Dan Savage on the Joy Behar Show

Joy Behar has a new show on HLN (CNN's Headline News Channel). Tonight, her guests were Dan Savage and Bryan Batt on the topic of "Is Obama doing enough for the gays?"

It's good watching:
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Queerty: Protest at HRC dinner went quite well

Queerty is correct. It's hard to get people to turn out and protest, especially in Washington, DC (I don't know why, but it really is especially hard here). I heard that there were actually 100 to 200 people, which is quite respectable. Read More...

MoneyBomb for Maine: Help us hit $1.1 million on ActBlue by Oct. 15th

The big gay weekend in D.C. is over. Now, we need help to win the marriage campaign in Maine.
A big part of the strategy in the Maine campaign has been to avoid the mistakes of the Prop. 8 battle in California. One thing that happened last year was the money on our side came in late, meaning the No campaign never knew what it had to spend at the end.

That's why in Maine, we're making one last major pitch before 11: 59 PM on October 15th. That date has special significance for two reasons: 1) It's the last day of the financial reporting period (the last one to be made public before election day); and 2) It's the first day of in-person absent voting. We want the No on 1 campaign to have all the resources it needs -- and to know that in advance.

The netroots and online community have been extremely generous. And, it's been noticed. Last week, the Washington Post reported:

[No on 1 Campaign Manager Jesse] Connolly is determined not to screw it up. With the Democratic establishment reluctant to dive in wholeheartedly and fundraisers failing to collect big checks, Connolly has sought to activate bloggers through his friend Joe Sudbay, a Portland native and the deputy editor of the influential and progressive AmericaBlog. And they have joined the battle, helping raise nearly $1 million in online contributions, according to the Internet-based fundraising hub ActBlue. Plus, another native Mainer, Eli Pariser, president of MoveOn.org, has solicited Web donations from his cyber-flock.

"Sometimes," said Sudbay, who is gay and writes often about Maine. "I think we are driving the agenda."

We are driving the agenda. Let's wrap this one up big. The Courage Campaign, OpenLeft, Pam's House Blend and others are setting a goal to reach $1.1 million in online donations by October 15th. AMERICAblog readers have been very generous already. We beat our first goal of $25,000 and are heading to $50,000 now. Help us get there. And, help us win in Maine.

I keep writing that Maine is a cheap date state. After the break, there's an outline of what our money buy. You can click on the image above or click here to reach our ActBlue page. And, thanks again.

Check this list out. Your contributions really make a difference:

$10,000 1 day statewide television buy

$8,800 25,000 pieces of literature to ensure our supporters vote the correct way

$7,500 1,000 2’x4’ road signs to put in high traffic areas for visibility

$6,000 will pay for needed turn out calls to 12,000 supporters

$5,250 1/2 day statewide television buy

$4,000 will pay for needed turn out calls to 8,000 supporters

$3,300 we can blanket the state with radio ads for 3 days

$2,800 we could hire 1 full time field organizer

$2,300 gives supporters rides to polls around 4 key campuses

$2,000 we can blanket the state with radio ads for 2 days

$1,800 will pay for needed turn out calls to 3,600 supporters

$1,600 pays for 4 field organizers for 1 week

$1,200 will cover literature for one key precinct on Election Day

$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

$24 buys 20 yard signs for visibility

Again, click on the image above or click here to reach AMERICAblog's No on 1 ActBlue page. Thanks again. Read More...

White House talking to Lieberman about sponsoring DADT repeal

Don't for a second think that pressure doesn't matter. The White House now has its people talking about potential Senate sponsors for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And, one of the names on the short list is Joe Lieberman. As we've come to expect, The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld breaks the news:

Shortly after President Barack Obama pledged Saturday to end “don’t ask, don’t tell” during a speech to the Human Rights Campaign, the Administration’s highest-ranking LGBT official said the White House is speaking with certain senators about strategies for repealing the policy -- specifically Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“On ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ this administration is talking directly to the Hill -- we are in direct discussions with Senator Lieberman,” John Berry, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, told The Advocate.

A spokesperson for Senator Lieberman confirmed that the senator had been speaking to the White House about the bill.

“Senator Lieberman has had discussions with representatives of the Administration and others on the best way to reverse this policy which he has opposed since it was first proposed in 1993,” said Marshall Wittmann, Lieberman’s press secretary. Wittmann gave no further information on the senator’s plans regarding the legislation.

I'm no fan of Joe Lieberman. But, let's see if he actually delivers on something real.

Just twelve days ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had to write to the White House to ask the President to get involved in the effort to repeal DADT. Read More...

Arnold finally signs pro-LGBT legislation

Via Equality California, some progress in California. The Governor finally signed a couple of pro-equality bills:

Today Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law two historic LGBT rights bills – recognizing the contributions of slain civil rights leader Harvey Milk and a bill that underscores that same-sex couples married before the passage of Proposition 8 are entitled to full recognition as married spouses in California, regardless of whether they married in California or out of state. Both bills were sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and were introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). The bills were the top priority of EQCA, the state’s leading LGBT rights organization and were targeted by right wing anti-gay groups who worked to defeat the bills first in the legislature and then by urging the Governor to veto the measures.

“We are grateful to the Governor for signing these critical and groundbreaking measures into law and rising above partisan politics to improve the lives of LGBT Californians,” said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors.

Brian Leubitz has more at Calitics.com including the import of Leno's marriage legislation:

The bill would grant marriages performed outside of the state before Prop 8 was passed full marriage status, just as the same-sex marriages performed between June and November. Marriages that were performed after that Nov. 5 date will get all the rights and benefits of a California marriage save the moniker "marriage."

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Meet Joseph Rocha: He didn't tell. It didn't matter

Yesterday, Joseph Rocha wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post titled, "I didn't Tell. It didn't matter":

My understanding of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was that if I kept quiet about my sexuality and didn't break any rules, I would face no punishment. I was wrong.

Once I joined the Navy, I was tormented by my chief and fellow sailors, physically and emotionally, for being gay. The irony of "don't ask, don't tell" is that it protects bigots and punishes gays who comply. Now, after a Youth Radio investigation of the abuses I suffered, the chief of naval operations ordered a thorough study of how the Navy handled the situation and is currently reviewing the document. I'm hopeful that the case will be reopened and top leadership finally held accountable for the lives they have ruined.

Yesterday, Rocha participated in the National Equality March. CNN covered his story, too:
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Wouldn't it be neat if HRC went on TV to represent the gay side of the debate?

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CBS: "The message from the administration is: Don't hold your breath"

From CBS News:

CBS News Chief Political Correspondent John Dickerson says the message from the administration is: Don't hold your breath.

"The indication from the White House is they want to show the president is still committed to this, but that it's further down on the list of priorities," Dickerson told "Early Show" anchor Harry Smith. "He's got a lot in front of him, and the big question is how much political capital he'll put behind this. Will he pressure Congress? Will he pressure the Pentagon?

"There's just no indication right now that he's going to spend his political capital in that way."

H/t Dan Savage. Read More...

Approve Referendum 71 launched its first t.v. ad

Approve71.org, the campaign to keep Washington State's new domestic partner law started airing its first t.v. ad last week with some powerful spokespeople:
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