LGBTQ candidates dominate the midterms in the approaching shadow of DeSantis

Well I am back from my day-long hiatus and apparently I missed a lot of good stuff. Maybe I should start taking hiatuses on more election nights. Aside from the big news that the GOP's expected "red wave" was mostly a pink trickle, there was other wonderful news from the midterms. While I am sure the mainstream media will conveniently omit it, the LGBTQ community had a history making  night.

Wait a minute. That's putting it too nicely. 

We kicked MAJOR ass!!!

From Metro Weekly:

For the third straight electoral cycle in a row, LGBTQ candidates for political office broke a previous record, with at least 340 out LGBTQ candidates winning races at various levels of government as of 9 a.m. on Wednesday. 

 While many races have not yet been called due to the heavy volume of mail-in ballots (one of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed voting behavior), the number of successful candidates eclipses the previous record, set in 2020, of 336 out elected candidates. In total, 1,065 out LGBTQ people ran for office in 2022, with 678 making it to the general election. 

With 340 of those 678 winning, even if no additional LGBTQ candidates were to win in yet-to-be-called races — which is highly unlikely — it means more than half, or 50.15%, of all LGBTQ candidates appearing on general election ballots were victorious.

Among the victories, we saw three states elect and re-elect openly gay people as governors. Former Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey became the first openly lesbian governor in the country. She didn't have to wait long for there to be a second one. Tina Kotek won the gubernatorial election in Oregon. In addition, openly gay Colorado governor Jared Polis won a second term.

According to USA Today, other victorious LGBTQ candidates include:

Democrat James Roesener, a bisexual transgender man, was elected to New Hampshire House of Representatives, District 22 Ward 8. He is the first openly transgender man to win in any state legislature election. 

 First out LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress  - Democrat Robert Garcia, who is gay, was elected in the race for California's 42nd congressional district. He is currently the mayor of Long Beach. According to his online bio, Garcia immigrated to the United States at age 5 and was raised in Southern California. 

Democrat Becca Balint was elected in Vermont to the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first woman and openly gay person to represent the state in Congress. 

Democrat Patricia Contreras is one of the first out lesbian Latinas elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. 

 Democrat Liz Bennett, who identifies as a queer woman, was elected to the Iowa State Senate, District 39. She currently serves in the state House of Representatives.

According to The Hill:

 Democrats Zooey Zephyr of Montana and Leigh Finke of Minnesota each defeated their Republican opponents in landslide wins to become the first transgender women elected to the state legislature. 

 Minnesota voters also voted to elect Alicia Kozlowski to the state House as the legislature’s first nonbinary member. . . . 

Jennie Armstrong, Andrew Gray and Ashley Carrick — all Democrats — made history Tuesday evening, becoming the first openly LGBTQ lawmakers elected to the Alaska state legislature. All three will serve in the House. 

 Democrat Kameron Nelson also won his House race Tuesday in South Dakota, becoming the state legislature’s first openly gay member. Former state Rep. Angie Buhl, also a Democrat, came out as bisexual after being elected to her first term.

 But there is bitter with the sweet when it comes to one victory. According to LGBTQNation:

In a historic first for the country, two gay candidates ran against each other in a general election for Congress. George Santos – a Trump-loving Republican who has called himself “a walking, living, breathing contradiction” – beat out Democrat Robert Zimmerman to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District and become the first out LGBTQ member of Congress from Long Island, getting 54% of the vote with 93% of precincts reporting. While Zimmerman ran on a platform of LGBTQ equality, Santos has said abortion is as barbaric as slavery and has voiced support for Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.

How Santos will handle himself promises to be interesting.

All in all, LGBTQ people had a wonderful midterm. Metro Weekly points out the irony of these victories in an environment in which our rights were under attack by Republicans in state legislatures from books about us to school officials who supported us to policies designed to protect trans students. It seemed that all of it was for naught because we rose to the occasion.

But there is a problem. A huge shadow on the horizon. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis won re-election easily by a large margin. And by doing so, he has positioned himself as the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 election. DeSantis' success came in part with attacks on the LGBTQ  community via the infamous 'Don't Say Gay' law and now an attempt to outlaw gender-affirming treatment for transgender children.

