Democratic Candidates Compete for Gay Support

Sometimes its frustrating being a gay democrat, until you look at the Republican candidates. Short of “gay marriage” all the Democratic candidates are courting gay voters and support our civil rights, while the Republican candidates (less and except Rudy Giuliani) are racing away from us.
I respect David Mixner and his decision to support Edwards..I’m still divided between Edwards, Obama and Bill Richardson. Despite all the media attention to the other candidates, Bill Richardson is the most qualified and experienced Democratic candidate (New Mexico governor, ambassador, secretary of energy, etc. etc..) and has a very good record on gay rights. I don’t understand why he isn’t raising more money and getting better poll numbers.

But despite the occasional timidity of Democratic candidates to fully support equal rights for gay people, their support for gay rights and the willingness of most of them to openly campaign for our votes distinguishes the Democratic candidates from the Republican candidates who are competing for the support of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson!
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Edwards Touts Prominent Gay Supporters
April 10, 2007 9:25 PM EDT
WASHINGTON - Democrat John Edwards is touting prominent gay supporters who have signed on to his presidential campaign, including a former adviser to President Clinton.

Blogger David Mixner is one of 25 people listed on a news release that the Edwards campaign distributed Tuesday, along with a statement from the candidate saying he is honored to have the backing of so many respected gay leaders.

"They work hard every day to make our country a better place and I am proud to join with them to fight for equal rights for all Americans," Edwards said.

Edwards is making a push for gay support in the competitive Democratic presidential primary. In February, he came out in support of legislation that would end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents people who are openly gay from serving in the military.

But Edwards has competition for the gay community's support - Barack Obama's campaign has also said he is opposed to "don't ask, don't tell," as has Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign. She also told the Human Rights Campaign last month that she wants a partnership with gays if elected president.

Clinton's husband, Bill, was president when the Pentagon instituted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which says gays may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private. The policy was a compromise that Clinton was forced to accept.

"Don't ask, don't tell" created a rift between President Clinton and Mixner, who raised millions for him among gay and lesbian voters but was later arrested in front of the White House in a protest of the policy. The two later said they patched up their differences and agreed to disagree on the administration's policy.

Mixner said he's supporting Edwards because he agrees with his position against the Iraq war and believes he would bring the troops home quickly.

Mixner said the Democratic candidates are roughly equal on gay rights issues and he also likes Edwards' focus on poverty and his detailed policy positions.

"I have supported the Clintons in every race they have run in the last 33 years since Bill Clinton ran for Congress up to Hillary's two Senate campaigns," said Mixner, who lives in upstate New York. "But I am baffled and concerned and frustrated with her position on the war."

Mixner said he hadn't told Hillary Clinton that he was changing allegiances, but his position has been clear on his blog.
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"One of the problems of that campaign is that it's very hard to gain access if you don't have a lot of money or aren't in the inner circle or I would have talked to her directly," he said.

The Clinton campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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