With the Selection by Pro-Gay Massachusetts Gubernatorial Hopeful, Charlie Baker, of Openly Gay Republican Senator Richard Tisei as Potential Running Mate for 2010, Gay Community Seems to Have What It Wants But Sadly May Not Have the Guts to Say It
Could the 2010 Massachusetts Governor's Race be a clear example to Gay Inc. of "be careful what you wish for as you might just get it?" Considering the abusive relationship that our LGBT "leaders" seem to have held us hostage in with the Democrat Party moreso on the Federal level, one would think that news of the Baker/Tisei Candidacy would be a time for celebration in LGBT Media and in leadership circles, even in so much as to suggest that this should be a wake-up call to equivocating Dems right up to the Obama White House...but alas, politics, slanted and controlled media, and this never ending yet highly profitable (for some) war for equality are not the mixture for noble responses.
So see Sue O'Connell's Opinion piece in BayWindows, "Senator Tisei Has Much To Be Thankful For" for a look into the mouth of Gay Inc. a la Massachusetts politics. Here we have "journalist" Sue O'Connell painting a picture by her suggestion of the alleged Republican "handlers" for the Baker/Tisei Campaign purposefully "burying" Senator Tisei's announced orientation or "the gay factor" as O'Connell puts it, in the Boston Globe story the week before Thanksgiving when no one would read the paper. Ms. O'Connell states that she was "not privy to the lead-up discussions the Baker campaign staff had with Tisei" and yet wouldn't those conversations have been something any "journalist" would have sought to contact Baker about when writing an op-ed or article?
KnowThyNeighbor contacted GOP frontrunner Charlie Baker months ago before he made his own announcement for run for Governor and asked Mr. Baker all about his stance on marriage equality and LGBT Rights. Of course we know now that Baker included his support for marriage equality in his announcement speech and even went as far to talk publicly about his own gay brother. But at the time I made my outreach to Baker, Scott Brown was not running for Kennedy's seat and my concerns were that Brown may be the Party's choice as Lt. Governor. Baker let me know perfectly clearly that he would not choose as a running mate anyone who would have a different opinion on an issue (marriage equality) that he felt so strongly about.
So, Republican Charlie Baker announces his own support for marriage equality, tells the press about his love for his gay brother, chooses a gay running mate for Lt. Governor all in the midst of the RNC's Purity Test (ie RNC giving no money to candidates who supprt marriage equality) and Sue O'Connell would suggest that the campaign was trying to hide "the gay factor..."
Now, I was not privy to the lead-up discussions Sue O'Connell had before she wrote her Editorial claiming the Baker/Tisei Campaign a "non-story" and "no big deal". I can, however, imagine the Gay Inc. handler, Mary Breslauer, and O'Connell grabbing a cup o'Joe and trying to figure out a way to downplay the fact that Massachusetts and its gay community will actually have a two party choice in 2010 instead of being forced into no choice (Deval Patrick). Afterall it was rumored that Breslauer used her skills at story planting and media play to allegedly plant a story in the Globe during the 2006 Gubernatorial election against Deval Patrick back when she was supporting Gabrielli.
I don't know, I can only guess why some in what we call "LGBT Media" wouldn't report on this story in the positive instead of taking the activist role. Was BayWindows hoping that Richard Tisei's orientation would remain an "open secret" giving this newspaper fodder for publicly outing him if he screwed up sometime in the future? KnowThyNeighbor had to stop BayWindows once during our battle for marriage equality in it's efforts on a "outing" piece it was doing targetting one Democratic legislator during the Procedural Strategies that our lobbyists were unsuccessful with. If you remember, this strategy even did not get the support of our strongest allies in the House and Senate. But according to then BW Editor, Susan Ryan-Vollmar, if one of the leges were outed and humiliated, "the other closet cases would do what we want." What Ryan-Vollmar did not understand was that this particular lege was part of a block vote and what BayWindows was planning may very well have cost us 3 to 5 votes of this lege's friends. Not only did I talk Ryan-Vollmar out of this mistake but I was threatened by BayWindows that if they have regrets not doing the story, BayWindows would "come after" me personally. Very nice...got to love "journalism."
Senator Richard Tisei as choice as the Republican Lt. Governor is a big deal. Charlie Baker's run is a big deal. I can understand if the LGBT Community is still gun-shy when it comes to the Republicans and courting our vote will be an uphill climb for the MA GOP. We have never been allowed the luxury of choice when it comes to voting and maybe that is the reason why "Democrat" does not equal "fierce advocate." I am beyond myself to know that as far as Baker/Tisei 2010, "Republican" does not mean "anti-gay."
Tom Lang, Director