While he wishes the Obama administration would stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, former Obama deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand said he doesn’t expect Congress will ever willingly repeal it.

“I don’t foresee in my lifetime Congress having the guts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. We can’t even get workplace protections passed. How do we expect them to take on religious institutions in this country who hold marriage [as an institution] only allowed between a man and a woman?” Hildebrand told Kerry Eleveld, who interviewed him for the Advocate at the Netroots Nation conference in Las Vegas this week.

Hildebrand was hailed for his role in helping President Obama win Florida in the 2008 election, but relations between the strategist and the White House hit a rough patch after some accused Obama of slow-walking legislative action on key LGBT issues such as ENDA and the repeal of the military ban on gay troops.

But Wednesday at a gathering of LGBT bloggers and activists before the Netroots Nation kickoff, Hildebrand was given the opportunity to explain why he was involved with the group in just three words.

“Don’t hate Obama,” answered Hildebrand.  ”This is a guy who isn’t going to do things exactly the way you want him to do, but know that his heart is in the right place. He has his priorities, they’re in line with our priorities and he’s going to do them at his pace,” Hildebrand said, expanding on his answer.

The Detroit Free Press has endorsed Dave Coulter in his race for the Michigan State Senate.  If he wins, Coulter would become the state’s first openly gay senator and the only out member of the Michigan state legislature.

Six Democrats are competing in the primary, but the Free Press said Coulter is the clear choice for voters:

Coulter…has both a track record of significant bipartisan achievement and an instinctive feel for the places where politicians with disparate objectives can find common ground. As minority leader of the Oakland County Commission, the 50-year-old Coulter has brokered a series of budget deals that won unanimous support from legislators split almost evenly between the two major parties. He also spearheaded a bipartisan, tri-county initiative that put the Detroit Zoo on solid financial footing.

Because he seems prepared to play a significant role in negotiating a grand bargain between Democrats bent on restructuring taxes and Republicans determined to shrink government, DAVID COULTER is the best choice for Democrats.

For more information about Coulter’s campaign, go here.

Gay Politics has set up camp in Las Vegas this week, and as if the 109 degree heat wasn’t enough, things are heating up inside the Rio hotel and conference center.

The Netroots Nation conference officially starts tomorrow, but today an extraordinary group came together for a pre-conference day of discussion and strategizing around LGBT issues–mostly at the federal level.

Attending were some of the names you know from the LGBT netroots–Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God, Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend, Michael Rogers of Raw Story and Page One Q, Jeremy Hooper of Good As You, and many others.  Also there were representatives from numerous LGBT organizations who work with these citizen journalists every day, including colleagues from the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, Freedom to Marry, Get Equal, Servicemembers United, and yours truly from the Victory Fund.

Look for more coverage here this week, and certainly check out the #LGBTNN10 hash tag on Twitter for full coverage from Pam and others, who tweeted furiously today during our sessions.

Victory-endorsed candidate Scott Galvin recently became the target of anti-gay vandalism in Florida.  According to the campaign, several Scott Galvin yard signs have been spray painted with the word “fag.”

The Washington Blade reports:

Derek Newton, Galvin’s campaign manager, said in past several days between six and ten signs have been found in North Miami spray-painted with the word “fag.”

“We’ve taken them down, obviously — had people calling in to report them and what-not,” Newton said. “It’s impossible to know who’s doing it, of course.”

Galvin, who serves on the North Miami City Council, is among nine contenders seeking the Democratic nomination to represent Florida’s 17th congressional district. The primary is set for Aug. 24.

Newton said the Galvin campaign informed the North Miami Police Department about the graffiti and is considering the next appropriate action.

To learn more about Scott Galvin’s race, or to help him fight back against the hate, go to victoryfund.org/scottgalvin

No candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote in last night’s Democratic primary for a seat on the Fulton County Commission, and while a runoff election between the top two vote-getters isn’t unusual in Georgia, this one is.

Both of the runoff candidates are openly lesbian African-Americans.

Joan P. Garner (pictured) and Keisha Waites will compete for the District 6 seat, which represents portions of the central and eastern sections of Atlanta.  The Georgia Voice reported:

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial results from Fulton County showed Waites in first place with 41.45 percent and Garner in second with 39.50 percent. David Holder had 9.7 percent and Sally Smith had 9.35. Only 168 votes separated Waites and Garner.

If no candidate receives 50 percent plus one vote, the top two advance to a runoff on Aug. 10.

Garner was endorsed by three LGBT groups — Georgia Equality, the Atlanta Stonewall Democrats and the Victory Fund, a national organization that supports LGBT candidates.

Should either Garner or Waites win, she would be the first openly gay representative on the Fulton County Commission.

Garner, a longtime activist who worked for Mayor Maynard Jackson as senior adviser on gay and lesbian issues, is principal of Garner Results Inc., a nonprofit and philanthropic consulting firm.

Waites works for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has a long record of seeking elected office.