Bernie Sanders is right: The Human Rights Campaign is definitely part of the ‘establishment’

[KamaAina]

http://fusion.net/story/257051/bernie-sanders-human-rights-campaign-establishment/

Earlier this week, Democratic presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders exchanged words over Clinton’s recent endorsements from the Human Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood. In an interview with Rachel Maddow, Sanders claimed that while Clinton’s endorsements were indeed impressive, they could also be seen as stamps of approval from the traditional “political establishment.”

“I would love to have the endorsement of every progressive organization in America,” Sanders admitted. “(But) some of these groups are, in fact, a part of the establishment.”...

It stands to reason that Sanders, who has branded himself as an anti-establishment Democratic Socialist, might be critical of Planned Parenthood. That’s even more true of the Human Rights Campaign.

For all of the HRC’s insistence that it’s an inclusive LGBT civil rights advocate, the organization has a storied history of really only catering to the needs of affluent white men who just so happen to be gay (read: the establishment).

[baldguy]

1. As if being in DC for 25 yrs doesn't make him a part of the "establishment", too.

If cognitave dissonance is a requirement for your dogma, you may be a totalitarian.

[Prism]

2. Straight Hillary supporters need to read this

It cuts to the heart of the problem many, many LGBTers have with the HRC:

The Human Rights Campaign’s role in the modern LGBT rights movement has centered around advocacy for marriage equality and military service. Those critical of the HRC have felt as if the disproportionate amount of time and energy spent on those issues versus advocacy for things like equal housing and access to healthcare reflects the organization prioritizing the desires of the upper-middle class instead of the needs of working class queer people.

When Jerssay Arredondo, an undocumented immigrant and queer rights activist, was approached to speak at an HRC-organized rally against the Defense of Marriage Act, he initially planned on incorporating elements of his experiences as a queer man of color into his speech. When the HRC learned of this, they asked him to stay on-message and avoid speaking about his race or his struggles as an immigrant.

They do not care about LGBTers of color, of lower classes, immigrants, and have a shady as hell history of helping the transgendered.

So, honestly, it is not a huge shock the board was unanimous for Clinton.

[markpkessinger]

3. This is absolutely correct . . .

Hillary's response to this seems to imply that "establishment" equates to Republican, but of course, that is utter nonsense. HRC, along with Planned Parenthood, are both very much aligned with the Democratic establishment. And I say this as someone who has, in the past, attended HRC fundraisers -- fundraisers that were held in the '90s in that playground of well-to-do gay white men, Fire Island Pines! (I was there as a guest of a friend, and not because I was particularly well-off.)