In the 2004 Presidential election it was said that most Democrats stayed as far away from the political issues of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered as they could, while Republicans used the idea of gay marriage as a wedge issue to further divide the party. Four years later, much has changed. Last week all but two of the major Democratic candidates for President attended the first ever televised “Gay Debate†in Los Angeles while the Republican candidates unanimously declined to attend a gay debate of their own. It not only shows the growing rift between Democrats and Republicans over gay issues but also how the “lavender vote†may be, for some candidates, more important to woo than ever. We’ll explore how and why this election is different and what the big issues on the gay agenda are, including hate crimes, same-sex marriage and the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell†policy.
- Dean Spilliotes: New Hampshire-based political analyst, formerly with the NH Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College. He's launching NHPoliticalCapital.com in September, where he’ll be doing full-time political blogging, commentary and analysis
- Joe Solmonese: president of the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights organization in Washington, D.C. advocating for GLBT issues and sponsor of the Democratic Presidential Debate on gay issues that happened last week in Los Angeles.
- Patrick Sammon: President of the National Log Cabin Republicans, The nation's largest organization of Republicans advocating for fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans.
