GLAA Forum

POTUS at Nerd Prom

NOM's bizarre, persistent claim that marriage equality supporters are 'abandoning marriage'

Brian Brown of National Organization for Marriage persists in the implausible assertion that those of us who have worked so hard for years for the right of loving gay and lesbian couples to marry are somehow abandoning marriage. Here are highlights from his latest update:

Dear Marriage Supporter,

The news this week is tough. I'm not going to sugar coat it.

In Rhode Island, all five Republican state senators joined the Democrats in the state senate to pass a same-sex marriage bill. It now goes back to the House which had previously passed a gay marriage bill and the governor has promised to sign it.

The Rhode Island bill does not create a new category of marriage for same-sex couples. Rather, it completely redefines marriage for all people in Rhode Island....

Same-sex marriage is not just an attempt to help ordinary gay people live their private lives as they choose—it is part of a push for an aggressive new public norm that affects us all....

For the politicians who refused to let the people of Rhode Island vote on marriage, this is not over!...

We intend to make sure that every Rhode Islander knows how their policymakers voted on this critical issue. We will hold the politicians accountable for their votes.

Republicans, especially, will have to answer for abandoning marriage—a core position of the GOP platform. In New York, when the dust cleared, 3 out of the 4 Republican state senators who betrayed their constituents and voted for gay marriage were no longer in office.

Brown and his allies are desperate to portray themselves as the true victims of intolerance. This can only emerge from a deeply held sense of entitlement to special status and special privileges from which some group of "others" must be excluded. But no matter how often and how brazenly they try to disguise the discrimination they demand, one couple's marriage is not in any way devalued by other couples being afforded the same status. Brown's crusade is not about mere disagreement. It is built on and sustained by lies.

One thing Brown says, though, is true: Given the increasing radicalization of the GOP, Republican primary voters can indeed often punish Republican office holders who vote for inclusion and equal protection for same-sex couples. Unfortunately for the GOP, this only puts their party more and more at odds with broader public opinion. The ongoing, aggressive self-marginalization of the Republican Party is like a slow, massive traffic accident.

Bonds holds onto Council seat

(Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

WaPo reports:

Incumbent Anita Bonds held on to to her D.C. Council seat Tuesday after fending off five challengers in a special election that drew about 10 percent of eligible voters.

Bonds led fellow Democrat Elissa Silverman 32 percent to 28 percent in unofficial results late Tuesday. Republican Patrick Mara received 23 percent of the vote.

It is hard to draw many conclusions about "the will of the people" with a turnout of less than ten percent, other than widespread apathy and disaffection. In any case, congratulations to Councilmember Bonds. Her seat will be up for a full term in 2014, so enjoy several months of non-campaigning while you can. Elissa Silverman's strong showing sets her up for another run. Patrick Mara's latest loss, on the other hand, leaves him little hope of joining the Council unless independent Councilmember David Catania gives up his seat next year to run for Mayor or Attorney General. But even in that instance, other independents, probably fake ones, are likely to emerge. Mara's third-place showing after such an aggressive effort underscores the uphill climb faced by any Republican candidate in this heavily Democratic city.

As for Anita Bonds, criticisms aside, her agreement with GLAA on our issues is a reminder of how strongly positioned LGBT advocates are in the District after four decades of home rule.

Election night unofficial results are online at the Board of Elections and Ethics.

Elissa Silverman is the only pick for ethical leadership on the Council

In Tuesday's special election, there are only two candidates worthy of your vote, and one stands above.

The D.C. Council has been an ethical morass. Tuesday's special election is due to a cascade of events starting with Kwame Brown's resignation in disgrace and guilty plea to felony bank fraud. Last year also saw the resignation and guilty plea by Harry L. Thomas, Jr. For stealing from kids. Jim Graham has been  reprimanded by the Council and Marion Barry was previously censured by the Council. He served jail time, and has had his wages garnished for failure to pay taxes. Jack Evans convinced the rest of the Council to allow to use of corporate gifts—that should help constituents—pay for profession sports tickets for personal use. That is nothing short of a bribe made legal. The toothless ethical reform legislation passed under the leadership of Muriel Bowser was widely criticized by good government groups. The D.C. Council desperately needs an ethical leader.

