Clinton and Obama: We (Heart) Gays, Especially in Pennsylvania

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


gay-obama-08.jpgHillary Clinton and Barack Obama want you to know they’re not just tolerant, they really like gay people. And they want their votes, especially in Pennsylvania later this month.

In her effort to court the gay vote, Clinton gave an exclusive interview to the Philadelphia Gay News during which she talked about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” among other issues. The publisher of the paper says both Clinton’s and Obama’s campaigns have made noises about buying ad space, “but we haven’t gotten an insertion order.”

Though Barack Obama hasn’t done a Pennsylvania-specific appeal to gay voters yet, he has in other parts of the country. According to Editor&Publisher, in March Obama bought full-page, full-color ads in four Ohio and Texas LGBT publications shortly before their state primaries. It was the first time (sez Obama’s campaign rep) that any presidential candidate has placed ads in local gay/lesbian publications for the express purpose of “asking for the support and the vote of LGBT voters statewide.”

John McCain was asked to do an interview by the Philadelphia Gay News, but declined, as did Obama. “It’s a sad day when we are treated with more respect from the Republican candidate, John McCain, than a Democratic senator,” said publisher Mark Segal. “With McCain, his top press representative called us back within three hours. It took seven weeks for Obama’s representative to acknowledge.”

And if you think there aren’t enough gays in Pennsylvania to make a difference, think again. The publication says that a full 90% of its readers are registered to vote, and that the “gay vote” makes up to 3 percent of the Pennsylvania electorate, definitely enough to sway the state one way or another.

Ironically Obama (who like Clinton says gay marriage decisions should be left up to the states) said in a speech that marriage should be between a man and a woman. He went on to say that gay rights are often used as an attention-seeking ploy around elections. McCain similarly says that while he’s in favor of gay people having some rights, they shouldn’t be able to legally marry. Clinton stopped short of saying the same in her interview with the gay paper, but noted that if elected president, she will walk in gay pride parades “to the extent that security would permit.”

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate