I have blogged only once on today’s National Equality March in the nation’s capital.  And I might not have done even that had Bruce not encouraged me to participate in a conference call with the organizers.  While impressed with their tone, I was uncertain about their strategy for achieving their seemingly diffuse array of goals.  Still, I appreciate the grassroots nature of their endeavor.  They do not come from the mainstream gay organizations, thus not bringing with them their partisan baggage and petty animosities.

Still, while they invited both Bruce and me to participate in their conference calls and sent (each of) us regular e-mails, they don’t seem to have done much more to include gay conservative in this event.  For example, while there are five people on the speakers’ roster identifying themselves as transgender, there are none identifying as Republicans (though I had seen Michael Huffington’s name on a list released on September 30).

That said, while I did I note the absence of Republicans, I also noted the absence of such supposed leading lights of the gay community as HRC President Joe Solmonese and “Equality California’s” Geoff Kors.  Nice to see a move away from the “establishment” gay leadership.  Perhaps, with the new tone adopted by the march leaders, we might even, should this march prove to be a galvanizing event empowering its leaders, a new crop of leaders who understand they could benefit the community by reaching out to and working with gay Republicans.

All that said, let me make one prediction (hey, I’ve got a pretty good record on predictions so far this weekend).  No matter how large the crowd today, the event will get better press than did the September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington for smaller government.  The media is much more comfortable with the leftish mantra of equality than the conservative/libertarian ideal of liberty. (more…)

Well, just as I predicted, last night when he the addressed the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the all but de facto gay auxiliary of the Democratic National Committee, the President got his “standing ovation“.*  The “cheering crowd” gave the Democrat a warm welcome even as he acknowledged “some policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.“

Christine Simmons of the Associated Press summed up the evening:

He expressed strong support for the Human Rights Campaign agenda — ending discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people — but stopped short of laying out a detailed plan for how to get there.

Promises, promises, but not a plan.  That’s not enough for many gay activists, but it will win over the Washington-based leadership of HRC and other gay groups, ever eager to sing the praises of a politician with a (D) after his name who says the right things to their audiences.  Of course, to those activists, with highfalutin language and that (D), it really doesn’t matter what he does.

Once again, it was typical Obama, lofty words with little to show for them.  But, this time, even the New York Times noticed that some gay activists aren’t buying the swill the Democrat is trying to sell them:

Bil Browning, a blogger for Bilerico Project, a Web site aimed at a gay audience, said moments after the speech ended that the site was flooded with critical comments by people who said they had heard nothing new. “I could have watched one of his old campaign speeches and heard the same thing,” one wrote.

Even inside the room, reaction was mixed. Terry Penrod, a real estate agent from Columbus, Ohio, said some gay rights advocates were being impatient with the president, while Raj Malthotra, 29, a management consultant from Washington, said he thought the speech was a rehash of Mr. Obama’s past promises.

“For him, it’s buy more time until he needs our votes again,” Mr. Malthotra said.

It’s nice to see that some gay people, particularly those on the left, see through the President’s hollow rhetoric.   (more…)