LGBTs at their Caucus

There they are, about 380 strong (the number keeps growing, it was 366 this morning). According DNC officials, the number of LGBT delegates has grown by around 40% -- a number heavily touted today -- since the 275 that trekked to the 2004 convention. Speakers also said that 40% of LGBTs attending were people of color, though the room didn't seem to register quite that much diversity (that said, many of our delegates were attending other caucuses).

The increase is no small point of interest, given the controversy sparked when Garry Shay first introduced the idea of requiring states to have LGBT quotas in the same way they have quotas for other minorities -- essentially adding gays into the Party's affirmative action guidelines. But after some high-profile DNC party leaders opposed the idea of assigning quotas for the LGBT community, a deal was struck that required states to set "goals" for their gay and lesbian representation. DNC Chair Howard Dean brokered this deal and it has been a point of contention for both the DNC and the LGBT activists.

OK, call me a stooge of the DNC, but the strategy -- however imperfect -- worked to some extent. Forty-seven states set goals and more than a few failed to meet them (I haven't nailed this number down cuz it's a moving target). But overall, participation and representation has increased according to the numbers released today. And yes, the inclusion controversy is sure to continue once the dust settles from Convention 2008.

Scenes from the Convention

Welcome to Denver, where police officers in riot gear abound even as a great big blue bear tries to take down the Colorado Convention Center right under their noses.

In all seriousness, it's mayhem here. Nearly 50,000 delegates, journalists, and volunteers have descended upon Denver and it's definitely thrilling, but I'm not sure it's pretty. As a New Yorker, I can honestly say that the crowds, the waiting, and trying to get your bearings to find your way to the next event could work just about anybody's last nerve.

The big question tonight, of course, is will Michelle Obama's opening speech sooth the masses here in Denver, smooth the country's ruffled feathers, and bring Barack Obama to the nation in a way that middle America -- in its ever-growing and varied forms -- can relate to? Tonight, Michelle Obama is most certainly tasked with setting the stage for her husband. If the Michelle from the early days shows up -- the same Michelle that earned the nickname "the closer" back in Iowa for her ability to win over voters with her down-to-earth speeches -- Barack should be on his way.

 

This Is Our Time: DNC 2008

As I was riding in the hotel shuttle from the Denver Airport to my hotel for the evening, a spiffy-dressed woman next to me asked, “Are you from Florida too?”
    “No, I’m just staying with my friend tonight who is a delegate from Miami.”
    “Oh, I’m from Miami too! All of us delegates from Florida staying at the Red Lion.”
She took a deep breath and gazed across the plains to the Rockies beyond.
“This is our time. This is going to be history. We’ll never see another convention like this for another 25 years.”
    And so began my journey to the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. Since the Florida delegation was so late to be included in the convention (after famously shunned during the primaries), the only place left to put up the Sunshine Staters in Denver was the humble Red Lion Hotel, 20 minutes away from downtown’s politico hubbub, in the Siberia of airportland.
    No matter. I’ll be spending tomorrow night with out Congressman Barney Frank’s staff at their hotel downtown. Barney is an old friend who offered me a roommate situation with his driver, an ex-cop. No, the guy doesn’t look like a Marlboro Man, and yes, he is attached to a boyfriend.
After making myself at home in the Econo Lodge room, my delegate friend Ed calls up and tells me he is downtown heading to a Matthew Shepard Foundation party.
“It’s just $20 and the first drink is free!”
     He didn’t have to talk me into it. I already received email after email about the plethora of LGBT events happening over the course of the four-day convention, from gay tea parties to a Rock to Win concert with Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, and Rufus Wainwright. I quickly realized that all the good stuff happens away from the festooned floor of the Pepsi Center where all the big speeches go down.
    The Shepard cocktail/dessert party at the Westin was full of pantsuited lesbians, twinks in designer jeans, and random businessmen in various states of giddy inebriation. There was an electricity in the air, an anticipation of the days to unfold, as if indeed this would be the most gay-inclusive (heck, inclusive, period) election in U.S. history.
Mark Takano, an out Asian-American man from California who has been to three Democratic conventions and who once ran for Congress, summed it up while we sipped vodka and tonics: “What’s at stake here is a sense of history. This is the romantic Democrat narrative – that anyone can be president. It’s the American dream. Obama’s true believers are enthralled. I just hope that the rest of America will vote for someone who is unlike themselves.”
    He was right – this convention is just beginning, and the election is far from over. (Matthew Link)