Of the six candidates, Perry Redd and Paul Zukerberg are running message campaigns, but are not serious about winning.

Anita Bonds is the worst possible choice for Council. She represents all that is wrong with the Council and District politics. She ran the D.C. Democratic Party into the ground, and deferred elections so that she could parlay her role in the Chair of D.C. Democratic Party into an appointment by her friends with expired terms into a Council seat. Despite that there are 3 other Democrats running, she gave her own campaign the endorsement of the Democratic Party. She has even been charged with campaign violations in this race. She has been endorsed by the corruption tolerant councilmembers Evans, Bowser, Orange, McDuffie, Alexander, and Barry. Worst of all, she is running an explictly racist campaign that she says she wasn't smart enough to think up, but she hasn't distanced herself from it. Bonds would be a terrible step backwards into corruption and cronyism.

Patrick Mara has also become the subject of a campaign violation. While that is still preliminary, Mara has not been forthcoming about his lobbying clients and other sources of income. Mara's politics are classic libertarian. He is very good on gay rights, environment, choice, and statehood, but terrible on economics, taxes, labor, and education. An advocate of regressive taxation, Mara opposes minimum levels of sick leave and supports the federally imposed voucher program that undermines public education and sends children mainly to extremist religious schools that are exempt from the D.C. Human Rights Act and openly discriminate against LGBT people.

Matthew Frumin is honest, smart, and hardworking. He is clearly the expert in education in this race. He had the best rating from GLAA in this special election. We'd be lucky to have him on the Council. In another contest, he'd be a great pick.

However, in this election is about ethics. Frumin does have a strong ethical sense. He was one of the more than 300 volunteers helping with the initiative to ban corporate campaign contributions to politicians and candidates. So was I. But Elissa Silverman was one of the leaders of that effort. When all the candidates were challenged at a forum by a reporter to release their tax returns, Only Elissa Silverman did so the next day. Frumin also released his returns, but well after Silverman showed the way. Silverman is also living up to the spirit of the initiative and not seeking or accepting corporate donations to her campaign.

For years as a journalist, first as the Washington City Paper's Loose Lips, and then for the Washington Post, Silverman went after politicians and waste in government. As an analyst with the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, Silverman has delved into the D.C. budget as few have. She is very good on LGBT issues, the environment, choice, statehood, economics, taxation, labor, and education. She is the progressive in this race.

The winner Tuesday will be responsible for passage of the D.C. budget. Only Elissa Silverman is up to that task. Of all the candidates, only Elissa Silverman is in a position to lead the Council on ethical issues.

I strongly endorse Elissa Silverman for the April 23rd Special Election for an At-Large seat on the Council of the District of Columbia. I have voted for her, and I hope you do as well.

-Bob Summersgill
 ANC Commissioner, 3F07
 Former President of GLAA
 

 

Don't make him go Jersey on you people

(J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has done a robocall for Republican D.C. Council candidate Patrick Mara, Mike DeBonis reports. Here is the transcript:

Hello, this is Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey. I am calling today in support of Patrick Mara, the only Republican candidate running in next Tuesday’s special election for DC Council.

As a reformer myself, I respect and applaud Patrick Mara’s focus on fiscal responsibility, improving education, and ethics reform. Our country needs to elect accountable, responsible leaders like Patrick Mara at all levels of local government.

But Patrick can’t do it alone—he needs your help. Bring balance and accountability to the DC Council by voting for Patrick Mara next Tuesday, April 23. Thank you.

Christie, you may recall, vetoed New Jersey's marriage equality bill. In March 2012, I wrote about Jonathan Capehart's confrontation with Christie on Morning Joe over his lies and bullying.

Log Cabin head: staying in GOP despite its opposition to marriage equality

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Chris Matthews interviews Texas RNC Committeeman Robin Armstrong and Log Cabin Republican Executive Director Gregory Angelo.

Ireland to hold gay marriage referendum

The Guardian reports.

Meanwhile, the Church of England has ruled out blessings for same-sex couples. Because marriage is a sacred institution meant only for one man and one woman, said King Henry VIII whose desire to get out of his first marriage caused him to split from Rome and start his own church. Anglican, please.

