North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley angered some gay rights advocates by using the word ‘pansy’ in a speech endorsing Sen. Hillary Clinton for president. (Photo by AP)
Gay voters in Ind., N.C. relish primary role HRC announces Senate endorsements
Gay
voters
in
Indiana
and
North
Carolina
relish
their
high-profile
role
in
next
week’s
presidential
primaries.
Ian
Palmquist,
executive
director
of
Equality
North
Carolina,
said
Democratic
presidential
hopefuls
Hillary
Clinton
and
Barack
Obama
“are
actively
courting
the
gay
community.”
“I
think
gay
voters
are
really
excited
about
the
primary,”
Palmquist
said.
“It’s
the
first
time
in
most
of
our
lives
that
North
Carolina
has
had
a
competitive
presidential
race
in
the
primary.
It’s
really
exciting
to
have
the
campaigns
here
and
actively
courting
our
votes.”
The
two
primaries,
set
for
May
6,
award
a
combined
187
pledged
delegates.
That
allocation
represents
nearly
half
of
the
408
pledged
delegates
that
remain
to
be
won
before
the
final
Democratic
primaries
on
June
3.
According
to
CNN
tallies,
Obama
had
1,491
pledged
delegates
this
week
to
Clinton’s
1,332.
Including
superdelegates,
Obama
had
1,727
delegates
to
Clinton’s
1,589.
Jon
Keep,
president
of
Indiana
Equality,
said
the
Hoosier
State’s
gay
voters
are
“split
down
the
middle”
on
who
to
support,
but
can’t
wait
to
cast
their
ballots.
“This
is
the
first
time
in
40
years
that
Indiana’s
had
a
voice,”
he
said.
“Everybody
is
excited,
and
I
think
that’s
why
the
heated
debates
within
the
LGBT
community
—
between
those
for
Clinton
and
those
for
Obama
—
are
passionate.”
Polls
show
Obama
consistently
leading
Clinton
in
North
Carolina,
but
the
race
is
far
closer
in
Indiana,
where
the
candidates
are
polling
within
five
points
of
each
other.
Clinton
this
week
won
the
endorsement
of
North
Carolina
Gov.
Mike
Easley,
who
triggered
a
mini-controversy
by
using
what
some
consider
an
anti-gay
epithet
in
his
speech.
“This
lady
right
here
makes
Rocky
Balboa
look
like
a
pansy,”
Easley
said.
Blogger
criticism
of
the
remark
was
swift,
with
some
demanding
that
Clinton
reject
Easley’s
endorsement.
‘Year
to
win’
In
another
election-related
development,
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
announced
plans
to
engage
gay
voters
and
generate
support
for
14
U.S.
Senate
candidates
it
endorsed
this
week.
HRC
announced
its
endorsement
of
Sens.
Max
Baucus
(D-Mont),
who
scored
67
on
the
last
HRC
scorecard;
Joe
Biden
(D-Del.),
who
scored
78;
Susan
Collins
(R-Maine),
who
scored
78;
Dick
Durbin
(D-Ill.),
who
scored
89;
Tom
Harkin
(D-Iowa),
who
scored
78;
John
Kerry
(D-Mass.),
who
scored
100;
Mary
Landrieu
(D-La.),
who
scored
89;
Frank
Lautenberg
(D-N.J.),
who
scored
100;
Carl
Levin
(D-Mich.),
who
scored
78;
and
Jack
Reed
(D-R.I.),
who
scored
89.
Also
endorsed
were
the
Senate
campaigns
of
Reps.
Mark
Udall
(D-Colo.),
who
scored
100
on
the
last
scorecard,
and
Tom
Udall
(D-N.M.),
who
scored
75.
Senate
candidates
Al
Franken
of
Minnesota
and
Jeanne
Shaheen
of
New
Hampshire,
both
Democrats,
rounded
out
the
endorsement
list.
Joe
Solmonese,
HRC
president,
said
the
organization
is
“committed
to
the
victory
of
these
candidates”
through
fundraising
and
voter
mobilization
efforts.
Solmonese
said
the
election
initiative,
called
“Year
to
Win,”
would
educate
voters
through
a
web
site
that
allows
them
to
register
to
vote,
donate
to
campaigns,
and
view
a
“report
card”
on
where
candidates
stand
on
key
issues.
But
HRC
was
criticized
this
week
for
not
endorsing
an
openly
gay
U.S.
Senate
candidate
from
North
Carolina.
Jim
Neal,
who’s
seeking
the
Democratic
nod
to
run
against
Republican
incumbent
Sen.
Elizabeth
Dole,
was
not
among
those
endorsed
by
HRC
this
week.
Solmonese
said
HRC
would
wait
until
after
North
Carolina
holds
its
May
6
primary
before
endorsing
Neal
or
his
main
primary
opponent,
veteran
state
Sen.
Kay
Hagan.
“Jim
Neal
is
certainly
someone
who
a
lot
of
people
have
really
been
following
here
in
Washington
as
an
openly
gay
candidate,
but
our
community
down
in
North
Carolina
is
really
rather
split
between
him
and
Kay
Hagan,”
Solmonese
said.
Neal
said
he
would
have
liked
to
have
won
HRC’s
endorsement,
but
was
not
surprised.
“HRC
hasn’t
really
been
supportive
of
the
campaign
for
their
own
reasons,
and
they’re
entitled
to
do
so,”
he
said.
“But
elections
are
won
not
by
endorsements,
but
by
votes.
That’s
just
how
it
works.
I’m
not
trying
to
rack
up
endorsements.
I’m
trying
to
rack
up
votes.”
Neal
was
statistically
tied
with
Hagan
in
one
SurveyUSA
poll
last
month
but
trailed
her
by
22
points
in
another.
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