Melissa Etheridge = $0 to No on 8,
$7,000 to Democrats
$7,000 to Democrats
Oscar-winning rock star and open lesbian Melissa Etheridge has raised her mighty voice in defense of gay marriage equality since Prop 8 passed by the CA voters on November.
She's pledged to avoid taxes until such marriage equality is legal and protected, and she's been saying nice things about the straight and homophobic Rev. Rick Warren, as has Etheridge's partner Tammy Lynn Michaels. Lots of pots have been stirred up by her actions recently. Controversy may become her new middle name.
Whatever one thinks of her politics, you have to give Etheridge credit, as I do, for speaking her mind, even if it gets in her hot water with gay activists and bloggers not pleased president-elect Barack Obama has conferred great honor on Warren in appointing him to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.
But what about Etheridge's political pocketbook? Did she open it to fight either this year's anti-gay-marriage initiative in CA, Prop 8, or the earlier version in 2000, Prop 22?
According to search engines at the SF Chronicle and CA Secretary of State's web sites, the answer is no. Not a single listing for any donations from Etheridge or her partner.
However, at the federal level, from 2002 through 2006, Etheridge donated a total of $7,000 spread out among the Democratic National Committee, EMILY's List and Walter Mondale's bid to win Sen. Paul Wellstone's seat. I guess she sees no reason to contribute funds to Rep. Tammy Baldwin or any gay PACs, which is her right.
There's no law that says a politically active entertainer who happens to be a lesbian is required to donate to lesbian candidates or gay-specific ballot propositions, but it would be nice if she did. Of course, if she donated, she'd face criticism from activists who feel any money given to the the No on 8 effort was flushed down the toilet. ;-)
But I bet lots of her fans would like to find a money trail from her that leads not only to the Democratic Party, but also to gay pols and campaigns to retain gay marriage equality.
Who decided who gets appointed to decide what causes gay people should give to? Maybe they thought No on 8 was a waste of money? no?
ReplyDeleteThis is a disgrace. Etheridge has no right to complain about Prop 8 if she gave NO money to fight it. She is RICH -- FUCKING RICH, actually -- and she has the money to spare. I make about $70,000 per year, and I still managed to give over $1,000 to the No on 8 campaign, because I believed in the cause to fight Hate and the Religious Right's ultimate aim to make America a Biblical Theocracy that actively oppresses all those who oppose them, from systematically stripping their rights away bit-by-bit, to publicly-funded internment and extermination. For Etheridge to make more money in a year than 100 people who are "assistants" and what-not middle-class or working-class LGBT Americans is a disgrace. Yes, she has the "right" to spend her money as she pleases. But if she gives NOTHING to No on 8, then she can't complain. It's not just about voting, it's about funding -- that's a political reality these days. Yes, I realize, No on 8 funds were squandered by the inept leadership of the campaign who had their collective head up their collective ass, but two wrongs don't make a right. She didn't give, when fucking RICH LGBT Americans need to give, to make up for those who can't, which is the majority of our community. Fuck her. "Come to my window?" How about come to your bathroom and throw up, you stupid bitch -- you make me sick.
ReplyDeleteUm, until otherwise taken away like the right to marry, we all have a right to give as we choose. I don't think her celeb status makes her uber aware of politics - in fact, most celebs seem to be wrapped up in their thing over everyone else's thing.
ReplyDeleteI only gave $165 and theoretically, I could have given more save for the need to feed and shelter my children. I also helped raise over $14,000 in a multi-blogger effort. However, my civil rights have always been at the fore of my existence as I struggle over everything and would love for SOMETHING to be easier, ya' know?
I don't think calling her a dumb bitch accomplishes anything and commenting anonymously is just plain cowardly.
Celeb does not equal rocket scientist, political astuteness, or even signal a general understanding of humanity, but she is getting it now. And, we need her voice. Let's show her what needs to be said. So, how about a little slack?
Keep your eye on the ball. Look for the winners in all this, and it ain't Ms. Etheridge.
ReplyDeleteThe winners are the professional, entrenched, politically connected gays with big salaries, long vacations, and no idea how to keep marriage licenses safe and free.
The winners are the private strategy and communications companies with strong DNC business ties that had some very nice revenues from Prop 8 and a corporate mandate to keep them all in the corporate balance sheet family, regardless of experience or expertise. Did the highly paid companies and consultants win or lose? I'd say they won. Just a little scuff mark on the reputation. But does anyone who has worked for the losing gays not have a scuff mark? It's no big deal.
Don't waste time on a singer.
Maybe the reason Etheridge didn't donate to No on 8 was because she, like many others, erroneously assumed that since CA was overwhelmingly voting for Obama, that No on 8 was a slam dunk. Maybe she also mistakenly thought that Democrats had a big tent and that she (as a gay woman) belonged to two groups that were under the tent, only to discover they were under the bus.
ReplyDelete