Kabel is lone 'no' vote against RNC marriage resolution

The Blade reports. I appreciate D.C. gay Republican Bob Kabel's vote against the Republican National Committee's resolution Friday reaffirming its opposition to marriage equality. Kabel is a board member of Log Cabin and was a signatory on the amicus brief against Proposition 8 that was circulated by former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman. But the GOP has gotten worse on gay issues, not better. This is hardly a surprise, given that the crazies have taken over the party. So what is the point of sticking around? I realize that in other respects people like Kabel agree with conservative values. But given the GOP's evident inability to learn any lessons from its 2012 losses, wouldn't it be better for people like Kabel and Mehlman to work with other non-extreme conservatives to build a new conservative party not in thrall to the social right? I am only an observer here, as I am not conservative. But liberals need conservative negotiating partners. Our country needs to address its problems. Unfortunately, party leaders like Mitch McConnell clearly believe that gridlock will work to their advantage. So they continue to harm the country in pursuit of partisan gain and minority control over the country. No cause for pride there.

Jon Stewart: Guess Who's Coming to Howard

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Jon Stewart's hilarious takedown of Rand Paul and his incredibly patronizing remarks at Howard University.

MW: No obvious LGBT favorite for DC Council seat

John Riley in Metro Weekly gives a rundown on the state of the race in the April 23 special election for an At-Large D.C. Council seat.

Two particular comments got my attention. First, this comment by Blade business columnist Mark Lee, who supports Patrick Mara:

"I think it's very clear why the Bonds campaign is attacking Mara and attempting to nationalize the election by portraying him as a monster, in terms of his political affiliation," Lee says, dismissing Mara's critics. "They're attempting to link him to the national Republican Party. But that shit ain't selling. There's no danger of Newt Gingrich landing on the doorstep and taking over the city."

And then there's this from a friend of ours who backs Anita Bonds:

Christopher Dyer, a local activist and former head of the Office of GLBT Affairs under Mayor Adrian Fenty (D), says many are trying to unfairly link Bonds to her past dealings as campaign manager and legal advisor to former mayor and current Councilmember Marion Barry....

Yes, how outrageous to link Anita Bonds to her own past!

Racial bias rears its ugly head in D.C. Council special election

We in GLAA take issue with some unfortunate racial comments that were made earlier this week by Democratic D.C. Council candidate (and interim councilmember) Anita Bonds and Statehood-Green candidate Perry Redd.

First, the background. Tim Craig reported in The Washington Post on April 7:

George T. Johnson, head of Local 20 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which endorsed Bonds hours after [Michael A.] Brown withdrew from the race, said there is a strong desire within the black community to ensure the seat is held by an African American.

There are seven white and six black council members, including Bonds.

"People have perceptions about what this city is becoming ... and they want this council to remain black, and if they don’t get out there and put black folks in there, there will be a white city council," Johnson said. "That is a rough thing to say, but that is the truth."

In an April 8 debate on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, Bonds said of Johnson's comment, "There is a natural tendency to want your own," she said. "People want their leadership to reflect who they are." Redd said, "When Europeans are in control of any elected body, they do not care for the most vulnerable." (Hat tip to Martin Austermuhle of DCist.)

Memo to Perry Redd: Americans of African descent are not Africans. Americans of European descent are not Europeans. And so on. We are all Americans. Ethnic pride is one thing; racial exclusivity is quite another. Redd's sweeping derogatory statement about "Europeans" is especially unworthy of someone seeking election to serve a diverse community.

I have been voting in DC since 1980. I have voted for many African Americans and many women, despite being neither African American nor a woman; and I have been pleased and proud to be represented by them. I believe that most of my fellow citizens across the various lines of our diversity reciprocate that attitude. Candidates for public office should embrace that egalitarianism, not blithely disregard it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Those ringing words are a summation of the civil rights movement. The standard Dr. King set should be taken to heart by all Americans.

As people come and go in our multiracial city and the demographics change, we must stand and work together for the benefit of all. Whatever the results of this special election, attitudes like those expressed by Bonds and Redd are not just wrong, but increasingly out of date. Competent and responsive government should be the focus, not color.

Candidates should be evaluated based on merit, regardless of color, religion, party, gender, sexual orientation, or any other factor unrelated to their ability and commitment to serve the interests of everyone in our city.

