This is not good. Not surprising. But, not good:
"The DNC folks -- their political shop -- have been calling people and really pressuring them," said Paul Yandura, a political and fundraising strategist at the firm Scott+Yandura who led gay and lesbian outreach on both Bill Clinton and Al Gore's presidential campaigns. "Look, I'm not going to claim that they're pressuring them not to be for it, but this 'let's wait' thing is always what happens in politics -- let's wait so they can find a way to slow this down and maybe get a good reason not to do it."The usual apologists are giving the usual excuses. The DNC's LGBT caucus isn't even on board yet. Pathetic. Read the full article by Sam Stein and Amanda Terkel. They did some very good reporting on this one.
"But that doesn't mean that activists and other people have to wait and see," Yandura added. "I think that we have to keep up the pressure."
Melanie Roussell, a spokesperson for the DNC, did not directly refute Yandura's assertion. Instead, she emphasized the party's commitment to equality and inclusion, with respect to both LGBT Americans and the platform process.
"The President and the Party are committed to crafting a platform that reflects our values and a belief that this is a nation in which everyone deserves a fair shot and hard work is rewarded," she wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. “The time will come to consider the content of the platform but not a single platform committee member has been chosen and the process has yet to begin."
Several Democratic sources working with the committee have acknowledged that conversations were already underway about how to placate the pro-same-sex marriage majority inside the party without alienating culturally conservative Democrats in states like Ohio and North Carolina, where the convention is being held.
This could all be solved if the President would just evolve already. Instead, it's clear we can expect more political kabuki as the DNC and OFA try to avoid doing what everyone knows should be done.
And, in case the DNC forgot, there's an anti-gay referendum on the May 8th ballot in North Carolina, with which we could use some help. It's called Amendment 1. I think the convention will be a lot more fun for people if Amendment 1 loses.
