Decency Knows No Political Party

I admire anyone who stands up for equality. But I particularly salute those for whom taking a stand is risky and may cost them personally and professionally. It touches my heart that some of the most moving and eloquent advocates for LGBT equality, lately, have come from within the ranks of the GOP.

It's important that we support these courageous people. While nationally we've passed the magic 51% number as far as acceptance (presumably making it a good long-term bet for ANY politician to support us), Republicans still fight uphill within their own party. And coming out in support of LGBT equality can have negative consequences for them at the ballot box and in contributions NOW, in current election cycles.

Meet my hero of the day -- Maureen Walsh, Republican State Senator from Walla Walla. Listen to her beautiful words on the floor of the Washington Senate Tue during that legislative body's debate over same-sex marriage.

And let's remember Maureen, financially and otherwise, when she's up for re-election, whether we typically vote Democrat or Republican. Because decency and justice know no political party.

GEICO VO actor fired for political speech

Here's the story, according to PRWeb:

(Los Angeles, CA) April 21, 2010 -- Los Angeles actor, D.C. Douglas, says he was dropped from the upcoming GEICO "Shocking News" campaign after a group of Tea Party members harassed him and the insurance giant over a private voicemail the actor left for FreedomWorks. Matt Kibbe, President and CEO of FreedomWorks, posted Mr. Douglas' cell phone number in a blog post on biggovernment.com, instructing readers to "Feel free to contact (him)… call his employer too. Let them know that you…are now in the market for car insurance." The next day, GEICO held auditions to replace Mr. Douglas' voice on the campaign.

"I called as a private citizen to make a complaint," explains Mr. Douglas. "Racism and homophobia are my Achilles heal, but unfortunately my message included inappropriate words and I am sorry for that. However, telling their members to harass my employer to get me fired is an egregiously disproportionate response to my actions."

For the whole article, click here.

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The Washington Post picked up the story. Here's my response on WashingtonPost.com's 'Voices' section:

I'm one of Mr. Douglas' colleagues in voice-over. We're both successful at a national level, both men with strong political sentiments and a penchant (if not talent) for articulating them.

I work as a freelance announcer for most of the major TV networks and movie studios. Sometimes they, or their parent companies, make choices with which I profoundly disagree. I'm not shy, in those instances, to voice my opinion. I do so as an individual, not as a representative or employee of those companies. To me that makes a big difference.

It's similar to a member of the Armed Services or law enforcement speaking their mind. In uniform, or while acting a representative, one must rightly pay deference to one's employer. It's improper, for instance, for an active-duty service member to call out the President, regardless of politics.

But once out of uniform and speaking as a civilian without citing rank etc., things are different -- we have this gorgeous and maddening First Amendment, crafted to indemnify us as we say our piece, even if it includes invective or non-PC word choices, as in the case of Mr. Douglas' voicemail huff.

I happen to agree with some of Douglas' sentiments on the Tea Party, if not his choice of words or level of tact. As a gay man who embraces diversity, I am unsettled by polling that points to ethnic near-uniformity among Tea Partiers, and I'm scared by a lot of the tweets and Facebook posts I read from Tea Party leadership -- i.e. "McCarthy was right!"

But it wouldn't matter to me if Mr. Douglas' ideology was polar opposite to my own, say if he were a gung ho Tea Partier himself. It'd be his American right to hold that perspective and articulate it. Those who follow my activism know I've made some strange bedfellows over the years, including my defending the gay-hating Westboro Baptist Church's right to conduct what I consider hatemongering.

Meanwhile, it's certainly GEICO's legal right to hire or not hire whomever they please for their VOs. But their releasing Mr. Douglas purely for of his political speech saddens me, and not just because a colleague is out of a gig.

It feels like a step backward for all of us.

Ben Patrick Johnson
Los Angeles, CA

How's that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya?

Sarah Palin. Sigh ... what can we say? (A lot.)

For the moment, this: Did you hear her keynote address at the Tea Party Convention? If you missed it, here's a recap.

There were plenty of moments to make you spit milk through your nose. The one that really got me was when she asked, speaking generally to President Obama, "How's that hopey-changey stuff working out for ya?"

I was struck by the image of a sneering ugly stepsister who's locked Cinderella in the cellar on the night of the ball asking, "How's that dating that datey-princey stuff working out for ya?"

There's a malice to this woman that gives me chills. In 2008, I laughed at her. She quit her job and I thought she had closed the lid on her own political coffin and we were done with her.

Now I'm getting scared.

BPJ