8 — Our IN THE MOUNTAINS — SEPTEMBER 1999 Slffllll camlitlates and Sllllll SllIlIlDfIBI‘S: strawsin the Political Winll POLITICAL VIEWS 6') FROM THE KINGDOM BY REV BRENDAN HADASH he Iowa straw polls are just T over and I would like to take a quick look from the gay/lesbian perspective at all of our presidential candidates. There are twelve running for the Republican nomination and two Democratic contenders. In general, the Democrats are so much better on gay goals than Republicans that I have labelled the Republicans the Dirty Dozen and the Democrats the Dynamic Duo. The Dirty Dozen The recent widely touted straw poll is just an Iowa Republican party fundraiser with no real political significance; it does give an early indication of the strength of various candi- dates and sometimes encourages weak candidates to drop out. The winners of the straw poll were Texas governor George Bush, Jr, (son of former presi- dent Bush) and millionaire Steve Forbes. Between the two of them, they had over 50 percent of the total vote. Bush is consid- ered a moderate, and Forbes a conservative. Bush calls himself a compas- sionate conservative. On the good side: he defended the right of gay Republicans to attend and set up an infonnation booth at a Texas State GOP convention; he has said that qualified gay people should not be disqualified from high-level government jobs —, though he has not appointed open gays or lesbians to his administration; he has gay friends. On the other side, he is opposed to hate crimes legisla- tion, anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation, gay and lesbian couples adopt- ing, repeal of the Texas sodomy law, domestic partnership legis- lation, ENDA (job protection) and same sex marriage. If this is a moderate, heaven help us. Forbes actually frightens me. He seems ready to do or say any- thing to get the Republican nom- ination. He ran for president pledging to cut taxes in the last election, and had little to say about gays and lesbians that I remember. This year, he has ' decided to go along totally with the radical right, because he thinks this will lead to nomina- tion. He spent two million dol- lars of his own money trying to buy the Iowa straw poll. When he came in second, he declared himself the conservative altema- tive to Bush. About the only pos- tive thing I can say about him is that his father, publisher of Forbes magazine, was rumored to be a bisexual. Third and fourth places in the straw poll went to Elizabeth Dole, former head of the Red Cross and wife of former presi- dential candidate Bob Dole, and Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council. Dole is considered one of the most lib- eral of the Republicans, and Bauer, one of the most conserva- tive Dole has said that sexual ori- entation should not exclude someone from presidential appointments and has always had openly gay staffers in the American Red Cross. She sup- ported the Ryan White CARE Act, a federal bill that funds AIDS programs throughout the country, said she welcomes gays and lesbians people in the Republican Party, and said she would not turn away campaign contributions from gay Republicans. Not much is actual- ly known about her ideas, since she has never been in office before. She seems to try to avoid talking about gay and lesbian issues as much as she can. If Gary Bauer ever became president, I would move to Canada. He is head of a radical right Christian organization and is rabidly homophobic. He made it a point to stop in Vermont on his presidential campaign, and all he spoke about was how terri- ble it was that the Vermont Supreme Court would even con- sider giving gay and lesbian cou- ples equal rights. Fourth and fifih place in the poll went to TV commentator Pat Buchanan (conservative) and Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander (moderate). Buchanan is so strongly anti gay that he has declared a “culture war” on homosexuals. When Lamar Alexander ran for president four years ago, he signed a right-wing anti"-gay marriage resolution and said he would not accept contri- butions from Log Cabin Republicans. . It is interesting to note that, with Alexander having dropped out of the race, of the top seven contenders, only Bush has ever been elected to anything before. I cannot believe that the American people would elect anyone presi- dent without some previous political experience. Of the A remaining Republicans, I would ignore for- mer UN ambassador Alan Keyes, who has made being anti-gay part of his platform; former vice president Dan Quayle (who would ever vote for him?), who opposed Ellen coming out as a lesbian; anti-gay congressman Kasich, who dropped out and endorsed Bush, and homophobic Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire, who left the Republican party to run for pres- ident as an independent. The two at the bottom of the straw poll