Jared Polis--lookin' good

Jared Polis--vying for a seat in Congress representing Boulder-area Colorado--is pulling way ahead of Republican challenger Scott Starin. The openly gay pol has 63% of the vote with 14% of precincts reporting, reports Daily Kos. (The Advocate)

Tim Robbins Suddenly Spokesman for Disenfranchisement

Photo: Getty Images

The many groups vigilantly watching to make sure every registered voter gets their moment at the polls today probably weren't expecting to have a celebrity spokesperson -- let alone a marquee activist actor.

According to CNN:

In New York City, actor Tim Robbins reported that his name was not on the register.

"I'm just waiting for an explanation. I want a real explanation, and I want that explanation for the hundreds and thousands of people in my district and throughout the city who are experiencing the same thing today," Robbins told CNN.

Robbins and his partner, Susan Sarandon, have been longtime progressive activists, and he's clearly learned how to make a stink when needed. Check this video at TMZ.com to see the full furious performance.

So, "No on Prop 8" is a Mac

We've encountered a cute parody of the popular "Hello, I'm a Mac," "And I'm a PC" commercials for Apple. Though, while John Hodgman, who plays PC in the commercials is dorkily charming, the "Yes" guy in this video just looks sleezy haha.

Barack Obama and Bill O'Reilly Face Off

A man of his word, as Bill O'Reilly said, Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama sat down with the conservative gab fest host to talk about the election. And while the two didn't see eye to eye on several issues, one thing is certain... the two men make for some entertaining TV. Take a look!

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe on John McCain

Log Cabin Republicans made news Tuesday afternoon with their endorsement of John McCain for president, but the announcement wasn't the only attention grabber at the group's "Big Tent Event." Held at the elegant Downtown Clubhouse of the University Club of St. Paul, the luncheon featured remarks by numerous LCR officials as well as conservative gadfly and anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist -- introduced as a "good friend of Log Cabin" -- McCain campaign national political director Mike DuHaime, and former U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe.

McCain's "running an inclusive campaign and he's going to have an inclusive administration," declared DuHaime (who's straight), though he didn't cite any evidence for such inclusion. (Certainly McCain's VP pick of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who's singlehandedly energized the GOP's conservative base, is the biggest sign yet that the one-time moderate has kow-towed to the divisive politics of the far right.)

DuHaime went on to say that the Obama campaign "thinks they have a lock on the [LGBT] community, but we can't allow that," and implored those gathered to promote McCain's candidacy to their friends and family. "We have our work cut out for us," he said, noting that some 40-million people watched Obama's acceptance speech on TV last Thursday.

While DuHaime didn't imbue his comments with great passion -- in marked contrast to the heartfelt plea that Obama deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand made to the LGBT caucus at the genuinely inclusive Democratic convention -- Kolbe made the personal case himself. The former Arizona congressman, who retired in 2006 after 11 terms, recalled the conversation he had with McCain as he prepared to go public about his sexuality in 1996. (Kolbe had voted for the Defense of Marriage Act that year, and The Advocate was set to out him, which forced Kolbe to hold a news conference.)

McCain was the first lawmaker he came out to, pulling him aside at a meeting of the Arizona congressional delegation. "I said, 'John, I have to tell you something,' " Kolbe told the crowd, "and he put his hand up and said, 'Jim, it doesn't make any difference. You're a great legislator today, you'll be a great legislator tomorrow. You're a friend today, you'll be a friend tomorrow. None of this matters.'

"That really touched me," Kolbe continued. "It gave me the encouragement to go and talk to other political leaderes. I will not forget that moment for anything."

For Kolbe, it was an experience that trumps McCain's less-than-stellar record on gay rights. "While he hasn't been where we would want him to be on all of our issues, I know where he is on this issue," Kolbe said, apparently referring to sexual orientation broadly. "There's not one iota of discrimination in him."

"It's a journey for all of us and it's a journey for John McCain," Kolbe concluded, "but I think we're on the right track." The gay Republicans in the room exploded with applause.

The Battle Is Far From Over in California

Neal here. Just spoke with Jon Davidson, legal counsel for Lambda Legal. Davidson was on the case that won marriage equality in California. He says that Lambda, and all gay groups, will have to fight like hell to stop the anti-marriage amendment ballot that the religious right is trying to get on the California ballot this November.
If successful, the amendment would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in the state. The fight ain't over.