Pink News rightfully called his re-election is a bad omen for LGBTQ Americans:

Editor and film critic Jon Negroni tweeted: “The real question is whether or not the guy’s politics translate to the rest of the country, and no one really knows that for sure, yet. “But I think it’s obvious to anyone with a brain that he’s a stronger presidential candidate than that other guy… The stakes here are extremely high. “A DeSantis presidency and republican congress in 2025 could bring about a rollback in rights for LGBTQ people that can’t be understated. We could be seeing federal bans on all gender affirming care, even for adults.”

I have a solution to the possibility of DeSantis using LGBTQ Americans as scapegoats much like he did in Florida. That solution is that we continue to do what we are doing. DeSantis's successes thrived in ignorance, whether it be ignorance of same-sex families, LGBTQ kids, or what gender-affirming care for trans youth actually entails in contrast to the ugly connotative images pushed by the anti-LGBTQ industry

Live openly, tell our stories. And above all, encourage more of us to run for office. These victories demonstrate that there is  place for us in America as we want it to be instead of what some try to determine for us. We need more people representing us and speaking for us. We need intelligent and rationale voices to articulate our lives and break the fever of fear and ignorance which is exploited to undermine our lives.

Let's celebrate what happened in the midterms, but let's also not be lazy. Let's not rest on our laurels. There is more work to do and, as the midterms show, the harvest promises to be plenty.

Editor's Note - I apologize for the victories I did not mention, as well as the losses. There were some of those too. However, I encourage everyone to read The Victory Fund's webpage and interactive map for more information about the LGBTQ candidates.

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will take a day-long hiatus

As many of y'all know, this has not been a good year for me, particularly because of my mother's passing. Today was especially bad because my mother and I always went to the polling place and voted together.

So I am going to take a day long hiatus from posting. Regardless of how the midterms go I will see you all tomorrow evening.  And if you haven't yet, get your ass out there and vote.

'Black voters overwhelmingly support LGBTQ rights except when it comes to trans athletes' & other Tue midday news briefs

Black voters overwhelmingly support LGBTQ rights except when it comes to trans athletes​ - A window into the misperceptions people have about trans athletes and athletes in general.  More discussion and education is needed.

30 LGBTQ+ Congressional and Statewide Candidates On the Ballot - Keep your fingers crossed. Positive history will be made. 

Man who won gay rights case at Supreme Court agrees to settlement - Another victory.

As anti-LGBTQ rhetoric grows, voter ID laws create obstacles for thousands of transgender voters - New challenges will cause our transgender brothers and sisters to rise to the occasion and take care of business. Again.

Enjoy these scenes from 'Young Frankenstein. Also don't forget to VOTE!

 Tuesday is the mid-term election and regardless of the narrative, polling is all over the place. I highly emphasize that we get out and vote and please ignore the polls no matter what direction they may be going. Don't get too happy or too discouraged. Remember that it is a process and those of us fighting for fairness should never stop and never give up. Having said that, I plan to take two melatonin gummies and retire early tomorrow evening. Whatever happens, I refuse to deal with it until Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, enjoy these clips from one of the funniest movies of all time, Young Frankenstein. It's a reminder that sometimes you shouldn't take life so seriously. No matter what.

'Schools having to deal with bad rumors of furries and litter boxes in classrooms' & other Mon midday news brief

Schools all over are being forced to deal with parents angry about furries & litter boxes​ - This right here is some seriously insane mess. It underscores how certain people with power aren't being good gatekeepers. You still have a responsibility to not say anything you feel you want to.

As election nears, some conservative groups have ramped up anti-trans campaign ads - Desperation always leaves an odor.

A Daily Wire hit piece smearing Arizona gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs’ husband’s work with trans youth has spread across right-wing media - So much for economic concerns. 

Suspect Indicted for Setting Fire to LGBTQ+ Spaces in Manhattan - Good.

Tenn lawmaker wants to ban drag show for lewdness. Says questions about lack of proof is 'distraction.'

Conservatives are still raising hell about drag shows, even to the point of making fools of themselves. 

