It looks like this could be a night where Obama wins by a greater margin than I could have imagined and equality in California falls by a greater margin than I would have expected. Indeed, I was hopeful that proposition 8 would fail in the most progressive state in the country. Unfortunately, hatred and bigotry look like they have won another temporary victory.

Regardless of how that turns out, at worst it can only delay the inevitable. As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members of our society become more accepted, as the lies and myths are debunked, the opposition to full equality will crumble. It looks like it may take longer than we’d hoped. As I head off to get some sleep, maybe the tide will change, but even if it doesn’t, it is only a matter of time.

I was appalled to learn that Senator McCain had announced his endorsement of the proposed constitutional ban on gay marriage in California.

Please inform the Senator that his actions have cost him my vote and ensured that I will do what I can to help Senator Obama win in Virginia (where I live).

With great disappointment,
Linda Thomas

Here’s what his website said:

We’re sorry. There appears to have been an error with your request. Please try again or if the problem continues, please contact us.

The “contact us” was a link back to the contact page where I had just tried to send a message. I guess McCain’s more interested in talking than listening. It’s only July and he’s managed to totally alienate me. For someone who doesn’t have the words “George” or “Bush” in his name, that’s pretty bad.

It seems kind of odd that I would be paying attention since my delegate and senator were running unopposed and I like the job that both of them have been doing. But, there were other races that I found I cared about and the results I got were a mixed bag.

It was great to see Delegates Caputo, Englin and Poisson get re-elected. And we got rid of one socially regressive senator (O’Brien) and replaced him with someone much more progressive (Barker). This was particularly gratifying because the Virginia Republican Party put out these anti-gay attack ads right at the end of the campaign.

Unfortunately it looks like Senator Cucinelli will hold on to his seat though by only the slimmest of margins. It was so close I suppose they have to do a recount but the odds of it changing probably aren’t good.

I don’t have any kids but I was happy to see Stephen Hunt get voted out of office on he school board. He used his position to launch an anti-gay attack a couple of years ago and we sure don’t need that in Fairfax County.

So, it was a mixed bag in that we didn’t win them all but we didn’t lose any ground and we made some progress.

Perhaps the most interesting race was the Devolites Davis/Petersen race. I wasn’t thrilled with either candidate and had no idea how it would come out but I expected it would be close. Turns out Petersen won easily. The only real advantage I see is that his win gives the democrats control of the senate and hopefully that will put an end to any anti-gay legislation out of Richmond, at least for 2008.

The forum was held at MCC NOVA in Fairfax and was attended by 40-50 people as well as I can estimate.

In two cases, the incumbents declined to attend but in the 34th senate district covering Vienna, Oakton and Fairfax bot the incumbent and challenger were there.

I had other responsibilities so I didn’t get many photos and I’m beginning to think that I need to get over my aversion to flash photography when at MCC because the lighting there tends to be heavily backlit. The 40D handled well on its first time out but I’m looking forward to getting it out to some outdoor photography.

Click an image below to enlarge it or view the set on flickr.

If you live in the 34th Senate District (Vienna, Oakton, Fairfax, Fair Oaks), then you have a choice between the incumbent Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis and challenger Chap Petersen. Both candidates will be at the forum.

If you live in the 37th Senate District (Centreville, Burke, Fairfax (Government Center & along Fairfax County Parkway), parts of Springfield), you have a choice between incumbent Ken Cucinelli and challenger Janet Oleszek. Senator Cucinelli, not surprisingly, declined to appear but his challenger will be there.

If you live in the 39th Senate District (Clifton, Fairfax Station, Lorton, parts of Springfield, Franconia, and the Occoquan District in Prince William County), then your choice is between the incumbent Jay O’Brien and challenger George Barker. Senator O’Brien declined to attend (again, no great surprise), but George Barker will be in attendance.

If you live in those districts or have friends that live in those districts you may want to attend. It’s a chance to talk to the candidates on the issues that matter to you.

I don’t know who Senator Craig really is. Until last week I’d never heard of him. But, from watching his actions it looks like he’s a man that reacts from fear instead of someone who makes informed decisions. And it looks like this is a pattern as long as his public service.

• During the page scandal of the late 1980′s he released a preemptive press release saying he hadn’t done anything wrong. Funny thing is, nobody had accused him.
• When he’s arrested for soliciting sex, he pleads guilty probably hoping nobody would notice.
• When it all comes out and he is pressured, he resigns.
• He has voted against civil rights for gay people at every opportunity

It is arguable that every single one of those actions has been taken in fear. He probably regrets the first three and uses the fourth to bolster his denial about himself. Nothing feeds self-loathing like whipping those who are brave enough to publicly admit who they are in a hostile environment.

Honestly, I’d love to see him stay in office and run again. His reputation is so damaged that it means his opponent, who is likely to be more sympathetic to civil rights issues is likely to win. But, if I’m right about his motivations, he should resign. He isn’t doing anyone any good. Idaho deserves a senator who has the integrity to serve openly and honestly and who doesn’t live his life reinforcing the closet door.

Just one more reason that January 9, 2009 can’t get here fast enough.

Two Democratic candidates didn’t participate because of scheduling conflicts.

Not one Republican candidate accepted the invitation to participate.

I don’t think this could have happened eight years ago. Not many candidates were willing to be seen as too friendly to LGBT issues and most of them tap danced around the issues. This year there were six on stage at a national gay event and at least one of the Democratic candidates who couldn’t participate is also on record as being very supportive (Senator Biden).

I came in expecting this to be a mostly content free show with softball questions lobbed up to candidates but it wasn’t. They asked good questions and mostly got real answers (by real I mean they didn’t sidestep the question and answer a different question).

Let’s start with the worst of the bunch from my perspective. Bill Richardson looked uncomfortable and floundered a bit. He seemed ill prepared and didn’t impress me. Even so, he’s generally a supportive politician. And he was the worst of the bunch.

Clinton and Obama both are strong supporters of the LGBT rights and really only miss on the marriage issue (both support civil unions). They are willing to settle for civil unions and their answers were a little too politically calculated for my taste.

Edwards is similar except he’s honest about not support marriage. He does support civil unions. I respected his honesty.

Kucinich isn’t as polished as the above candidates but he’s there 100%. He supports marriage rights. Same for Gravel, even though he hasn’t been active in politics for 26 years.

Speaking solely on LGBT issues, I’d rate them in this order:
1. Kucinich, Gravel
2. Edwards
3. Clinton, Obama
4. Richardson

Except for marriage, there isn’t a huge difference though Richardson didn’t come off as being strongly supportive while the others did. Frankly, any of the would be a thousand percent improvement over the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Click an image below to enlarge it or view the set on flickr.