On the Campaign Trail:

“Unprecedented" Positions Taken on Both
Democratic and Republican Sides

WASHINGTON — In a move labelled
"unprecedented" by many activists, President
Clinton has invited. gay and lesbian Democrats
to play a significant role in his re-election bid.

Brian Bond, Coordinator of the Democratic
National Committee's Lesbian and Gay Outreach
office, was quoted in the Washington Blade as
saying, "This year, gays and lesbians will be
involved in the campaign state by state, in a
fully organized, systematic way." Bond also
noted that gay activists would be recruited to
help Democrats recover legislative seats lost to
the Republicans in the 1994 elections.

A meeting at Clinton/Gore re-election
headquarters in Burlington on Sunday, March 3,
served to initiate discussion of the upcoming
campaign here in Vermont. Fifteen prominent
gay men and lesbians gathered to talk with
Clinton campaign organizer Marty Rousse, who
had been working on drumming up Democratic
support for the primaries. Future meetings are
expected to take place shortly after Clinton
officially accepts his nomination at the
Democratic Convention this summer.

In related news, gay and lesbian Republicans
were also treated to an unprecedented campaign
move when Richard Tafel, Executive Director
of the Log Cabin Republican Club, officially
denounced the candidacy of Patrick Buchanan.
Tafel declared that the Log Cabin Club stood
"opposed to any candidate for President who
campaigns not on people's hopes, but capitalizes
on their fears. We are opposed to any candidate

who builds a political base by scapegoating and
bashing Jews, gays, immigrants and other
Americans."

Tafel made his comments at a Washington press
conference featuring a wide array of Republican
and conservative voices, all condemning
Buchanan's campaign for the White House.
Representatives from a number of groups stood
"in absolute unity in the belief that Pat Buchanan
is in a league of his own, outside the realm of any
of the traditional tenets of the Republican Party,"
Tafel said.

Buchanan has consistently spoken out against
equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans and
continues to spread his anti—gay message on the
campaign trail. He and other Republican
presidential contenders attended an anti—marriage
rally held in Des Moines, Iowa, and signed a
pledge to prohibit gay and lesbian marriage.

At a recent press conference, a Democratic
spokesperson also reiterated Bill Clinton's
opposition to federal recognition of gay and
lesbian marriages.

Here in Vermont on Town Meeting Day,
President Clinton received nearly a third of all
votes cast in the state, more than any other
candidate. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole was
the clear choice on the Republican ballot at the
polls. Though he appears to be the "easy favorite in
the Republican primary process, both Buchanan
and Steve Forbes have vowed to hang on until the
very end. V

 

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