Sunday night, when for the first time in several weeks, I finally had an evening free, I got around to sorting my notes. Like Tolkien, I find “not being able to use a pen or pencil as defeating as the loss of her beak would be to a chicken.” As a result, my apartment is cluttered with my scribblings, chicken scratchings as it were.
On a page of one of my ubiquitous pads, I had written this question: “What has HRC [the Human Rights Campaign] accomplished?”
It seems I’m not the only person asking that question. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Michael Petrelis alerting me to his latest post where he considers the compensation of HRC leaders. Checking the 2007 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 990 forms for group, he finds that Executive Director Joe Solmonese has recently cracked the quarter-million mark and now takes home a salary of $259,096, causing Petrelis to observe:
I wouldn’t have any problems with these salary levels, or how $37 million is flushed down Democratic sewers, if there were dozens of legislative and federal programmatic accomplishments as a result of HRC’s bloated operations and chic staffers, and as we all know there aren’t. The best one can say about HRC’s agenda is that it is a successful producer of ritzy dinners and consumer goods stamped with their equal logo.
Sometimes I think we would we be so much better off if HRC spun itself out of the political business and became an event producer with a line of products marketed to the high income bracket gays and lesbians, and a genuine multipartisan gay advocacy created from scratch.
Petrelis’ research made my job a lot easier.
HRC has done a good job of putting on glitzy evidences and has demonstrated considerable fundraising prowess. Their “Gala Dinners” in various cities around the country have become big social events for local gay communities. When I asked a friend why he was attending HRC’s dinner in Los Angeles this past March, he commented he wanted to support the community and see the celebrities there.
When I pressed him on what he meant by supporting the community, he mentioned HRC’s work, but was unable to specify what exactly the group does. I wonder how many other people donate to HRC because that’s what, they believe, gay people with a community conscience are “supposed” to do.
That particular supporter couldn’t identify one HRC accomplishment.
Well, they do succeed in raising lots of money. And I’m told they have a really nifty headquarters in Washington, D.C. Oh, and they get lots of people (at least in my neck of the woods) to plaster that blue-and-yellow sticker with HRC’s equal sign logo onto the bumpers of their car.
I thought at first you meant Hillary Rodham Clinton. Its a good question anyhow. Moreso for BHO.
What would REALLY be impressive is if they could hold these shin-digs in Amsterdam or Tehran unhindered.
This sorta reminds me of a friend I drank with in Houston. When I saw his Clinton/Gore ’96 bumper sticker, I asked him why he was voting for Clinton. He said “because he’s done more for the gay community”. When I said “Like what?”, he decided it was time to figure out where we were going to eat after the bars closed.
As far as the HRC sticker, it’s usually the lesbians that put that or rainbows on their vehicles. At least that’s been my experience here in Florida and in Texas.
Other than that, I’m dying to know what HRC does with their money. Especially Diamond Joe.
Neither acronym has accomplished much
I gave to HRC once. It was this web site and blog that kept me from making that mistake twice. Thanks.
Jealous, party of….? Must be terrible to have your own party be so homophobic and two faced. Face it though, if you had enough cash you could buy them too.
#6: It must be wonderful to feel the breeze going through your ears uninterrupted by brain tissue.
Democrats have never done a damn thing for gays. Herr Klinton is the one responsible for DADT and DOMA, and he bragged about it on Christian radio stations in a cynical ploy for votes.
The religious wrong first came out to vote as a bloc to elect Jimmy Carter, and a whole library could be devoted to his Homeric (Simpson, that is) incompetence.
Because republicans have done so much for the cause…
What “cause”?
you folks are good at attacking HRC for doing nothing, but you just can’t admit that it’s liberals like members of HRC who have done more to move ahead equality for gays in this country than any conservative / Republican group ever has done (or probably will do). McCain having a secret meeting with Log Cabin to accept money and get votes? There’s an accomplishment.
Like this, Kevin?
Or perhaps this?
That’s tens of millions of dollars that HRC spent in time and endorsements to push both and claim that both were “pro-gay” and “gay-supportive”.
Notice how Kevin claims that doing that was “move(ing) ahead equality”.
I have been confused all year because I always read HRC as Human Rights Campaign instead of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Silly me.
Anyway the answer to your question is: not a damn thing. I resigned my HRC membership in 1998. That was 10 years ago. Nothing seems to have changed. They seem to throw nice parties that I’m sure I couldn’t afford to attend even if I wanted to go. A lot of self-congratuation and fabulosity and not much in the way or results: a pathology that plagues far too many “gay” organizations. I would rather send my money to candidates that I support or better yet organizations doing something constructive in the world.
The question was, and still is, What has HRC accomplished?. Your lack of an answer tells me that you have no idea either.
#8
This is how the Left responds to everything. They never address the question, instead, they take the immature child approach , and claim that “everyone does it” or offers a subject-changing counterexample.
I am a good hearty gay liberal, but I will never make the mistake of giving money to HRC again. Years past when I was flush with money, I became a member of the HRC “inner circle” of contributors – that simply meant I was invited to the self-congratulatory cocktail parties. I am older than many, and am more the grass roots kind of social activist, but thought that HRC would be effective in fighting for my rights. However… when Prop 8 came up on the California ballot, the evening before the vote, old Joe S was at (you guessed it) one of those cocktail parties in Palm Springs, enjoying the company of other self congratulatory HRC members. I am a strong supporter of LGBT equality and gay marriage, and continue to march, speak out, and donate to those organizations that will advance the cause in a manner similar to ACT UP or earlier civil rights movements in this country. Even as one of the “special ones” in HRC, my voice was not heard – so I can only assume that HRC has become so insular as to be simply an organization to raise funds to raise funds. Pathetic. And the diatribe here is simply because I thought I was alone in my disappointment. For those who support our rights, keep fighting and give to the organizations that will use your money effectively!