Chelsea Takes the Stage

Chelsea's gay welcome at Woody's Friday night, Photo: Jon Winkleman

It's no secret that more than a few gay men have harbored a crush on Hillary Clinton ever since her days as First Lady. But Chelsea is now emerging as a close runner up in her own right. It all started in Dallas, TX when she attended last-minute events at JR's and Sue Ellen's (the two gay bars in town ... for real!) with Gloria Steinem and producer/director Rob Reiner. The trio drew nearly 1,000 people total at the two events (not bad for 24 hours notice). Since then, Chelsea has really come into her own, attending Portland's Red Dress party, and a couple weeks ago she head-lined a town hall meeting organized by the Liberty City Democrats at Woody's, a local gay bar in Philly.

New York LGBT activist and devout Clinton supporter Jon Winkleman has volunteered for Hillary in several states and he summed up Chelsea's evolution this way: "Early in the primary she was very quiet and reserved -- never really spoke at events in Iowa and New Hampshire. When I waited on her at the Four Seasons and told her I was going to both states for her Mom, she simply gave a thumbs up but didn't really speak. But over the course of the campaign, she really found her voice and comfort level. She gets a great response from gays. And with the response she's getting, I'm suspecting that she is really enjoying us. I liked her in December. In April, I'm in love with her. As Chelsea finds her voice, she is becoming a better secret weapon for Hillary than Bill."

Chelsea stumps with Rob Reiner looking on and Gov. Rendell in the foreground, Photo: Jon Winkleman

Chelsea's gay draw was in full display Friday night when she joined Gov. Ed Rendell, actor Robert Gant and Reiner for Rendell's traditional pre-election LGBT pub crawl, from Bump and Woody's to Sisters and Tavern on Camac. Maybe it's no coincidence she shares a name with one of New York's most legendary gayborhoods.

Comments

[Becki Jayne]

Gays love Hillary now Chelsea
http://therealspiel.blogspot.com/2008/04/gays-love-hillary-now-chelsea.html

Thanks for the info from Philly.

[Joe Brown]

Hopefully, Pennsylvania will go to the polls and give Clinton a substantial victory over the special interest money heavy Obama. Sending him a message, we are not fooled by where the money is really coming from (see washingtonpost.com "Big Donor" article)