From The Jackson Sun in Tennessee:

Legislators in Madison County and a number of members of the First United Methodist Church have filed a request for an injunction against the city of Jackson to halt a portion of the Jackson Pride event, which is slated to occur on Saturday — raising First Amendment violation concerns. 

Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, is leading the charge to suspend the event along with Sen. Ed Jackson, R-Jackson. Controversy is swirling around the festival after Jackson Pride organizers announced the inclusion of a “family-friendly drag show” in their third annual celebration of the area’s LGBTQ community. . . .The injunction request asks that a judge prohibit the performance of a drag show in conjunction with Jackson Pride, as well as declare Jackson Pride’s usage of the center be declared a public nuisance and prohibit them from ever using the facility again.

 Here is the funniest part of the entire situation. Todd admitted that he hasn't spoken to any of the entertainers nor the organizers. He has no proof that the show will be lewd. Organizers, by the way, spoke to the Jackson Sun and assured the publication that the drag show is family-friendly. The kicker of it all is what Todd said when asked about his objections to the drag show: 

When asked how he could declare an event “lewd” if he had not inquired about the contents of the show, Todd said such questions were a “distraction.” 

“These are simple distractions and diversions,” he said. “That’s all those comments are. Because they have no sound legal grounds to argue the point. So they detract and divert the attention to something else. The info of what these drag shows are about is clearly in public domain and can be viewed online and on their individual social media platforms. It is very clear what they do.” 

 So Todd wants to ban a family-friendly drag show because he thinks it will be lewd. But when asked how can he assume the event will be lewd if he hasn't talked to the organizers, he calls the question a distraction. The article rightfully points out that there are First Amendment concerns with what Todd wants to do.

That's not the only problem as far as I'm concerned. I'm gonna need aspirin to handle all of the gaslighting. 

Mayor gets roasted online for hypocritical attack on 'all ages drag shows'

Glenn Jacobs

Earlier this week, Knox County, Tennessee Mayor Glenn Jacobs sent out the following tweets about 'all-ages drag shows.'

As far as it is known, no one seemed to know what Jacobs was talking about. However, he got blasted online by many people who reminded him of his former occupation. 

You see before Jacobs was a mayor, he worked as a professional wrestler at a company called World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). For those who don't know,  pro wrestling is an entertainment  genre which is a cross between a sports game and a soap opera.  In it,  the physical fights, called wrestling matches, are staged and are the result of intricate storylines called "angles." The wrestlers themselves are actors playing characters,   It's been a popular attraction for many decades, bringing men, women, and children to arenas around the world. 

The WWE is probably the most well-known wrestling company. But one can't actually call it "kid-friendly." Over the years, the WWE has had such characters as 

Val Venis - a former porn star

Rikishi - An overweight wrestler wearing a thong, which he hikes up in his rear before rubbing his buttckeeks in his opponent's face - a move called "The Stinkface."

The Godfather - a pimp who comes to the matches with his stable of prostitute (called "hoes")

 

Jake "the snake" Roberts - a man who carries a python (yes a python) to his matches and drapes it on his opponents after he wins.

And the storylines from the WWE aren't kid-friendly either. They can be as simple as two wrestlers ruining their friendship in match over a championship, as intricate as a tag team turning on each other during a wrestling match, or as mind-bogglingly idiotic as a 77-year-old woman having a sexual relationship with a 20-something black man and giving birth to a hand.(yes, I said a hand.)

Those were three actual plotlines in the WWE at one time or another. Including the one about the hand.

Jacobs himself  has portrayed three different characters over the years. The most successful one was Kane, the half- brother of another  WWE wrestler named The Undertaker, who everyone thought died in a fire years ago.  I told you the storylines were intricate.

In addition, Jacobs was the central figure in a few controversial storylines including

One in which he rapes a female wrestler and gets her pregnant

Another in which he wrestled the WWE's owner's son and ties a car battery to the young man's testicles

Then there was the Katie Vick storyline which involved necrophilia (sex with a corpse). And I really don't want to talk about that one but you can read about it at this link.

All of this leads me to ask a question. What is it about drag queens and drag shows which bring out hypocritical sanctimony in some people?

I'd like someone to tell me. Seriously.