Education Freestyle

Cited: AP

One voter, Kate Coatar, normally supports Democrats is seriously considering voting for Green Party candidates. James Wyatt won’t cast a ballot at all because he no longer trusts anyone to fight for causes important to him. Democrats could be in for a big surprise if they count on the long-standing support from gay voters to help stave off losses on November 2.

Across the country, activists say gay voters are angry — at the lack of progress on issues from eliminating employment discrimination to uncertainty over serving in the military to the economy — and some are choosing to sit out this election or look for other candidates.

President Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago, with its large, politically and socially active gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, offers a snapshot of what some are calling the “enthusiasm gap” between voters who came out strong for Obama and other Democrats in 2008 and re-energized Republican base voters, including tea party enthusiasts who say they are primed to storm the polls.

It didn’t help that the controversy over the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays erupted less than two weeks before the election, when a judge overturned it, then Obama’s justice department decided to fight the judge’s decision. On Thursday, the Defense Department declared that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is official policy but set up a new system that could make it tougher to get thrown of the military for being openly gay.

“It’s all talk and nothing’s happening, and I’m just over it,” said Coatar, 62, a church business manager who said she’s as concerned about health care and homelessness as about gay issues. “I don’t know who to vote for and the election is a week away.”

Wyatt, 35, a maintenance worker at the Center on Halsted, a community center serving Chicago’s GLBT community, said politicians only court gay voters at election time.

“Once they’re elected, they’re not fighting for things like civil unions or same-sex marriage or ending ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ because they’re hot-button issues,” said Wyatt, who usually supports Democrats. “We’re just used as a piggyback for them to get into office. It’s absurd.”

Whether or not that’s the case, Wyatt isn’t the only one who feels that way.

Off-Topic Breach: These New York employment lawyers will explain that the United States Constitution forbids your public employer from violating your constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and it also guarantees you equal protection under the law. Constitutional law and civil law prohibit employers from hiring employees based on race, sex, age, or any similar criteria. As any Manhattan civil rights attorney will explain, employers are obligated to select employees based on factors that do not discriminate, such as experience and qualifications.

And in places like Cook County, Ill., where the gay population represents about 7 percent of voters, that could mean the difference between victory and defeat in some races, said Rick Garcia, director of public policy for Equality Illinois. One of those races is a much-watched and close battle for Obama’s old Senate seat between Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk.

“If (candidates) can mobilize the gay community and get them out to vote, it could make all the difference in the world in some of these key races,” said Garcia.

But volunteers who’ve been calling the 18,000 or so members of Equality Illinois to urge them to vote have been getting an earful. Many members say they won’t vote or will vote against incumbents, regardless of their party affiliation or stance on gay issues.

This year’s election is a stark contrast to 2008, when the gay community turned out in droves to elect Obama and help Democrats regain control of Congress.

“People were clamoring and very excited about the change that then-candidate Obama promised America,” Garcia said. “Now I see lethargy at best and disgust at worst.”

He said gains won under Obama, including in fighting housing discrimination, have not filtered out to many in the gay community because “the big issues have not appeared to change at all.”

“But change takes time; sometimes it takes a lot of time. A lot of folks just don’t understand that,” said Garcia. “I am older and more seasoned, but most people are very disturbed with the administration … and they’re the hard ones to get out to vote.

“The message is huge: Don’t take us for granted.”

Tracy Baim, publisher of Windy City Times, Chicago’s oldest and largest GLBT newspaper, and author of the new book “Obama and the Gays,” said disappointment is showing up in another way: Some are refusing to donate money to candidates until they see progress, although it’s difficult to gauge how much that has affected fundraising.

A message left Friday with the Democratic National Committee seeking comment was not immediately returned.

But many gay organizations are working hard to get voters to the polls, fearing they could face setbacks if Republicans retake control of Congress. Baim said Democrats and Obama still enjoy widespread support in some parts of the gay community, particularly among African-Americans and Latinos, and she believes the majority still will vote.

“People are disappointed but understand that this really is the best hope for significant change over the next several years,” she said. “But at the same time, the anger is very real.”

Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of the national gay-rights organization GetEQUAL calls the mood among gay voters a “disappointment canyon” but said they have no choice but to go to the polls.

She, however, is refusing to donate to or volunteer for any candidate this year. And members of her group are protesting wherever Obama appears on the campaign trail.

“We can’t ‘not’ take advantage of the right to vote, but that doesn’t mean we can’t vote smartly,” said McGehee, of Fresno, Calif. “If I was a leader in the Democratic Party, I would be worried. Either we’re important enough to fight for our equality or we’re worth losing. Right now we’re being treated like we’re worth losing.”

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My Take: I started this article on Election Day. By the time I got it posted, it turned out that the Democrats didn’t have to worry about gay voters after all. The Republican seems to have taken over again. Then again, I know more about smokeless cigarettes that I do about politics. I like my electronic cigarette because I can smoke anywhere I want to.

I would actually rather worry about iron front doors then who’s in a particular political office. With a wrought iron door, you know you’re securing in your home. Unlike someone who gets Medicare who is not sure what is going to happen next. There is one thing is for sure, those congressmen, representative, and Senators will not need Natomas private security services because the average taxpayer pays for that security. That is right! Every one of those politicians in Washington is provide a security team that will protect them and taxpayers pay for it. They won’t even need a Natomas private security team when their car in their own home state.

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