Perry Redd and Anita Bonds therefore owe an apology to their fellow Washingtonians of every hue.

(Photo by Rick Rosendall)

PrezBillyJeff's first tweet

The Colbert Report
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Stephen Colbert took the liberty of setting up a Twitter account for Bill Clinton. The first two parts of the interview after the jump.

Jon Stewart to GOP: what's the obsession with bestiality?

Thank you, Mr. Stewart.

Jake Tapper to Mark Sanford: 'Who Are You To Deny Love?'

Thanks to Jake Tapper.

Speaking for myself: to Mr. Sanford and other so-called conservatives who never seem to think their own professed standards apply to them; who only fault "unelected judges" when courts don't rule their way; and who seek public office less from a desire to serve than from terminal self-absorption: please get lost, whether on the Appalachian Trail or as a piece of luggage.

Michael Brown drops out of D.C. Council race

(Photo courtesy The DC Spotlight)

Loose Lips reports:

"It is with extreme disappointment that I am announcing my withdrawal from the At-Large Council race," Brown says in a written statement he handed to LL after telling staff and volunteers about his decision. "I have some very important personal and family matters that require my immediate attention. Thank you to my family, friends, and supporters for your understanding. I will not be making an endorsement. Vote Democrat!"

Brown's name will still appear on the ballot.

Rep. Matt Salmon's gay son hasn't softened his opposition to marriage equality

A sad reminder that there are hardened hearts and minds. Indeed, many of our most outspoken opponents have estranged gay family members.

50 U.S. Senators now support marriage equality; do we hear 51?

Support for the freedom to marry appears to accelerate as Democratic U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Tom Carper (D-DE), and Republican Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), get on board. Now 50 U.S. senators support marriage equality. And Andrew Kaczynski tweets:

‏@BuzzFeedAndrew
There are 52 Senators who want to repeal DOMA. Democratic Senators Nelson & Johnson don't support gay marriage but want to repeal DOMA.

Meet openly gay PA state Rep. Brian Sims

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If you can stomach the prefatory verbal diarrhea of Chris Matthews, watch this clip featuring openly gay Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims. Joy Reid, managing editor of thegrio.com, also participates in the discussion.

NYT on a mayoral candidate's temper

I would characterize this story on NYC City Council speaker Christine Quinn as "Rudy in drag," but of course that role is already taken by Rudy.

I saw Quinn this morning on MSNBC, and she says that while she is prepared to apologize when she goes over the line, she makes no apologies for strongly defending the interests of the people of New York. Good line.

Wanda Sykes, the best medicine

I'm still trying to clear my head of the craziness from the CPAC conference, and I find that some Wanda Sykes fits the bill. This clip is nearly four years old, from the first year of Obama's presidency.

Sarah Palin classes up CPAC

"He's got the rifle, I got the rack."

The next time you think of anything nice to say about Sen. John McCain, remember that he tried to put this woman a heartbeat away from being President of the United States.

(Hat tip: Right Wing Watch)

'Don't Give Rob Portman a Free Pass'

Dan Treadway at HuffPost Gay Voices writes about what is unsatisfactory in Sen. Rob Portman's (R-OH) turn in support of marriage equality two years after his gay son came out to him.

After reading a lot of angry comments on Facebook, I posted the following:

We don't need to give Portman a "free pass" in order to give him due credit for moving in the right direction. If we jump down this guy's throat because he still has a distance to travel, we discourage others from taking their first step. Let's treat this as a good first step and encourage more steps in the right direction, not shut the conversation down with name-calling. Come on, folks--activism is not therapy.

CPAC Participant Defends Slavery At Minority Outreach Panel: It Gave ‘Food And Shelter’ To Blacks

Scott Keyes and Zack Beauchamp at ThinkProgress report:

A panel at the Conservative Political Action Committee on Republican minority outreach exploded into controversy on Friday afternoon, after an audience member defended slavery as good for African-Americans.

The exchange occurred after an audience member from North Carolina, 30-year-old Scott Terry, asked whether Republicans could endorse races remaining separate but equal. After the presenter, K. Carl Smith of Frederick Douglass Republicans, answered by referencing a letter by Frederick Douglass forgiving his former master, the audience member said “For what? For feeding him and housing him?” Several people in the audience cheered and applauded Terry’s outburst.

