When Harold Ford bragged that he will be voting for Tennessee's anti gay marriage amendment, the Democrat may have picked up votes on the Right, but he lost votes on the Left.
Most especially, Harold Ford lost votes in the LGBT community.
As I made clear in a recent post, I will be holding my nose and voting for Harold Ford, but it’s not hard to understand why some simply cannot bring themselves to vote for candidates who think it's okay to ask Americans to go to the polls and vote on whether or not some of us get rights.
According to a newly released study, there are now 13,570 same-sex couples living in Tennessee.
That's 27,140 potential votes, plus a considerable number of votes from single gays in this state. In the nation, there are an estimated 8.8 million gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) persons.
Obviously, that's more than enough to swing an election.
So, who are gays going to vote for?
In the following letter to Harold Ford, Joyce Arnold -- editor of Nashville's weekly LGBT newspaper, the Church Street Freedom Press -- explains why she did NOT vote for the Democrat.
A Letter to Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN)
Mr. Ford,
No one wants, more than me, a change from the Republican majority in both U.S. Senate and House. To that end, my plan had been to vote for you.
My plans changed in the last few days, as I listened to you, once again, use the minority population of lesbians and gays in Tennessee, and around the nation, as a political strategy. That is ethically and morally unacceptable. In truth, you are "for Tennessee" only selectively. Some of us are clearly expendable.
I, and the many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens of Tennessee who are the constituents of whoever sits in the Senate and House as representatives of this state, deserve respect. You, Mr. Ford, have gone out of your way to show the opposite. I had convinced myself that I could cast a vote for you, toward hopes of a Democratic majority in the Senate. But after listening to your gratuitous statements following the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling earlier this week, I knew I could not cast a vote for someone who so shamelessly uses me.
We who are LGBT citizens of Tennessee are not an "issue" for your, or any other politician's, use. We, in fact, are not an "issue" -- we are individuals, real people who, like everyone else, simply want equality. We, and those who support us, are maligned when we work for that equality, most often by those purporting to speak for God. Your actions are no different, including your use of God, along with us, toward your own ends.
When someone continues to slap you down, no matter how many times you give that person another chance, the time comes when out of self-respect, you walk away. Based on conversations I've had with a number of people in the last few days, LGBT and heterosexual, I'm not the only one who has had enough, and is walking.
In general, the Tennessee Senate race is, from Mr. Corker as well as you, an embarrassment. Neither of you deserve to win. One of you will. And the fact is, as far as the civil rights of the LGBT minority of Tennessee are concerned, it won't make a bit of difference which one of you it is.
You, of course, won't read this, and I doubt anyone in your campaign will either. If someone does, I'm quite sure it will not make any difference to you. But at least I know I've taken the tiny step I needed to take, on behalf of "Liberty and justice for all" rather than for "some."
Joyce L. Arnold, Ph.D.
Church Street Freedom Press
[Photo via Church Street Freedom Press]
Harold Ford Gay Politics Bob Corker Tennessee Homophobia Nashville Gay Marriage Republicans Marriage Amendment Tennessee Vote No on 1 Politics News Democrats
