Who Gave More to No on 8:
NGLTF's Matt Foreman or Mary Cheney?
NGLTF's Matt Foreman or Mary Cheney?
Karen Ocamb's lengthy piece in IN LA magazine this week reminded me of Matt Foreman's key role in the CA marriage battle, while he was still head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Farce. He now doles out money from a private foundation.
From Ocamb's story:
Not everyone cared about marriage equality, saying it wasn’t their issue. A handful of LGBT leaders, however, knew there would be a ballot backlash and convened a meeting at the San Francisco LGBT Center in January 2005. The group included Jean, Kors, Kendell, Matt Foreman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Seth Kilbourn of the Human Rights Campaign, Jenny Pizer of Lambda Legal and a representative of MEC.
Put aside for a moment the closeted, er, closed door approach here to the important January 2005 meeting. It was invitation only, no varmint streets activists or political artists allowed. A-gays making decisions for the rest us, out of public view, shamefully cowering behind closed doors.
My point here is Foreman and his role as a gay marriage equality leader. How much did he donate to the No on 8 campaign, and was it in the early crucial days of the campaign?
| Contributor name | James Foreman |
| Occupation | Philanthropy |
| Employer | EVELYN & WALTER HAAS, JR. FUND |
| City | San Francisco |
| State or country | CA |
| ZIP | 94114 |
| Position | Oppose |
| Amount | $250.00 |
| Payment type | Monetary |
| Transaction date | 9/22/2008 |
| Committee name | No On 8 - Equality California |
Okay, he made a low-three figure donation, and it was at the end of September, so let's give him some brownie points.
At the federal level, Foreman donated $500 to Linda Ketner, $1,000 to Ted Kennedy, $500 to Charles Schumer, and $500 to Al Gore. So Foreman has given $250 to gay marriage ballot measures and $2,500 to Democratic Party candidates. Do his donations tell us anything about his view of the world?
On the other end of the gay political spectrum is Mary Cheney, lesbian mom and daughter to the Worst.Vice President. Ever.
She heard a call for donations in early June, and coughed up $3,000. Of course, she more wealthy than Foreman, so she's got more moolah to easily toss into state propositions.
| Contributor name | Mary Cheney |
| Occupation | Public Relations |
| Employer | NAVIGATORS LLC. |
| City | Great Falls |
| State or country | VA |
| ZIP | |
| Position | Oppose |
| Amount | $3,000.00 |
| Payment type | Monetary |
| Transaction date | 6/4/2008 |
| Committee name | No On 8, Equality For All |
In the end, I can't really fault Foreman for not donating as large an amount as Cheney did, but he might have made better use of his money, if he had given earlier.
Maybe it's time to let Mary Cheney run NGLTF or HRC. (Yes, I'm medicated.) But hear me out on this.
She showed her commitment to gay marriage with a sizable check, and before a lot of our regular good ol' gay Democratic Party hacks running our advocacy orgs got around to donating to Prop 8, which is saying something these days.
As awful as I think her non-gay political views are, I'd still rather see her given a shot at running the movement orgs for a while. She certainly couldn't do any worse than Solmonese, Foreman, Carey, Jean, Kendell and Kors.
I worked on Massachusetts marriage for years, as did a ton of people in the state. We still have it here, going on 5 years (though we didn't have to survive a ballot question, just the threat of it year after year unless public opinion moved).
ReplyDeleteAs someone who knows a thing or two, Michael, I agree with your analysis that a closeted, glaringly political in nature, overly-focus-grouped campaign was one of No on 8's many terrible mistakes. That's not what we ran here. I don't think we'll ever shortcut or euphemism our way to changing swing voter's minds. I know what they say in focus groups and don't care. Of course they say "please don't make me talk about this." If it's gay, that's what people say.
On your Mary Cheney idea: One of the many things I think I learned is that the conservative arguments for equal marriage are far more effective with people than any arguments our gay establishment types have ever made (when they've actually made arguments, which ain't often). Marriage is pretty conventional, traditional, conservative even. I don't like the rest of Mary Cheney's politics or her father either. But I agree with you, I'd give the woman a shot. I think she'd turn the right people's hearts and minds upside down on the subject. And that's what it takes.
Sure it sounds crazy. But it's not.
Sorry, Aaron Burr was the Worst Vice President Ever, followed by Spiro Agnew.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work though. I'm really enjoying your reporting on the No on 8 fiasco.
Heh. Ditto both to what Scott said and the first 'anonymous'.
ReplyDelete