Articles like this allow us to focus our attention on those disparities left unaddressed by the conventional political process.

Our collective responses will eventually establish a nexus about which we can begin to organize and direct our energy.

All we need to do is to stay informed and involved.

This ol’ school Gay Male Liberal is tired of it. Tired of being used for my money and vote, while being patted on the back and told to “just be cool…your turn is coming.” It hasn’t and it won’t with the Democratic Party.

So now it’s time to do a little self-emancipation. It’s time to throw off empty promises and take control of my own life. I’ve been a Democrat since 1968, when I proudly supported Eugene McCarthy for President. As of today, I leave the Democratic Party and become a Libertarian. And in doing so, I encourage other LGBT voters to do the same. The Democratic Party has given us glittering platitudes and empty promises of true equality.

Is full and unambiguous support for same-sex marriage in the 2008 Democratic Platform? That would be a No. Is full and unambiguous support for same-sex marriage in the Libertarian Platform? Yes!

To those who say the Libertarian Party is too small to have any impact and that the LGBT community will loose what semblance of voice we have in the body politic. I encourage you to think of this. It is said that the LGBT community makes up between 4% to 6% of the California vote. Think about that vote combined with the third largest Independent party in California and the US.

The LGBT community has the opportunity to make a difference…not just be used year after year. We have an opportunity to really be heard…not just be an easy bank account used for the quick political cash. It’s beyond time for the LGBT community to emancipate itself from the Democratic Party and to become respected as Libertarians.

The tiny little town of La Palma has shifted to a Democratic majority! Solidly Reep since the 1980 Regean Revolution they are now 3-2 Dem’s.
Believe this is the first in OC other than the big boys of Santa Ana and Irvine who have stayed blue for a while.

Is this a small beginning? Just…asking?

We need to look at our candidates that ran this year and see what we can do to help them run in the smaller races in their city and move the County bit by bit (Aliso Viejo also voted for Obama and NO on 4 and 8).

I personally think it has to do with the presence of Soka University. Take advantage of every little thing we can!

Yes we can!

For example, regardless of Proposition 8’s outcome, our community will still lobby public schools to teach about healthy relationships (we pay taxes and have a say), we will press for marital inclusion in our religious communities. And for those of us in loving, committed relationships, we are married in God’s eyes and our family’s eyes. And yes, we want the same right as an 18 year old California teenager- the right to marry the one we love.

Let’s tell Mormons where to go!!!!

The No on 8 leadership, or lack there of, failed to respond to the negative attacks and lies with a consistent and clear message. They failed to anticipate and counter the implication by the Yes folks that Barack Obama and Joe Biden opposed Proposition 8. they failed to anticipate how the Yes campaign would exploit the comments of Mayor Newsom after the Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-gender marriage. The No on 8 campaign failed to plan for what to do if they were able to raise more than the initial $20 million they hoped to raise. What we were left with was the failure to plan upfront for what they should have anticipated would be thrown at them.

Our efforts were reduced to dueling rallies with the Yes campaign, while the Yes folks were miseading voters into believing that Marriage Equality was an education issue , rather than a civil rights issue.

The result of that failure was Prop 22 all over again. Strangey, the same groups responsible for loosing the fight against Prop 22, ae the same groups responsible for our failure to defeat Prop 8. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and the volunteers that helped, are not at fault.

You spent so much time in Nevada and asked so many people to go to Nevada, that I don’t think you are in a position to talk on this.

I think you might’ve just been a little too confident about the state of affairs in your home state.

CA voters aren’t as liberal as you might think. Bush has been a failure as a Republican and McCain wasn’t any better. A lot of conservatives voted for Obama to teach the Reps a lesson.

Also, turning out voters for a Obama was a double-edged sword. Latinos and blacks both supported Prop 8 (blacks overwhelmingly so).

Obama is a one-trick pony and once his honeymoon period is over, you’ll find that on the issues, the state isn’t as liberal as you would like to think it is.

The infighting between those two camps benefitted Dems dramatically in this election and should be seen as the opportunity it is which is to carry a Democratic Message to Little Saigon and reap the benefits from a newly awakend community who will turn away from Janet Nguyen and Van Tran style candidates in the future.