From The Stonewall Democrats: The DNC's Recent Actions to Seek More GLBT Delegate Representation at 2008 Democratic Convention
OPINION:
Opportunity for Democrats to Let the Sunshine In Additional Glare of Scrutiny from LGBT Americans Will Benefit Party
By Jo Wyrick, Executive Director National Stonewall Democrats
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once stated, "the best disinfectant is sunshine." Our ongoing discussion as a collective LGBT movement regarding our accomplishments, challenges, and failures, in particular as LGBT Democrats can be compared to that sunshine. Exposure to sunshine sometimes stings, but it remains beneficial to our growth.
The Democratic National Committee recently met in Chicago to approve delegate selection rules for the 2008 Democratic Convention. National Stonewall Democrats was there to ensure that the committee passed an amendment to the rules which requires state parties to take remedial action to correct the under-representation of LGBT Americans at previous conventions. It was adopted with unanimous consent.
Now a little sunshine may help to clear the clouded certainty that shrouds this new language, and to ensure that it is aggressively enforced. National Stonewall Democrats expects each state Democratic party to use these new rules to establish goals that accurately reflect LGBT Americans within their 2008 delegations, and we expect the DNC to reject any proposed state party plan that does not meet this threshold.
The ideal and original language submitted to the Democratic National Committee by the DNC¹s LGBT Americans Caucus included listing the LGBT community in the affirmative action statement, alongside other minority groups. However, the DNC instead chose to create a new rule titled "Inclusion" in order to distinguish between communities historically denied the right to vote, and other under-represented communities who also deserve the right to equal inclusion in party affairs historically denied to them.
This approach was not our initial preference. However, we accepted this revised method even though it means we now have additional responsibility to work with the party to ensure that these new obligations are fulfilled over the next two years. We did so because establishing a new, untested rule automatically invites exposure to this process, and extra scrutiny to the Democratic Party and its progress.
Increasing the number of LGBT Delegates to the 2008 convention has never been Stonewall Democrats' main goal in supporting the new delegate rule. We will have accomplished little if our only achievement in 2008 is enlarging the number of convention delegates representing the LGBT community. Instead, this rule will help to force every state Democratic party (even those who may have been reluctant to acknowledge LGBT Democrats) to develop or expand partnerships with the LGBT community that will help elect Democrats and produce results that last well beyond a nominating convention.
Stonewall and our members are already partnering with a majority of state parties to broaden Democratic relationships with LGBT Americans. In 2004, we worked with 16 state parties who voluntarily adopted the LGBT inclusion goals that will now be required for every state party. The relationships we have built through those activities have helped lead to important policy shifts on LGBT issues, including full support for marriage equality from Democratic parties in states like Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Washington State.
LGBT Americans can now judge how the Democratic National Committee enforces the establishment of inclusion goals for LGBT delegates within each state delegation. This scrutiny will help shine attention on the progress state Democratic parties should be making in partnering with our community.
Additionally, the DNC and state parties should use this rule to expand their affirmative action and inclusion efforts to reach beyond the easy target of LGBT donors to and engage the full-spectrum, or the full rainbow, of LGBT Democrats. Stonewall Democrats want to help build an inclusive party by ensuring LGBT Democrats are represented across the board within all of the Party's constituency groups.
National Stonewall Democrats is ready to partner with the Democratic National Committee and state parties to ensure that representative inclusion goals and aggressive outreach programs are established and met. We are already beginning to provide state parties with the resources needed to engage LGBT Democrats. We understand that progressive positions on LGBT issues within state parties must be incubated through partnerships like these that expose Democratic officials to the faces of our families.
The Democratic National Committee has indicated it is ready to enforce the rule adopted in Chicago. Stonewall Democrats will monitor the process closely to make sure that the DNC meets its responsibility of guaranteeing that state parties set and work toward goals for fully including LGBT delegates.
National Stonewall Democrats looks forward to working with the DNC and state parties, along with other national and local community leaders and activists to shine the light on the progress of Democratic efforts. LGBT Americans should capture this opportunity to examine and further improve the Democratic Party. With the right care and feeding, and exposure to constant assessment, the Party¹s new inclusion policy will yield a significant increase in political clout for our community. -------
Jo Wyrick is Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats, the voice for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats, with more than 90 local chapters across the nation.
