NOM now attacking candidate it supported

The National Organization for Marriage is finally commenting on its embarrassing loss last night in the Iowa state senatorial election. From NOM Cultural Director Thomas Peters comes a tweet which should be remembered.

After spending over $30,000 on Cindy Golding's unsuccessful campaign, NOM is now dissing her as a weak candidate.

Just a reminder to folks running for public office. NOM doesn't give a damn about you or what you are trying to accomplish. If the organization can use you, count on getting the money.

And if it can't use you, count on being disposed of like used tissue.

There is one other thing about that tweet which may be, as C.S. Lewis once said, something worth knowing. A comment on NOM's blog uses the same type of verbiage. However, it doesn't list Peters as the author:

M. Jones
Posted November 9, 2011 at 3:58 pm | Permalink

Unfortunately the Iowa GOP proffered a very weak candidate. We should have known better. Next year will be a different kettle of fish with stronger GOP candidates and a GOP landslide dumping SS*m* to the dustbin of history.

This gives some credibility to the opinion of some that members of NOM's staff sometimes publishes comments on its blog to give an appearance of having a lot of reader support.

Certainly that's not what I am saying, but based on past experiences involving certain photos, the idea wouldn't be farfetched to consider.

'High-schoolers stage sit-in to protest bullying' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Vermont High School Organizes Anti-Gay Bullying Sit-In To Honor Bisexual Freshman - Good for them!

Tennessee Religious Group Used State Senator As Puppet to Pass Discrimination Law - THIS should surprise NO ONE.

Color Us Invisible: In the Shadows of Communities Black and Gay, Black Lesbians Forge Lives, Loves, And Family - I know, girlfriend. Some straight black folks don't like to be reminded that lgbtqs of color exist, period.

Hung Up on Our Bullies: Internalized Transphobia - A fascinating but unfortunately truthful point.

VICTORY! Gay and lesbian candidates sweep into public office

Annise Parker won re-election as Houston's mayor

In addition to the embarrassment suffered last night by the National Organization for Marriage, there is also more excellent news to report.

A large number of gay candidates were elected to public office last night. According to the Victory Fund:

Houston - Houston voters have returned Mayor Annise Parker to office without a runoff election, giving her nearly 51% of the vote in a general election tonight that featured five opponents. Parker, an out lesbian, was first elected in 2009 and will be able to run for one more 2-year term in 2013. Voters in the new city council District J chose Mike Laster to represent them. Laster becomes the first openly gay man elected to the Houston City Council.

Montana - Caitlin Copple, an out lesbian who was endorsed by the Victory Fund, has won her race for the Missoula, Montana, city council, defeating an incumbent who voted against an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance.

Cincinnati - Chris Seelbach has won his race for the Cincinnati, Ohio City Council. He becomes the first openly LGBT council member in the city’s history.

Mayfield

North Carolina - LaWana Mayfield won her race for Charlotte, N.C., City Council, becoming that city’s first openly LGBT elected official. She was heavily favored after ousting the incumbent Democrat in the primary earlier this year.

New Jersey - Bruce Harris was elected mayor of Chatham Borough, N.J. He’s likely the nation’s first openly gay, African American, Republican mayor. Mayor Tim Eustace of Maywood, N.J., has been elected to the New Jersey Assembly tonight, becoming the first openly gay non-incumbent to win a seat in the legislature. Eustace will join Assemblymember Reed Gusciora, who won his reelection bid, as New Jersey’s only openly gay state lawmakers.

Minnesota - Mary Doran has been elected to the School Board in St. Paul, Minn.

Connecticut - Pedro Segarra easily retains his post as mayor of Hartford, Conn. His main opponents dropped out of the race earlier this year.

Morse

Massachusetts - Alex Morse, a 22-year-old graduate of Brown University, has just been elected mayor of Holyoke, Mass., a city of nearly 40,000 residents near Springfield.

Indiana - Zach Adamson has won his race for city council in Indianapolis, giving the city its first openly LGBT city council member.

Florida - An incumbent on the Largo, Fla., City Commission who attacked her openly gay opponent over his sexual orientation has lost her reelection bid to him tonight. Michael Smith defeated Mary Gray Black, who has a history of anti-gay and anti-trans activism on the commission.

In addition, word has come that Daniel Hernandez, the intern whose actions saved Congresswoman Gabby Gifford after that awful shooting earlier this year, won a seat on Arizona's Sunnyside Unified School District governing board, with 61.8 percent of the vote.

Of course none of these candidates won because of their sexual orientation and it would be insulting to think of them as solely "the gay candidates."

But to ignore what their victories mean to the community and the nation at large would be even more insulting.

They prove that while the lgbtq community still has a hard road to trod, we are walking it rather nicely and all of the lies, slander, and hate done under the guise of religious beliefs can't stop us if we don't let it.

The world is changing, regardless of how some folks on the right feel about it. Lgbtqs are no longer hypothetical. We are no longer being seen as abstract pieces in religious arguments. We are real people who lead families, pay taxes, have normal lives, and - as seen by last night - are elected to public office.

Deal with it. And if you can't, that's YOUR problem.