The New York Times covers gay voters. The article contains this huge bombshell:
[G]ay voters in New York are looking past the issues that have long guided them toward a candidate. They are talking about the conflict in Iraq, universal health care and whether it is more important to have a president with experience or exuberance.
Wow! Gay people care about more than just gay issues? You’re kidding! Gay people care about the war in Iraq and health care? Amazing!
Last time I checked, gay people were not just single-issue voters. “The issues that have long guided gay people toward a candidate”? What the hell is that supposed to mean? From reading this article, one would never think that gay Americans live in communities, pay taxes, go to war or have relatives and friends who go to war, care about other people, or consider themselves American.
All this article manages to do is dehumanize and ghettoize us.
I understand where the TIMES is coming from here. I have this same conversation with my father and other straight people all the time. While, of course, gay voters are concerned about all the issues that straight voters are concerned about, the traditional gay issues of equality and civil rights are still paramount because, if we have candidates who believe that gay people are not equal citizens, then how can we even begin to discuss education, health care, the war, or anything else?
The fact that gay people are getting past basic issues is a double-edged sword. Yes, all of these issues are important and shouldn’t be ignored. But neither should we allow political candidates to think that they’ve gotten off the hook on our civil rights just because we’ll have a dialogue on education or whatever.
Civil Rights should still be uppermost in our thinking and politicians running for even the least of offices should be constantly having to defend why they don’t think gays are equal to straights.
They’re doing this wth every segment of the population, as you can see.
Look! Women might want a woman in the White House!
Look! Black people think Obama’s their only choice!
I won’t deny that I find I’m drawn to a candidate’s sexuality on those rare occasions we’re presented with a gay man or woman running for public office, but I still take a nice, hard look at the issues before I pull a lever and it’s really ridiculous and demeaning to suggest that most people look at a surface quality and cast a vote.
On the other hand, this IS the way some people vote: the “he/she’s just like me!” crowd. It got Shrub in office.
If the gays were single issue voters, there wouldn’t be Log Cabin Republicans.