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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Why Human Rights Campaign Endorsed Hillary Clinton

In a word because Bernie's a change-talker, Hillary's a change-doer. Bernie reacted very peevishly to the choice. He decided that Human Rights Campaign is just an 'Establishment' organization, anyway, and so who needs their support?

"Given Clinton’s status as the establishment candidate (the HRC is many things, but radical isn’t one of them) and her impressive 24-point LGBT policy pledge (Sanders’ is comparatively limited), the endorsement should shock no one. But nevertheless, the Sanders campaign was not pleased. Spokesman Michael Briggs offered this bit of side-eye to the Washington Blade: “It’s understandable and consistent with the establishment organizations voting for the establishment candidate,” he jabbed, “but it’s an endorsement that cannot possibly be based on the facts and the record.”

"Briggs echoed the narrative of Sanders’ having an impeccable history on LGBT issues, describing him to the Blade as “somebody who’s been for gay rights long, long ago” and as having “by far the most exemplary record on gay rights of any candidate ever in American history.” Unsurprisingly, this is a bit overstated. As my Outward colleague Mark Joseph Stern revealed in a post last year, Sanders—while certainly better on queer issues than most—can hardly claim to have been a star ally all along. Indeed, he supported civil unions over same-sex marriage in 2006, and his opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 was explained at the time as concern over states’ rights rather than gay people’s right to legally recognized love. What matters, of course, is that the Bern got to where we need him now on most of the issues—but presenting an overly rosy view of the “facts and the record” has a way of tarnishing that otherwise laudable evolution."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/01/19/clinton_wins_hrc_endorsement_sanders_campaign_gets_shady.html

As usual, Bernie doesn't understand what matters. HRC is not handing this award out simply as a referendum on 'who got there first' but who is most likely to advance the cause of LGBT rights going forward.

Hillary is definitely the candidate to do that. Bernie is the one to talk about it.

It's the same thing in Flynt, Michigan. Hillary is the one who actually got some action for the people of Flynt.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-flint_us_569e66c3e4b04c8137617f05?1tgfogvi=

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