Simply gobsmacking.

Bill Clinton's political seductions

My column this week looks at the mixed reactions to Bill Clinton's call for the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act that he signed into law in 1996. Here's an excerpt:

Clinton is a particularly shameless politician, but Barack Obama is a politician too. His political calculus is applied to a society substantially changed since the Clinton era. Yet the calculation still rankles many activists, who demand a purity our system is not designed to produce.

Politicians cannot substitute for advocates. We needed Lyndon Johnson to push for the Voting Rights Act in 1965, but he needed John Lewis and Hosea Williams and the other marchers who faced police truncheons and tear gas on Bloody Sunday, as well as the reporters and news photographers covering the event. Activists prepare the way, planting seeds of progress often reaped by others.

The anger over Clinton's lies and lack of leadership seems pointless now, like yelling at a ghost over an old wrong. I am more intrigued by the contrasting personalities. Clinton the extrovert worked us the way Teddy Pendergrass worked a concert audience. His seductions left us feeling foolish when reality dispelled the fantasy. Obama finds affirmation within himself, having been forced, as a young man caught between cultures, to construct his own identity. Many gay people recognize in his journey our own coming of age amid an absence of role models. Like Ralph Ellison's fictional narrator, we had the gift, and the curse, of being invisible. We are survivors; we do not need validation from a politician.

Read the whole thing here.

Frumin and Bonds top GLAA's D.C. Council candidate ratings

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC
P.O. Box 75265, Washington, DC 20013

March 13, 2013
Contact: Rick Rosendall, President
(202) 667-5139

Frumin and Bonds top GLAA's D.C. Council candidate ratings

Matthew Frumin topped the ratings by the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) candidate ratings in the April 23 special election for At-Large DC Council with a score of +7. Councilmember Anita Bonds earned +6.5. Former Councilmember Michael A. Brown earned +6. They were the highest-rated candidates in this race, but Perry Redd, Elissa Silverman, and Patrick Mara had scores that followed closely behind. No candidate received a negative rating. GLAA held its ratings meeting on March 12.

The following are explanations of the individual ratings for D.C. Council special election candidates.

Democratic candidate Matthew Frumin (+7) agreed with GLAA on every issue and showed a strong understanding of the issues. He co-sponsored a resolution in favor of a marriage equality law with the other members of ANC 3E on May 14, 2009. It passed unanimously. The resolution was timed for the marriage recognition bill and submitted as testimony later on the marriage equality bill.

Democratic incumbent Anita Bonds (+6.5) agreed with GLAA on every issue. Her questionnaire showed a good understanding of the issues. Her record in favor of LGBT rights goes back many years.

Democratic candidate Michael A. Brown (+6) wrote over his 2012 response instead of retyping the questionnaire, which had several changes for 2013. He agrees with GLAA on nearly every issue. He added no new substance. He voted reliably for all of GLAA's issues in his one term on the council.

Statehood-Green candidate Perry Redd (+5.5) agreed with GLAA on every issue, demonstrated a reasonable understanding of the issues, and has some record of support of gay people and issues.

Democratic candidate Elissa Silverman (+5.5) agreed with GLAA on every issue. Her questionnaire showed a fair level of understanding the issues. Her record reporting on LGBT issues goes back many years.

Republican candidate Patrick Mara (+5) agreed with GLAA on most positions, but disagreed on issues including school vouchers and liquor licensing reform, and offered limited substance. His advocacy for marriage equality, including his lobbying of Republicans in Congress not to interfere in the District's decision on the matter, earned him one of the highest record-related scores in this field of candidates (see points breakdown).

Democratic candidate Paul Zukerberg (+2) agreed with GLAA on most issues. He provided almost no substance. His advocacy for medical marijuana was noted.

Council At-Large Candidate Responses Re ABC Licensing Reform

Thanks to Mark Lee for compiling these responses to GLAA's questionnaire for candidates in the April 23 special election for At-Large Council.

The complete candidate responses are online at http://www.glaa.org/archive/2013/cqresponses.shtml.

ANITA BONDS (D):

CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
14. Will you support legislation to eliminate legal standing for ad hoc protest groups, and citizens associations in liquor licensing cases, to permit input by all community stakeholders via the great weight already accorded Advisory Neighborhood Commissions?

Yes. As a former four-term ANC Commissioner, I understand the process of liquor licensing approval and believe the commission's decision should hold more than "great weight" because they are acting on behalf of their constituents in their neighborhood where the license is to be considered. A strong advocate of protest and democracy, I believe those in opposition should argue their concerns to the ANC, not the courts.

__________________________________________________

MICHAEL A. BROWN (D):

CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES
14. Will you support legislation to eliminate legal standing for ad hoc protest groups, and citizens associations in liquor licensing cases, to permit input by all community stakeholders via the great weight already accorded Advisory Neighborhood Commissions?

[NOTE: The candidate initially did not respond to this question. The following was submitted as an addendum on Tuesday morning, March 12.] As community input is paramount in a democracy, our citizens should use the mechanisms and vehicles that are already in place. When small groups of citizens form to oppose/support a particular measure, it damages the foundation of the ANC process.

__________________________________________________

"America is not the greatest country in the world any more"

From HBO's The Newsroom. I could do without Aaron Sorkin's classic manipulations -- the dramatics, f-bombs, and shock tactics. But the substance? Yes. Liberals need to find our voices again. We need to make the case for the classic values we stand for, as if we are not ashamed of them nor afraid of standing up for them with voters. The reactionaries, nativists, fundamentalists, profiteers, obscurantists, paranoids, and bullies who have done so much damage to our country cannot be defeated in one election. But what last November should have taught us is that if we fight, we can win.

Alert: This is a test. Bryan is gay.

A councilman in Washington, Pennsylvania tests the city's transit alert system. Oh, but he didn't mean gay-gay. Jimmy Kimmel piles on.

Blade: Council race heats up

Lou Chibbaro reports on the significant support that Republican candidate Patrick Mara appears to be winning from gay and Democratic voters in the April 23 special election for an At-Large seat on the D.C. Council.

GLAA's ratings meeting will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, March 12 in Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. Check out our Elections Project.

Tatchell: "Why not economic democracy too?"

The man who twice attempted a citizen's arrest of Robert Mugabe takes on Prime Minister Cameron's austerity policies and invokes the dreaded name of John Maynard Keynes. Peter Tatchell proposes his own alternatives to cutting the British welfare state and says, "The poor in our society are bearing the brunt of an economic crisis that they did not create." Listening to his engaging presentation makes me sorry he isn't in the House of Commons. (Note: Peter's voices comes through much more clearly than the introducer's.)

Obama DOJ will file brief in Perry

Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed reports. The breadth of the Obama Administration's forthcoming brief against Proposition 8 is not yet known. It will be before day's end.

While you're waiting, you can check AFER's blog.

Mississippi politician dead; foul play suspected

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports that openly gay Clarksdale, Mississippi mayoral candidate Marco McMillian was found dead near the Mississippi River on Wednesday. Suspect Lawrence Reed, 22, who was apprehended after crashing McMillian's SUV, is in custody. ABC News reports.

An awful story. Can you smell a "gay panic" defense coming? I remember the one that failed in Jones County, Mississippi in 1995 when Marvin McClendon was convicted in the murder of two gay men. However this one plays out, may justice be done.

(Photo of Marco McMillian from his Facebook page)

Jim Graham's reprimand

Metro Weekly reports on the D.C. Council's action on Monday, February 25 to reprimand Ward One D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham and take away his committee's jurisdiction over the ABC Board. I attended the special Council meeting and have followed recent developments, so I will offer my thoughts here.

At the Monday meeting, Jim Graham appeared ready to move on, which would be smart. Over the previous week, his public comments did him more harm than good. For example, his "you could be next" warning to his Council colleagues was bound to be resented even if true, and all but forced their hand against him (though Chairman Phil Mendelson had made it clear he was determined to act in any case). Also, Jim's pretense that ethics equals non-criminality persuaded no one. Ethics in government must be about more than that. As for his earlier calls for another investigation, it is hard to imagine how that would be in his interest after the investigations by the WMATA board, the Ethics Board, and the Inspector General. Denying everything and playing the martyr were not working for him.

