Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) will hold a press conference
tomorrow, Thursday, October 11, at 11:30 a.m. The subject will be the
obligation of the Democratic Party to govern responsibly when confronted
by a demand to react emotionally by a deeply committed, single-issue
faction insisting on putting ideological purity over achievable
advancement of our values.
The specific example discussed will be the current demand that the
Democratic leadership kill the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA),
which has been the prime legislative goal for gay and lesbian people for
over 30 years, because we do not have the votes to include people who are
transgender.
Fact: The reason the ENDA (which is a prime Democratic Party priority, not "the prime legislative goal for gay and lesbian people") doesn't have votes to include transgender people is because Democrats don't like transgender people and the Democratic majority will not support their inclusion.
Fact #2: Everyday LGBTQ people consistently rank marriage equality and equal military service as more important than ENDA. When Frank claims otherwise, he is lying.
Fact #3: "Governing responsibly" starts with telling the truth.
Fact #4: Barney Frank is one of the principal architects of the anti-gay military ban -- another "responsible Democratic initiative." A Libertarian Congress would have blocked the ban.
Fact #5: Barney Frank's Democratic Party still won't let the Military Readiness Enhancement Act onto the floor. A Libertarian Congress would allow it to go to vote and would pass it.
Fact #6: Barney Frank called many of the plaintiffs in the Goodridge case that delivered marriage equality in Massachusetts, begging them to call it off because it would "hurt the cause of equality." The Libertarian Party supports marriage equality without apology.
Fact #7: Barney Frank's Democratic Party won't let the Uniting American Families Act get a floor vote. A Libertarian Congress would allow a floor vote -- and would pass UAFA.
Fact #8: Barney Frank's Democratic Party won't allow a bill amending or revoking DOMA to get a floor vote. A Libertarian Congress would repeal DOMA.
Fact #9: Barney Frank's "responsibly governing Democratic Party" thinks that if you want equality, rather than symbolic and useless ENDA special-rights legislation, you're a "single-issue purist."
Fact #10: LGBTQ people who accept such lines of reasoning from such contemptible hypocrites might as well don a shirt every morning that says "Please kick me, I deserve it!"
Fact #11: Transphobia is not "responsible," and inclusiveness for transgender people is not "deeply committed, single-issue ideological purity." Anyone who claims it is would be, in the words of one of my favorite bloggers, a "moral defective."
Fact #12: Barney Frank doesn't speak for most gay people -- and he never did.
