video that there is no debate, and as the man obviously looks like a paragon of education and excellence…
The good news is that, within gay teens’ lifetimes, men like that will be relegated to Ku Klux Klan status.
NOW A GOOD ONE!
Dan also points to a Christian writer named John Shore, who is having a very honest conversation at his blog about the gay teen suicide rate. This is a guy who writes in all kinds of ideological places, and he’s not condemning gay kids. Indeed, he even interviewed the head of the Trevor Project, Charles Robbins. In his own piece on the gay teen suicide rate, he had this to say:
I love being Christian; I am forever humbled by what Christ did for humankind on the cross; I understand and experience the Bible as divine and breathtakingly inspirational. I pray to God every morning. Contemplating the majesty and mercy of God is part of my everyday life.
So what? That has zero to do with the fact that gay teens are thirty percent more likely than straight teens to shoot themselves in the head, to let their blood flow out until they’re white, to hang themselves from their neck until they stop twitching. Nor has it anything to do with the fact that the vast majority of my brothers and sister in Christ passionately hold that living as a gay person is a contemptible disgrace to God, and a blatant, willful offense against everything that’s decent and honorable.
We can say we’re only trying to follow God. We can say that we personally would never do anything to hurt a gay person. We can say that we love the sinner, but hate their sin. We can say anything.
But let’s not insult ourselves and anyone listening to us by saying that we don’t understand the relationship between the gay teen suicide rate, and the common, absolute Christian condemnation of gays.
In his comments section, I thanked him for bringing this conversation to his audience. Often, people will shy away from topics because they’re too “controversial” or perhaps just too visceral. And we all have different voices. I, as an atheist, can say certain things on issues that perhaps Christians can’t or wouldn’t. Likewise, Christians can often speak to fellow Christians, in ways that I can’t. The most important thing is that we’re speaking out, to each other.
At the same time, it’s important to make sure we’re not wasting our breath. Being anti-gay is, in the year 2010, rapidly becoming, the view of growing numbers of Americans, the moral equivalent of racism. This is a good thing. There does come a time when, if there are homophobic people in our lives [I'm primarily speaking to our straight allies here], it may be time to cut them off. If a person is teachable, that’s one thing. [And we can often learn from them!] But if they are not, it may be time to start treating those homophobes as we would treat a virulently racist neighbor or associate. As Thers said last night on Eschaton [and Thers, thankyewthankyew for the links]:
If you have a homophobic friend, now is the time, now is the time, for your friendship to end.
I said I was gone for the day, but I’m back for this. Perez Hilton just posted a letter he received from rock star Dave Navarro, addressed to all LGBT teens:
Ok everybody, here is the deal. I cannot imagine what it’s like growing up in a close minded environment and being gay, bi or trans-gender. I don’t think any of us who aren’t can possibly imagine. The strength and character it must take to stay true to yourself in such an unforgiving microcosm are qualities that a major portion of the world lacks… Sad, but true. It’s just how it is at the moment. However, it’s that very strength and character that gives the world hope for a new way of thinking and acceptance in the future and when one of our children gives in and gives up, it is not only a tragedy but a victory for those who fear diversity. DO NOT LET THEM WIN! I know how overwhelming the feelings can get and how small the reality can feel, but the bottom line is that this is but a drop in the bucket in terms of the magnitude of life. You can get through this. High school is full of plenty of bullies and fear based hate, as is the world. With any group of people comes a percentage of people who just don’t get it and probably will never get it. That’s OK. We all deal with this to an extent. The truth is that in High School, you are kind of stuck in the group you are a part of until graduation, but trust me… You can pick and choose who you associate with and there are plenty of like-minded people in the world that are understanding, accepting and loving. Sometimes, we just have to stick it out to meet them. The hard cold reality is that once you have chosen suicide, that’s it. No going back. Sure, there is a public outcry and MAYBE the bullies feel remorse for a while, but it all dies down, life goes on, the bullies let the memory fade and get on with their lives. They learn to laugh, love, reach their goals and in many cases go on to have a full and productive life. Who loses? You do! Your family! Your friends! Other teens who need support in this area! Oh yeah… We all Lose! Now the world has one less mind that is open and different and unique and sensitive. Instead, we inherit the bullies, the fear, the set back… Our world has one less soul to help it evolve with a new level of clarity. Personally, I have seen a lot of darkness and tragedy that has felt insurmountable. The murder of my mother, my battle with drug addiction, the loss of friends and family. Utter depression and despair. Of course the thought of suicide has crossed my mind a time or two. Let me share this. THANK GOD I never took that action. The friends I have made, the experiences I have had, the laughter I have shared would have all been missed. In hindsight, some of my darkest moments now seem so small and insignificant that I am amazed I gave them so much power at the time. I am even able to laugh about it now. When I think back to the times I have considered ending it all I end up saying to myself, “What was I thinking?” To those of you contemplating such a course, please do us a favor. Seek counseling first. Find a network of people who have gone through what you are going through. Help others in even more turmoil than you. I am certain that you can find peace. As you know, our society and political climate is SO divided right now. We need your voice. The world at large needs your sheer existence in order to come to terms with itself and where we are going as a planet and species.