Calif. Marriage: Dancing in the Street?

This morning Neal (Associate Editor), Meghan (Associate Photo Editor) and I (editorial assistant) went to West Hollywood to see if people were dancing and singing in the streets. That wasn't quite the case as this is Los Angles and it was only 10:30 a.m. But we did end up notifying a lot of old folks that gay marriage was legal in the state -- one woman looked like he was going to smack Neal, and one guy called Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa a "dork"... but he was happy nonetheless. Some guy brunching at The Abbey asked if "regular marriage was outlawed, too."

So far, WeHo is still waking up, in the true Los Angeles tradition, but there's a full on party going at San Francisco City Hall.

Battle For LGBT Voters Rages On

Photo: Getty Images

Even as Barack Obama's campaign finalized an ad buy last week for four full-page ads in local gay weeklies in Ohio and Texas, Hillary Clinton was conducting a conference call on LGBT issues and answering the questions of local reporters from the Dallas Voice and two Ohio publications: Outlook Weekly and Gay People's Chronicle. Altogether, Clinton has done interviews with six LGBT outlets, including The Advocate, Logo, and The Washington Blade. Clinton also published a message to LGBT Americans on OurChart.com.

Obama has given one interview to an LGBT news outlet: last October to The Advocate. Today he published an open letter to the LGBT community on the blog Bilerico Project, the second such post he has made to that site.

Obama Ad Buys in Ohio & Texas

The Obama campaign is lavishing some of its cash advantage on the LGBT community with targeted ad buys in Ohio and Texas leading up to the critical March 4th primaries in both states (Rhode Island and Vermont also vote that day). According to Obama LGBT Steering Committee member Eric Stern, the campaign has just completed an ad buy with queer newspapers in the four largest LGBT markets of those two states -- Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas and Houston.

This is a generic version of the full-page ad that will appear starting this Friday (2/29) in Outlook Weekly of Columbus, the Gay People's Chronicle of Cleveland, the Dallas Voice, and OutSmart, which is Houston based. Buying a full-page, four-color ad that appears one time typically costs anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 in weekly publications. In the Gay People's Chronicle, for instance, the ad cost about $850 according to the paper's advertising manager; the same ad went for about $1500 in the Dallas Voice. (Ad provided by Obama '08) 

The ads were the brainchild of Stampp Corbin, co-chair of Sen. Obama's National LGBT Leadership Council. Stern called the coordinated buy "the icing on the cake" in terms of the Obama camp's outreach to the gay community in Ohio and Texas. "It's a direct appeal to LGBT voters asking for their support," he said, adding that the ads will include market-specific information about how people can get involved with the campaign. The Obama campaign has actively been trying to cut into the longstanding ties between gays and lesbians and Hillary Clinton.

Wisconsin Basics

Wisconsin (92 delegates) voting is under way and Hawaii (29 delegates) caucuses tonight, both likely to fall for Obama, but perhaps not quite as decisively as once was thought.

The Obama campaign’s internal projections (accidentally sent to reporters last week) had him winning Wisconsin by a 7-point margin, 53% to 46%, and Hawaii 52% to 47%.

But in Wisconsin, polling appears to have tightened up a bit over the weekend with Rasmussen Reports giving Obama a 4-point edge in Wisconsin (+/-4.0 margin of error) and nearly a quarter of those polled saying they might change their mind before voting.

Hawaii still favors Obama, partly because he grew up there and partly because caucus states have been good to him. But Clinton did put some resources into the state, not the least of which was Chelsea who spent a couple days stumping for her there -- leading to some last-minute momentum on the ground.

Wisconsin does hold some demographic favorables for Clinton: it's about 9/10 white, has a large working class, and is slightly older on average than the rest of the nation. However, the state also holds open primaries, meaning independents and Republicans can vote in the Democratic primary if they so choose. Wisconsin's nearly 30% registered independents are expected to be a boost for Obama.

If Clinton were to win Wisconsin, it would be a huge morale booster, though it might not result in a big delegate change since the margin would likely be small. The pundits are still leaning Obama, though most are saying that it may well be tighter than originally expected.