Goldstein in the VV: "queers could help decide Bush's fate"

[nostamj]

<snip>

Fresh from declaring his support for a federal amendment barring same-sex marriage, Bush now risked alienating gays and moderate straights even further. Recall that in 2000 about a million queers voted Republican. Though that number represented only 25 percent of the out gay vote (with 70 percent going to Al Gore and 5 percent to Ralph Nader), it was located in key electoral states, such as Florida. If the 2004 presidential election is anywhere near as close as the previous one, queers could help decide Bush's fate. No wonder the White House effectively reversed Bloch's call on April 1, declaring that "longstanding federal policy . . . protects federal workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation."

Just mentioning those last two words was a small victory. But the rollback on gay visibility goes on. This week's Advocate notes that the Department of Health and Human Service's first annual "National Healthcare Disparities Report" routinely ignores gay people, relegating them largely to "other demographic groups" that are "beyond the scope of this report." That from the desk of HHS secretary Tommy Thompson, known to be among the most gay-friendly Bushies.

As for the OSC web site, it still doesn't mention sexual orientation, and an agency spokesperson refused to say whether it ever would. Memo to Log Cabin Republicans (freely translated from my mother's Yiddish): "When someone pees on you, don't call it rain."

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0416/goldstein.php