The Advocate:
Accountability From Kors/No on 8 Needed
The calls for openness and real accountability from the crew that ran the losing No on 8 campaign grew louder today. Writer Lane Hudson today on the Advocate.com site strongly echoed similar demands in the past six weeks for leaders of the Prop 8 debacle to begin a conversation with the community.
We should all feel some concern, if not damn outright anger, that the folks who gambled nearly $45 million gay community dollars and lost have, six weeks after the election, started an honest talk with activists and donors.
At the rate things are going with Kors and the No on 8 executive committee, and their refusal to leave their ivory towers, I remain skeptical that they will ever be accepting of the criticism over their ineptness.
Many thanks to the Advocate and Hudson for doing their part to bring much-needed attention to the continuing lack of transparency from the No on 8 leaders.
From the Advocate.com column:
Geoff Kors, the leader of Equality California, has vowed to put a repeal of Prop. 8 on the ballot in 2010. Presumably, our community will once again be called on to fund such an effort. With the ever-increasing cost of running such campaigns, we could be collectively tasked to give and raise $35 million or more for the next campaign.
Accordingly, Mr. Kors, the executive committee, and others with a seat at the table owe us full disclosure of the decision-making process that was employed throughout the 2008 campaign as well as the perspectives and lessons they have gleaned as a result. It’s not about playing a blame game. It’s about taking stock of what was learned and understanding how 2010 will be different ...
The executive committee of Equality for All should take a cue from our president-elect, for both their own good and that of the movement. Openness is a good thing. Feedback and discussion breed better and stronger ideas and strategy. When we remember to listen, we often surprise ourselves at what we learn ...
Instead, there has been mostly silence from the executive committee. What little discussion has taken place has been limited in scope and has offered very little insight. Wanting to know what mistakes were made and what lessons were learned isn’t about assigning blame and pointing fingers. It’s about collectively finding a path to winning the war.
It’s also in Equality for All's own best interest -- as well as the movement's -- to do a full accounting of winning and losing strategies for the sake of our donor base ...
1 comment:
Amen! And to take this further, I think the entire community should withhold any further financial donations to these organizations until they do just that. I paid hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to the No on 8 campaign, an investment that was lost. There must be accountability and discussion to "know what mistakes were made and what lessons were learned", else these organizations and our leaders are doomed to repeat those mistakes with the 2010 effort. DEMAND community-wide discussion NOW! We must have a better strategy going into 2010 (save respite from the California Supreme Court). But even then, we must discern winning versus losing strategies for when the Hate Groups launch further assaults on equal civil marriage rights in other states, as well as further assaults (Arkansas-style) on LGBT adoption and foster care rights. You know it's coming, because they've been emboldened by wins in California, Florida, and Arkansas. We must discern winning strategies NOW, by understanding and de-constructing the losing strategies from Prop 8. Wake up, leaders. We're talking to you. ANSWER!
Post a Comment