MITT BOBS BACK: Republican hopeful Mitt Romney told NBC's Meet the Press Sun., Dec. 16, that while he still supports laws to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in employment at the state level, he no longer supports a federal one. Moderator Tim Russert had noted to Romney that, in his 1994 race for the U.S. Senate, he had indicated a willingness to co-sponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ) and asked him if he still supports it. 'I would not support it at the federal level and I changed in that regard because I think that policy makes more sense to be implemented at the state level,' Romney said.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: In a Dec. 4 interview, a C-SPAN reporter asked Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani to explain how the photograph of Giuliani in drag holding a cigar 'came about.' Giuliani laughed heartily and said he was at an event of a New York group that annually puts on a show that makes fun of the mayor. 'And then the mayor of New York gets an opportunity to respond,' he said. The tradition of that event, said Giuliani, is that the mayor delivers his response through a Broadway show. Giuliani said he was delivering his response using the context of the Julie Andrews cross-dressing hit Victor/Victoria. 'I was doing an imitation of Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday, Mr. President,' said Giuliani. He noted his other responses included impressions of The Beast from Beauty and the Beast; the godfather from the musical version of The Godfather; and the title character from The Lion King. He said he flew in once 'like Peter Pan, and drove in on a motorcycle. And, on Saturday Night Live, he noted, he dressed up like an Italian grandmother.
MITT BORKED: Famed ultra-conservative federal judge Robert Bork this month endorsed Republican Mitt Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination. It was apparently Romney's stance against same-sex marriage that attracted Bork. 'No other candidate will do more to advance the conservative judicial movement than Governor Mitt Romney,' said Bork in a Dec. 15 statement. 'He knows firsthand how the judicial branch can profoundly affect the future course of a state and a nation. I greatly admired his leadership in Massachusetts in the way that he responded to the activist court's ruling legalizing same-sex 'marriage.' His leadership on the issue has served as a model to the nation on how to respect all of our citizens while respecting the rule of law at the same time.'
BELLS WILL RING: Look for anti-gay rhetoric to heat up on the New Hampshire campaign trail starting Jan. 1. That's when same-sex couples in the Granite State can begin applying for civil-union licenses. Republican frontrunners Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are in a race to see who can be more anti-gay. They have been using competitor Rudy Giuliani as a straw man because he once said he was for civil unions. ( He later said they go 'too far,' and he was for domestic partnerships, instead. )
DISTANT CLOUDS: An anti-gay ballot measure will be on the statewide ballot in Florida in November 2008. The secretary of state on Dec. 17 certified that a group has collected enough signatures—more than 600,000—to put a 'Marriage Protection Amendment' on the ballot. The constitutional amendment would ban the recognition of legal rights for same-sex marriages, civil unions and domestic partnerships. Because of its timing, the measure could entice more conservative voters to the voting booths during the presidential election, perhaps influencing who wins Florida's 25 electoral votes.
KUEHL LEADERSHIP: Openly gay California State Rep. Sheila Kuehl has been named chair of the LGBT Steering Committee of the California Hillary Clinton for President Campaign. A list of more than 100 members of the steering committee, released this month, include former San Francisco Supervisors Roberta Achtenberg and Susan Leal, National Stonewall Democrats Co-chair Laurie McBride, and Oscar-winning film producer Bruce Cohen.
DODGE BALL: Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee told a Human Rights Campaign field staffer Dec. 15 that he didn't know how to get in touch with Jeanne White-Ginder to set up a meeting. Huckabee expressed a willingness to meet with her to discuss remarks he made in 1992, that the government should 'isolate the carriers of this plague.' An HRC statement Dec. 18 said the staffer gave a Huckabee field manager contact information but that the Huckabee campaign has still not gotten in touch with White-Ginder.
