Pride Executive Director Lindsey Jones said Pelosi, the first woman to be elected speaker of the House, received the most votes from Pride's membership as the person they most wanted to hear speak at this year's event.
"We asked Pelosi to come speak," said Jones. "Our membership voted her as the number one requested speaker."
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told the Bay Area Reporter that the speaker's schedule does not allow for her to return to San Francisco during Pride weekend.
Did the date for Pride magically change this year to make it unpredictable? Nope.
Was it a secret that Pelosi was in demand? Hardly -- people had written her for six months asking her to show ("most requested speaker," remember?)
What else has Pelosi been "too busy" for in the last few years?
Pelosi has *always* been too busy to show up for a general election debate. Not once in her entire career in the House has she deigned to appear to debate her Libertarian, Republican and Green competitors in Congressional elections.
Pelosi was "too busy" to make good on the Democrats' campaign promise to pull out of Iraq. Instead, she had a symbolic resolution followed up with a vote that handed Bush a blank check for $120 billion (but Pelosi wasn't "too busy" to cast a meaningless symbolic "no" vote against her own Iraq funding bill to show her "disapproval." Whoopee.)
Pelosi is "too busy" to co-sponsor or allow a bill repealing the military's anti-gay policy to come to the floor of the House.
Pelosi has been "too busy" to vote to revoke the DOMA bill (or even amend it to allow federal recognition of same-sex marriages that are recognized by US states).
Pelosi has been "too busy" to campaign for marriage equality.
Pelosi did have extensive time for certain activities this past year -- voting on renaming post offices and other inconsequential minutiae, as well as demanding that taxpayers furnish her with unlimited use of a Boeing 757 with 40+ business class seats, a kitchen and a bedroom.
The reality is that Pelosi, as a consummate Democratic Party triangulator, doesn't give a fig about gay rights or the gay people of San Francisco. She holds them in utter contempt -- refusing to debate the issues in front of them or find time for even the most basic Congressional duties, such as constituent service at major cultural events (like SF Pride) and voting on key legislation that she claims to support.
So when Pelosi comes calling for money, votes, or gay campaign resources, I humbly suggest that we inform Madame Speaker that our schedules won't allow us to accommodate her -- we're just too busy.
