Allen Roskoff is AKA William’s new Political Director and columnist. Allen will be bringing us the best, the worst, and the unbelievable in LGBT politics.
Need help with separating the politicized spin from the political facts?
Let Allen give you a hand.
Last week, in Part 1 of his take on Michael Bloomberg’s run for NYC mayor, Allen told us how Bloomberg has been spinning for mayor. Today, with tomorrow’s looming election, Allen explains how Bloomberg has “convinced” some LGBT people to support him.
AND A FINAL WORD (FOR NOW) ON MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (Part 2 of 2)
Against yet another obscene $100 million campaign by Mike, we can only hope that supposedly sophisticated New Yorkers with sanity and compassion will wake up from their thrall to Mayor Money-Bags and elect someone whose top priority is average New Yorkers and a real commitment to LGBT rights and ending AIDS.
No one who honestly compares the records of Bloomberg and Bill Thompson on LGBT and AIDS issues can say that Thompson is anything but miles ahead. But there are those LGBT people who need his support of personal or public funding — such as the High Line, which should be known as the largest Republican Park Land in New York City — and his prejudice in favoring people who live the high life in New York.
Bloomberg’s handlers have rounded up a few gay supporters to help him recast his negative image, due to a negative record, within the gay community. Apparently, they reason that he is favored to win and that attacking his anti-gay record will cut off their access and thus damage the gay community. Bloomberg’s handlers have been skillful in amplifying their voices as though they represent the majority. The power of a few hundred million dollars strategically employed in a political campaign should not be underestimated, especially when the pro-Bloomberg press continues to quote the few as spokespersons for the majority.
What I really find offensive is people calling themselves lifelong civil rights activists when they have no problem supporting the re-election of Mike Bloomberg. This is the Mayor who, in the most crucial presidential elections of our time in 2004 and 2008, refused to support Kerry or Obama. These men are far from perfect, but they were infinitely preferable to Bush and McCain on almost every issue.
Do these gay so-called “civil rights activists” believe that it is acceptable to maintain that label when they look the other way when the rights of women, LGBT people and people of color are involved? At what point do we recognize this as hypocrisy? At what point do we say “Hey, there is a coalition of trust between the disenfranchised, and when gay activists throw others to the wind, we lose the moral authority to expect others to stand for us.”
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