Jim's defense of his record in overseeing the city's alcohol regulation was fine, but he made one unfortunate statement when he called the Washington Post's earlier call for his resignation a "lynching." I am sure that upon reflection, given our nation's history, he would agree that his situation is in no way comparable. As to Councilmember Barry's claim that Graham's due process rights had been violated (in which Barry quoted the 14th Amendment, "nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"), one wonders which of the specified rights Barry thought Graham was being deprived of. Oversight authority over a government agency is not a legislator's property.

None of that has anything to do with Graham's record on LGBT issues. In case there is any question, let us be clear: Jim deserves his props for being a strong, reliable, longstanding supporter of LGBT concerns. Just because someone is gay does not make this automatic, as we have seen with the closeted ministers who overcompensate by their aggressive opposition to marriage equality. So Jim deserves due credit for his leadership, including (as he mentioned at the Feb. 25 meeting) taking on an unpopular issue like nude dancing when it came up in 2007 as a result of the city's seizure by eminent domain of the old gay club zone to build the Nationals ballpark. Jim did his best in the face of demagoguery by then-Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr. to get a fair shake for the displaced clubs and their customers. That issue was much more controversial, even within the LGBT community, than most of the issues GLAA advocates.

As for Jim's political future, he appears to have good prospects for re-election in 2014. His ward is thriving (unlike that of his defender, Mr. Barry), and it remains to be seen whether anyone can mount an effective challenge against him. Taking his lumps now and moving on, rather than continuing to have his lawyer fight the Ethics Board, would be the smartest course for him. As for potential challengers, voters in every ward of the city would benefit from the development of a stronger class of challengers. Voters, most recently in last year's victory by David Grosso over Michael A. Brown in the At-Large Council race, have shown that they will give a serious look to a challenger when they see one with a record and organization that gives reason to take them seriously.

U.S. Solicitor General files brief calling for overturn of DOMA

Big news tonight: The Obama Administration, through Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, filed a brief today in United States v. Windsor calling on the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional.

Our friend Chris Geidner has the goods at BuzzFeed:

@chrisgeidner
BREAKING: Obama Administration Urges Supreme Court To Strike Down #DOMA: http://bit.ly/USeBx3

Follow the link and join the gay folk across America savoring this moment. Here is a summary paragraph:

Section 3 of DOMA violates the fundamental constitutional guarantee of equal protection. The law denies to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who are legally married under state law an array of important federal benefits that are available to legally married opposite-sex couples. Because this discrimination cannot be justified as substantially furthering any important governmental interest, Section 3 is unconstitutional.

Elections have consequences!

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Chuck Theis tweeted in response to this story by WaPo reporters Tim Craig and Mike DeBonis:

@ChuckTheis “I’ve fought all my life against injustices, and this is unjust.” --@marionbarryjr, on witch hunt vs. @JimGrahamWard1 http://t.co/qabQKu3DRE

Yes, this is totally like the Salem witch trials!

I'm sure I'd have felt that

Trunews host Rick Wiles says that President Obama has "spiritually sodomized" the nation. His guest, my old sparring partner Bishop Harry Jackson (who can be heard thinking, "You can do that?") says he might not put it that way.

Fischer says he's not racist because he supports a right-wing black guy for Prez

Right Wing Watch shares this video of AFA's Bryan Fischer with this comment:

Bryan Fischer explains that he is totally not racist because he likes Alan Keyes, Herman Cain, and wants Dr. Ben Carson to run for president.

Right-wing voices like Fischer keep pushing the notion that black, Latino and Asian voters will start voting Republican because the party sends a person of color forward to spout the same extreme views. Can you say denial?

"They deserve a vote!"

The crescendo of President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night came when he called for a vote in Congress on gun safety reform and introduced people in the gallery whose loved ones were lost to recent gun violence.

Husband of FB cofounder to run for Congress in NY-19

Sean Eldridge, 26, who heads an investment firm and is married to Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes, has filed papers to run for Congress representing New York's 19th District, which is in the Hudson Valley. BuzzFeed offers "10 Things To Know About Sean Eldridge."

"A Growing, Modern Republican Party"

Get out your hankies for this one. See if you can spot the shot from Tootsie.