Rendell joins Chelsea Clinton for 'gay pub crawl' in Philly
They loved her hair; they smacked her butt; they hooted and hugged Friday night as Chelsea Clinton hit Philadelphia for what campaign aides called a "gay pub crawl."
"Chelsea, the gays love you!" Jeff Guaracino, 35, shouted as the former first daughter took the stage at Bumps, the first of four stops for Clinton, Gov. Ed Rendell and actor/producer Rob Reiner.
"Oh, gosh, I don't know if everybody loves me," responded Chelsea, who made her first visit to the city's gay clubs a couple of weeks earlier and has made similar stops at gay bars in other cities while campaigning for her mother, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The reception was no less enthusiastic at the second stop, Sisters, a lesbian bar, where women dancing to Kool and the Gang's "Celebration" barely allowed Chelsea to speak because they kept interrupting her.
Out on the streets, Chelsea Clinton was like a pied piper, leading her dates for the night, Gov. Ed Rendell and actor/director Rob Reiner, and a throng of well-wishers that included transvestites, gay men and lesbians.
With Tuesday's primary days away, the gay bar tour shows how much the campaigns are courting the gay vote, which by some estimates represents as much as 5 percent of the city's vote.
"This is where the voters are," said Rendell as he walked with Bill Wood, the founder of Woody's, the most famous of the city's gay bars and the final stop of the night around 1 a.m.
Rendell's been a regular at the gay bars since he ran for district attorney in 1977, when he was credited with being the first straight candidate to court the gay vote. He made a similar campaign swing through the neighborhood in 2004 for John Kerry.
"These are important voters; they're smart; they're sophisticated, and they turn out in large numbers and always have," Rendell said.
I lol'd.
Goddammit, now I'm forced to say in public that I agree with Mr. Coffee. - Mike Wong
I never would have thought I would wholeheartedly agree with Coffee... - fgalkin x2
Honestly, this board is so fucking stupid at times. - Thanas GALEForceCarwash: Oh, I'll wax that shit, bitch...
I guess everyone forgot about Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I guess its true people just side with whatever the media says the side support, irregardless of what they actually do.
"You know what the problem with Hollywood is. They make shit. Unbelievable. Unremarkable. Shit." - Gabriel Shear, Swordfish
"This statement, in its utterly clueless hubristic stupidity, cannot be improved upon. I merely quote it in admiration of its perfection." - Garibaldi in reply to an incredibly stupid post.
The Fifth Illuminatus Primus | Warsie | Skeptical Empiricist | Florida Gator | Sustainability Advocate | LibertarianSocialist |
Illuminatus Primus wrote:I guess everyone forgot about Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I guess its true people just side with whatever the media says the side support, irregardless of what they actually do.
But, but, Hillery's a womyn, and barack's an evil oppressive sex-poxxy black patriarch! Yay sisterhood!
Oh, Mister Darcy! <3
We're ALL Devo! GALE-Force: Guardians of Space!
"Rarr! Rargharghiss!" -Gorn
I discussed this problem in an earlier thread and have seen nothing but more of the same since; gays (at least in my neck of the woods here in Philadelphia) seem to have some kind of illusory idea that Hillary is especially pro-gay. No amount of discussion of DOMA seems to work otherwise. In fact, one of the otherwise-more-intelligent gay men I hang out with has tried to argue that DOMA is actually a good thing, because it has supposedly damped-down the anti-gay-marriage crowd. Bullshit, but trying to argue against it is an uphill battle.
That said, I think this is pretty hillarious. Woodys is a real "meat market" kind of club. Can't say I ever saw Rendell there during my clubbing days.
Illuminatus Primus wrote:I guess everyone forgot about Defense of Marriage Act and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I guess its true people just side with whatever the media says the side support, irregardless of what they actually do.
Frank Hipper wrote:No, everyone most assuredly has not forgotten.
While "everyone" is an overbroad generalization, the article implies that Clinton has strong support among the gay community, which is very, very sad, because it's inevitable she'll just throw them under the bus, again.
If this campaign has not taught the average bystander anything, its that people care more about useless symbolic gestures than they do about the actual issues or action. Several of my gay friends like Hillary because she's marched in gay pride parades, nevermind how useless this actually is to their ability to engage in a normal lifestyle with economic and social rights and benefits. Somehow, they forget who it was that threw them under the bus in the first place with DoMA.
If poll numbers showed that there was a resurging movement to reduce gay rights and benefits, Hillary would no doubt comply immeadiately, less she lose a few points in the favorability polls.