National Stonewall Democrats is committed to working through the Democratic Party to advance the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Opportunity for Democrats to Let the Sunshine In Additional Glare of Scrutiny from LGBT Americans Will Benefit Party
By Jo Wyrick, Executive Director National Stonewall Democrats
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once stated, "the best disinfectant is sunshine." Our ongoing discussion as a collective LGBT movement regarding our accomplishments, challenges, and failures, in particular as LGBT Democrats can be compared to that sunshine. Exposure to sunshine sometimes stings, but it remains beneficial to our growth.
The Democratic National Committee recently met in Chicago to approve delegate selection rules for the 2008 Democratic Convention. National Stonewall Democrats was there to ensure that the committee passed an amendment to the rules which requires state parties to take remedial action to correct the under-representation of LGBT Americans at previous conventions. It was adopted with unanimous consent.
Now a little sunshine may help to clear the clouded certainty that shrouds this new language, and to ensure that it is aggressively enforced. National Stonewall Democrats expects each state Democratic party to use these new rules to establish goals that accurately reflect LGBT Americans within their 2008 delegations, and we expect the DNC to reject any proposed state party plan that does not meet this threshold.
The ideal and original language submitted to the Democratic National Committee by the DNC¹s LGBT Americans Caucus included listing the LGBT community in the affirmative action statement, alongside other minority groups. However, the DNC instead chose to create a new rule titled "Inclusion" in order to distinguish between communities historically denied the right to vote, and other under-represented communities who also deserve the right to equal inclusion in party affairs historically denied to them.
This approach was not our initial preference. However, we accepted this revised method even though it means we now have additional responsibility to work with the party to ensure that these new obligations are fulfilled over the next two years. We did so because establishing a new, untested rule automatically invites exposure to this process, and extra scrutiny to the Democratic Party and its progress.
Increasing the number of LGBT Delegates to the 2008 convention has never been Stonewall Democrats' main goal in supporting the new delegate rule. We will have accomplished little if our only achievement in 2008 is enlarging the number of convention delegates representing the LGBT community. Instead, this rule will help to force every state Democratic party (even those who may have been reluctant to acknowledge LGBT Democrats) to develop or expand partnerships with the LGBT community that will help elect Democrats and produce results that last well beyond a nominating convention.
Stonewall and our members are already partnering with a majority of state parties to broaden Democratic relationships with LGBT Americans. In 2004, we worked with 16 state parties who voluntarily adopted the LGBT inclusion goals that will now be required for every state party. The relationships we have built through those activities have helped lead to important policy shifts on LGBT issues, including full support for marriage equality from Democratic parties in states like Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York and Washington State.
LGBT Americans can now judge how the Democratic National Committee enforces the establishment of inclusion goals for LGBT delegates within each state delegation. This scrutiny will help shine attention on the progress state Democratic parties should be making in partnering with our community.
Additionally, the DNC and state parties should use this rule to expand their affirmative action and inclusion efforts to reach beyond the easy target of LGBT donors to and engage the full-spectrum, or the full rainbow, of LGBT Democrats. Stonewall Democrats want to help build an inclusive party by ensuring LGBT Democrats are represented across the board within all of the Party's constituency groups.
National Stonewall Democrats is ready to partner with the Democratic National Committee and state parties to ensure that representative inclusion goals and aggressive outreach programs are established and met. We are already beginning to provide state parties with the resources needed to engage LGBT Democrats. We understand that progressive positions on LGBT issues within state parties must be incubated through partnerships like these that expose Democratic officials to the faces of our families.
The Democratic National Committee has indicated it is ready to enforce the rule adopted in Chicago. Stonewall Democrats will monitor the process closely to make sure that the DNC meets its responsibility of guaranteeing that state parties set and work toward goals for fully including LGBT delegates.
National Stonewall Democrats looks forward to working with the DNC and state parties, along with other national and local community leaders and activists to shine the light on the progress of Democratic efforts. LGBT Americans should capture this opportunity to examine and further improve the Democratic Party. With the right care and feeding, and exposure to constant assessment, the Party¹s new inclusion policy will yield a significant increase in political clout for our community. -------
Jo Wyrick is Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats, the voice for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats, with more than 90 local chapters across the nation.
National Stonewall Democrats is committed to working through the Democratic Party to advance the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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