however are interest- ing: Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Senator John McCain of Arizona. McCain refusedto par- ticipate in the poll;_ Hatch just entered the race and has not had time to organize yet. These two are the only ones with solid polit- ical backgrounds that would qualify them for presidency. They also are somewhat moder- ate (for Republicans) on gay and lesbian issues. Hatch recently “joked" that he is proud of his party because “we don’t have the gays and lesbians with us,” But he claims to be tol- erant and has made positive statements about non-discrimi- nation, though he believes homo- sexuality is contrary to the Bible. He voted against ENDA, but compromised with Democrats on legislation afi”ecting AIDS and hate crimes. He helped fund rais- ing to combat pediatric AIDS, and supported the appointment of openly gay philanthropist James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg. McCain also supported the appointment of James Hormel as ambassador of Luxembourg. He said qualified openly gay people would be considered as appointees and bars anti-gay job bias in his Senate office. He sup- ports funding for AIDS research. Jim Kolbe, the GOP’s only open- ly gay congressman, serves on his national steering committee. McCain voted for a 1993 hate crimes measure that included sexual orientation. He says he opposes discrimination of any kind. On the negative side, he voted against ENDA, and opposed lifting the ban on gays in the military. He opposes gay marriages and adoptions by gays. His decision to not enter the Iowa straw poll is an interesting strategy, since he would not have done well — he has voted against Iowa farmers in the Senate. The Dynamic Duo After looking at the dismal and disappointing support gay/lesbian issues have among Republican presidential con-g tenders, the Democrats ‘are a breath of fresh air. Vice President Al Gore and former NJ Senator Bill Bradley, the two Democrats running for president, are both courting gay and lesbian voters. They attend gay and lesbian meetings and fundraisers, while the Republicans avoid even talk- ing about our issues. With so many Republicans with no political experience, it is a bit hard to pin them down on their stances. The best compari- son Icould find were Human Rights Campaign reports. In 1994, the last year Bradley was in the senate, Bradley voted 100 ’ percent in support of all gay and lesbian issues. The “moderates” McCain and Hatch voted against every one. Specifically, McCain and Hatch voted against allowing domestic partners in the District of Columbia, voted to totally ban gays and lesbians from the mili- tary, voted against a bill to make it illegal to block access to abor- tion clinics, voted to require minors to get parental permission before receiving condoms or contraceptives, and voted to ban federal money from going to a school with any program or activity supporting homosexuali- ty as a positive lifestyle. Bradley voted to support our position every time. In 1992, the last time Gore was in the senate, McCain and Hatch voted to restrict schools from using materials that “pro- mote homosexuality,” voted to allow organizations working with children in DC to discrimi- nate against gays and lesbians, voted against workers with AIDS in food-handling situations, and voted to ban the NEA from fund- ing homoerotic art. McCain even voted to prohibit the distribution of bleach used in conjunction with illegal drugs. Gore and Bradley voted with us on each of these votes Currently, Bradley and Gore both support almost all gay and lesbian issues (except same-gen- der marriage). They both support a review of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the mili- tary, same-gender adoptions, and extending legal rights, including health benefits and hospital visi- . tation, to couples. The presidential election is vital. The next president will not only have the power to propose good laws and veto bad ones, but also will probably make several appointments to the Supreme Court, where the future rights of our community will be decided. V Rev. Brendan Hadash is min- ister of St. Johnsbury Univers- alist Church. JACQUELINE MARINO Senior Associate REALTOR® (802) 8780095 EXT 23 BUS., (802)878-6288 FAX ' (800) 488-5609 TOLi FREE ' jackie@toge1her.n_et E-M_AlL Each Otfice Is Indspendenuy‘ Owned And Operated. COLDIJJGLL @:E BANKER E3 ' REALTY MART 1” 288 W|LL|STON RD WILLISTON. VT 05495 it 1- nnnenix rising * . -spirited jewelry & gills - ‘k 3: mm 11-10:! wire HELP YOUR BEING. - RUMI .104 main street, one llighl up monlpelier 802.229.0522 /v~/\ . C97 BLACKWOOD ASSOCIATES, PC attorn eys Concentrating in employment, special education and civil rights law. Also wills, LGBTadoptions and domestic issues, personal injury, other litigation and mediation. 90 Main Street E0. 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