In June last year, protests erupted online and in Washington, D.C., as the Democratic National Committee held its $1,000-a-plate LGBT fundraiser at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Among the criticisms was that the DNC and Obama Administration had yet to make a definitive move on any pro-LGBT legislation. The gay blogosphere went wild as leaders and activists announced that their “gAyTM” and closed.
North Carolina businessman and philanthropist Mitchell Gold, however, told qnotes then that he decided to go to the dinner and use it as an opportunity to speak out progress on our issues:
“I have decided to go as previously committed because I believe it will be an opportunity for many of us to communicate our disappointment,” Gold wrote before the dinner. “More importantly, it will give me and hopefully others a time to communicate some new messages that might resonate more effectively.”
Gold, editor of the book “Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social, and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing up Gay in America,” said he’d be giving away copies of his book.
The day after the dinner, Gold told qnotes he was pleased to have been able to speak directly to DNC chairman and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Vice President Joe Biden, both in attendance at the dinner.
“I basically said to each of them that the face of the LGBT civil rights movement is not just the people in this room, that it is important to understand what LGBT teenagers are going through,” he said.
When he handed his book to Biden, Gold says, the vice president remarked that he already knew the book — he’d seen his wife reading it.
Now, a progressive Democratic political action committee (PAC), Independent Action, has been resurrected in response to the influx of “Blue Dog” (read: conservative) Democrats piling up in the Democrats’ Congressional caucus.
Could it be a means to support truly progressive Dems who are favorable on our issues? Maybe.
A lengthy email about the re-start below the fold…
Independent Action and Patrick McIntyre: Electing Progressive Democrats to Congress – Join Us and Spread the Word!
It is with great excitement that I announce my new role as Political and Communications Director for Independent Action (www.independentaction.org). Founded in 1981 by Representative Morris Udall (D-AZ) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Independent Action is an independent, non-affiliated political action committee (PAC) whose unique mission is to elect progressive Democratic challengers to Republican and open seats in Congress. Independent Action also works to protect progressive Democratic freshmen who have demonstrated their progressive credentials with their voting records.
You can follow our work at:
Join and Contribute: https://secure.bbdesign.com/independentaction/contribute.asp
Facebook: @Patrick McIntyre IndependentAction
Twitter: @IndieActionYou have been tagged in this note because I know you have an interest in me and my career and/or have an interest in Democratic politics.
I embrace this work because as a Democrat, I value community, the environment, civil rights, and socio-economic justice. And with the irresponsible, know-nothing obstructionism of the Republican Party and the ascendency of the Blue Dogs within the Democratic Party around issues of health care, energy, and financial reforms, etc., the need for a stronger, more-progressive majority could not be more clear.
While these past several months have been frustrating for progressives on many fronts, the worst thing we could do to advance our cause is to sit on our hands and our wallets and stay home during the mid-term elections of 2010. The difference between 63 seats versus 53 seats in the Senate is the difference between meaningful health care, environmental, and financial services reforms versus the watered-down capitulations based on the whims of a few beholden to parochial or special interests.
And despite conventional wisdom, Democrats have the very real potential of adding progressive Democrats to their ranks. As of this announcement, eight (8) more Republicans than Democrats have retired in advance of the 2010 midterm elections. Our mission is to fill those seats with progressive Dems.
Independent Action does not take money from corporate PACs. And unlike other national committees and PACs whose goals are to elect as many Democrats as possible, Independent Action focuses its resources on Democrats who will vote for progressive ideals on the big issues of the day.
A stronger, more progressive majority provides us a better chance of passing the public policies of hope and change that the American people expect of Democrats.
To that end, my primary tasks in this new role will be to raise money for the organization and our endorsed candidates; research races and candidates and lead the endorsement process; and increase Independent Action’s presence in traditional and new social mediums.
How can you help? Please visit www.independentaction.org and:
1. Make a generous contribution to our work today! To help us with our planning and budgeting, please make a recurrent monthly contribution. Your credit card will be charged automatically with no additional hassle to you! https://secure.bbdesign.com/independentaction/contribute.asp
2. Sign up to our email listserv for regular updates on political news and our endorsed candidates from yours truly, and
3. Spread the word to all of your progressive friends!What’s one easy way to tell your friends? Paste the following into your facebook status update:
Want better, more progressive Democrats in Congress? Visit www.independentaction.org and contribute today!
Or the following in a tweet:
Want better, more progressive Dems in Congress? Visit www.independentaction.org and contribute today! #iaction #p2 #topprog #congress
Even if you’ve seen your friends post the same thing, please post it as well! A groundswell of grassroots support is the goal!
Now I understand that not all of you are progressives – many of you are quite the contrary. And while I do not expect all of you to give or sign up, I do hope I can count on your support as I embark on this new, exciting adventure in my professional career.
Again, I am a Democrat because I value community, the environment, civil rights and socio-economic justice. I am a Democrat because I believe in the Constitution’s promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; government’s role to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare; and the promise of equality for everyone through due process and equal protection before the law. I am a Democrat because I believe in the need for good government (We, the People), and that government is the public square where citizens of different persuasions can come together to air our differences and chart public policies that advance the ideals above. And I am a Democrat because I believe that healthy societies are ones that balance the tools of the free market and government intervention in a way that rewards innovation and values communities and our environment.
If you believe in these ideals as well, please join me at www.independentaction.org, and help create the world you wish to see.
Thank you for all of your love and support.
Happy New Year!
Patrick