Democrats need to call bluff of anti-gay crowd
By Deb Price / The Detroit News on the Web, November 25, 2004
Like the hapless TV weatherman doomed in the hit comedy "Groundhog Day" to relive the same miserable day over and over until he gets it right, Democratic politicians can expect to suffer through endless anti-gay sequels to Election 2004.
Or, like the "Groundhog Day" weatherman, they can learn from their mistakes and wake up to a better day.
How can the mousy Democrats get off the defensive and outfox their deceitful rivals?
Unmask the amend-the Constitution crowd that bogusly claims not to have an anti-gay agenda.
Expose them for what they are -- way out of step with mainstream America on guaranteeing all Americans essential legal protections.
The place to do it is the U.S. Senate, where Democrats wield considerable clout despite being in the minority.
Unlike House members, any senator can force a vote on virtually any proposal.
The Senate Democrats' new leadership team ought to use its fresh start to get "the gay thing" right:
Seize the national spotlight by making every senator vote on a host of everyday protections that most Americans want those of us who're gay to share.
Call the bluff of Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist, who helped trap the Democrats in their "Groundhog Day" misery by cornering them on marriage.
Call his bluff by saying, "Want to talk about gay couples? Fine, let's vote on whether to protect gay families from job bias.
Let's vote on whether it's right to continue to levy an extra tax on gay couples' joint health insurance.
Let's vote on whether it's moral to leave gay parents vulnerable when a child needs emergency surgery."
By getting away with talking about gay couples only in terms of the lightning rod marriage issue, the amend-the-Constitution gang keeps Democrats and moderate Republicans quivering, creates the false impression that gay Americans already enjoy every protection short of marriage, and camouflages how anti-gay the gang tends to be.
Imagine how hollow it would sound for amend-the-Constitution senators to claim "I don't have anything against homosexuals" if they had to defend such votes as continuing to allow Social Security to exclude elderly gay couples from its protective safety net.
Who should throw the amendment crowd on the defensive? Who should try to divide their ranks and win over the most fair-minded?
Who should free the Democrats from their "Groundhog Day" purgatory?
The new Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has a mixed record. He's a consistent foe of same-sex marriage and boasts of voting to amend his state constitution in 2002.
But he opposes anti-gay job bias and, as the Democratic whip, this July he made sure the anti-gay marriage amendment fell far short of passage.
Reid could lead.
So could Massachusetts Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, whose home state has married 4,266 gay couples since May 17. Kerry's ill-fated presidential campaign was a nonstop screening of "Groundhog Day."
Maybe he could finally understand that, should he want to run in 2008, he can best escape the madness by bringing the Democratic platform's pledge of "equal benefits and responsibilities" for gay couples up for a vote, bit by bit.
Senators from Vermont, California, Delaware, Maine, New Jersey and Hawaii -- which recognize gay couples in some way -- could help.
New York has announced it will start recognizing gay couples' Canadian marriages for purposes of state workers' pension benefits.
That state's ambitious junior senator, Hillary Clinton, surely knows that no matter how long it continues to be "Groundhog Day," eventually 2008 will arrive.
She could lead -- and show fellow Democrats, including her husband, that addressing the legitimate needs of gay Americans can strengthen the party.
If Democratic senators don't want to be permanently cast as losers, they must write a new script.
You can reach Deb Price at (202) 906-8205 or dprice@detnews.com.
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