Out in the Mountains VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN Volume IV, Number 1 February 1989 Pro-Gay Now that the dust has settled on the recent election battles, one thing has be- come crystal clear about the 1988 congres- sional campaign: More candidates than ever took record-brealdn g contributions of gay and lesbian PAC money- powerful political greenbacks that helped most of them win their races. ‘ The Human Rights Campaign Fund 1 (HRCF), the nation’s largest gay and les- bian political action committee (PAC) and [ lobbying organization, contributed more than $400,000 in cashand in—kind gifts to Republican and Democrat candidates and progressive groups during the 1987-88 election cycle. That’s 60 percent more than 1985-86 contributions. But who takes gay money and why? -,_ And is it “politically risky” for candidates to take such contributions? Political analysts believe the increased number of politicians willing to take gay money and support what some perceive as by A.L. ' It’s February 1989 and that means OITM is beginning our fourth year of publication and our third annual fundrais- Ing drive. As in any small business at this age, we are expanding rapidly and suffer- mg growing pains.We have ambitious dreams and hopes for the future. Vermont - may seem to be a small and rural state but there is much here to cover. Wewould like to be able to print news fromevery group of lesbians and gay men meeting in Vermont, many of whom are doing some wonderful things. We would like to have done more analysis of the local elections from a gay and lesbian perspec- "V9, (as at least one reader suggested). Wed like to see Out in the Mountains ‘ distributed to every rural comer of this ; Slate. Our dreams go on and on. When we J 3161) back and take an accounting of what ~ “W86 dozen or so volunteers manage to ' pmduce. it’s wonderful but we’d. like it to ' bemore. controversial issues points to the progress gays and lesbians have made in mainstream American politics. “In the past, some candidates consid- ered it a liability to publicly stand up for us and take our money,” said Vic Basile, HRCF executive director. “And some still do. But the fact that 81 percent of the candidates we supported won--some by landslide margins--is a sound argument that gay money is an enhancement, not a hindrance.” HRCF criteria for contributing to can- didates include their voting records or positions on gay and lesbian issues, such as federal AIDS legislation, hate crimes, immigration, the gay and lesbian civil rights bill, and others. Last spring, the Federal Elections Commission ranked HRCF the ninth larg- est independent PAC in the U.S. and the 24th largest PAC overall (out of more than (Continued on page 3) This past year we took some major steps to help make that happen, difficult steps. OITM began as a consensus organi- zation, and with much struggle at times, we have remained largely true to that begin- ning. This year we divided ourselves into two groups, long-range and short-range planning. After nearly six months of meetings, it is not clear whose task was easier or when either group’s work will be done. Short- range planning means frequent crises in getting the paper out on time every month. The group faces constant challenges, the most obstinate being the lack of ready ac- cess to facilities for typing and layout. This means long hours and marathon weekend sessions for the brave group who bring you the finished product month after month. The long range planning group wrote a grant to try to buy ourselves out of this predicament with desktop publishing com- puter equipment. This group put into writ- ing why this paper is important to