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Electoral implications for LGBTs
NEWS ANALYSIS
by Andrew Davis
2010-11-10

This article shared 3221 times since Wed Nov 10, 2010
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The oft-repeated phrase "The wheels of justice grind slowly" might be one phrase some pro-LGBT forces were saying the day after the Nov. 2 nationwide elections.

On the national front, the Republican Party had gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The GOP needed 39 seats, and won 60. The change means that Nancy Pelosi has to step down as speaker of the House ( although the GOP were not projected to win enough seats to take over the Senate ) . Republican John Boehner of Ohio will now take over that post.

However, a couple numbers might have made the difference in several close U.S. House contests: The Huffington Post reported that the GOP captured 31 percent of the LGBT vote this year, compared to 19 percent in 2008. The Democrats' share of the gay vote dropped from 80 percent in 2008 to 68 percent in 2010.

Gay-rights organizations immediately weighed in on the shift in the political landscape. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said in a statement, "We'll cut to the chase: The shift in the balance of power will very likely slow advancement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights legislation in Congress. Does this mean a blockade on LGBT rights? Not if we can help it. Fact is, our community has always had to fight—and fight hard—for equality."

Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) issued a statement saying that the election results "indicate new challenges as well as some opportunities ahead for moving forward on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. ... The loss of the House of Representatives to an anti-equality leadership, along with the loss of some fair-minded Senators, will certainly impede federal legislative efforts. Perhaps most strikingly though, candidates who were the most vociferous opponents of LGBT equality did not fare well against fair-minded candidates."

Saying that the "loss of the House to anti-equality leaders is a serious blow to the LGBT community," HRC President Joe Solmonese said, "Even though we will face greater challenges in moving federal legislation forward, nothing will stop us from using every tool to advance LGBT equality at every level. Attempts to hold back the tide of the equality movement will surely put anti-LGBT leaders on the wrong side of history."

However, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper had different take, saying "The American people have voted in favor of new and pragmatic leadership in Washington and in state houses throughout the country. Log Cabin Republicans are proud to have helped usher in a 112th Congress charged with enabling economic growth and restraining runaway government spending. We look forward to working with new and returning Republican allies to remove any barriers to equal employment access and job growth. We will also work to secure tax reform, which will benefit Americans' personal budgets while stimulating market growth."

In the race for President Obama's former U.S. Senate seat, Republican Mark Kirk narrowly defeated Democrat Alexi Giannoulias. Kirk, a social moderate, is not necessarily seen as "anti-equality" as more conservative colleagues.

Speaking of conservative, the Tea Party movement—a grassroots initiative that no one knew of just two years ago—asserted itself, although the results were a mixed bag.

In Delaware, Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell lost to Democrat Chris Coons in the race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly occupied by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Also, in Nevada, Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle lost to Democratic incumbent Harry Reid in a race that sometimes became vicious.

However, there were at least two bright spots in the U.S. Senate for the Tea Party: Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. In Kentucky, Paul defeated Democrat Jack Conway, while Rubio beat Independent candidate ( and current Florida Gov. ) Charlie Crist and Democrat Kendrick Meek. Tea Party wins are expected to make it tougher to advance pro-LGBT measures.

In other House races, Democrats in Illinois were losing seats, reflecting a national trend.

In the 10th Congressional District, Republican Robert Dold defeated Democrat Dan Seals, while Republican Randy Hultgren beat Democratic incumbent Bill Foster in the 14th District. In the 11th Congressional District, Republican Adam Kinzinger defeated incumbent Democrat Debbie Halvorson.

Bucking the trend, pro-LGBT Democratic incumbent Mike Quigley easily beat Republican Adam Ratowitz and Green Party candidate Matt Reichel in the 5th Congressional District. In addition, Democratic incumbent Jan Schakowsky ( another ally of the LGBT community ) routed Republican Joel Pollak.

Statewide office

In Illinois, the gubernatorial race was not officially called for at least three days—until the Associated Press officially projected Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn as the victor Nov. 4. However, the following day Republican challenger state Sen. Bill Brady finally conceded.

This race was seen as probably one of the most polarizing, especially regarding social issues, as the main candidates are on opposite ends of the spectrum. While Quinn supports abortion rights and civil unions for same-sex couples, Brady is not only seen as anti-gay but anti-woman in some circles as well, since he opposes abortions, even in cases of rape or incest.

Although some have said that independent candidate Scott Lee Cohen may have had the last laugh ( as he took enough of the vote to contribute to the post-electoral chaos ) , others have pointed to organizations such as the Chicago-based pro-choice group Personal PAC.

A Rich Miller article on the website Capitol Fax discussed how Kirk fared better in many Illinois districts than fellow Republican Brady—and talked about how Personal PAC Executive Director Terry Cosgrove cannily targeted "very middle of the road, average suburban women" ( including some 170,000 pro-choice Republican women ) regarding Brady's pro-life stance.

Personal PAC's sophisticated messaging also included a mailing about screening for prostate cancer. Brady voted against a measure requiring prostate-cancer screenings.

Equality Illinois ( EQIL ) —the state's largest organization advocating for full equality for LGBT individuals—praised the election of a "pro-equality slate of candidates in Tuesday's election," adding that " [ t ] he organization was especially pleased with the edge that its aggressive election efforts gave to Gov. Pat Quinn, enabling his re-election."

"I am so proud that Equality Illinois was able to play the key role in re-electing Governor Quinn. We amassed an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort, energizing thousands of voters," said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.


This article shared 3221 times since Wed Nov 10, 2010
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