Eleven year-old Tyler Wilson joined his school’s cheer team. So bullies with little to no breeding broke his arm.
But he’s pushing through it, and he’s going to cheer, by god.
Tyler, and all others out there: It will get better. I promise.
A longer report and full interview with Tyler and his mom from Good Morning America are here, but for some reason, it refuses to be embedded.
What the Religious Right doesn’t seem to understand is that bullies will go after kids for any perceived weakness or difference in their peers. This is why their bitching and moaning about how “if kids are taught not to bully gay kids, that means they’re saying gay is okay” rings so hollow, and belies how little they actually care about children. They can hate gay people all they want, but nothing they ever do will change the fact that, in every school in this country, there are gay kids, and they’re at risk of being bullied, hurt or driven to suicide over that. Period. No amount of preaching, no amount of condemnation is going to change that, because here in reality, gay kids simply exist. Kids who are more artistic than athletic exist. Kids who don’t fit the norm exist. All of them are at risk of being targeted by bullies.
This boy happens to be going against the grain because he really thinks it’d be fun to be a cheerleader, so he’s being targeted, for no reason other than that.
A Rutgers University freshman posted a goodbye message on his Facebook page before jumping to his death after his roommate secretly filmed him during a “sexual encounter” in his dorm room and posted it live on the Internet.
Items belonging to 18-year-old Rutgers student Tyler Clementi were found by the George Washington Bridge last week, according to authorities. Clementi’s freshman ID card and driver’s license were in the wallet.
Clementi’s post on his Facebook page, dated Sept. 22 at 8:42 p.m. read, “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
[...]
Paul Mainardi, the attorney representing the Clementi family, released a statement confirming Clementi’s suicide.
“Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all,” Mainardi said.
Two students, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, have been charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy after allegedly placing a camera in Clementi’s room and livestreaming the recording online on Sept. 19, according to a written statement by New Jersey’s Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.
Garden State Equality released the following statement:
Garden State Equality
For immediate release
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Statement of Garden State Equality Chair Steven Goldstein
All of us at Garden State Equality are in a state of shock over one of the most unconscionable, hate-related deaths of a student in the history of the State of New Jersey. Today we learned that a Rutgers freshman committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate and other students apparently broadcast the freshman – without his knowledge – making out with another man. According to reports, the other students disseminated the video widely by Twitter. The freshman was seemingly so distraught, he leapt to his death.
There are no words sufficient to express our range of feelings today. We are outraged at the perpetrators. We are heartbroken over the tragic loss of a young man who, by all accounts, was brilliant, talented and kind. And we are sickened that anyone in our society, such as the students allegedly responsible for making the surreptitious video, might consider destroying others’ lives as a sport. As this case makes its way through the legal system, we can only hope the alleged perpetrators receive the maximum possible sentence.
That the victim’s roommate was also a freshman, just months out of high school, demonstrates once again that our high schools are not doing enough to educate their students that harassment, intimidation and bullying of other students is unacceptable in every instance. It is grotesque to think that people such as these alleged perpetrators went onto college without, apparently, ever having been taught basic life lessons of decency – and that they made their way through the educational system before allegedly committing this unconscionable act.
Garden State Equality is currently working on a new anti-school bullying bill that if enacted, would be the nation’s strongest such law. It would follow the three anti-bullying laws the state has enacted since 2002, all of which include bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
We have also reached out to the Rutgers University administration and LGBT campus groups. We will keep you apprised of developments.
We are sickened.
So are we. NorthJersey.com has more background on Tyler, who was, of course, described as well-loved by all, musically gifted, shy and kind. Sounds like me at that age.
Delaware Tea Party GOP nominee for Senate and former anti-gay activist, Christine O’Donnell, is running a lazy, ego-driven campaign that eschews living, breathing voters.
I said I was gone for the day, but I’m back for this. Perez Hilton
College students 
