Harold Ford, Jr.’s talk about a run for the U.S. Senate from New York has sparked outrage from the New York (and elsewhere) LGBT community. But, until now, I’d not seen any organizational opposition. Until now.
Stonewall Democrats released a rather strong statement this afternoon, concluding that promises in the attempt to garner votes aren’t what matter. Executive Director Michael Mitchell said in the statement, “A better indicator of what Mr. Ford’s future work for the LGBT community might look like is what he’s already done: nothing.”
The full statement:
Stonewall Democrats doubtful about change of heart from Harold Ford, Jr.
“New promises from Harold Ford, Jr. do not cancel past votes. Then Congressman Ford demonstrated with repeated votes for the Federal Marriage Amendment his stark opposition to marriage equality and his total lack of concern for protecting LGBT people and their families. While National Stonewall Democrats is, frankly, heartened by Mr. Ford’s recent about-face on same-sex marriage because it demonstrates how far public opinion on marriage equality has changed, we are not certain that it reflects anything about his own views besides a desire to be more appealing to Democratic primary voters in New York,” said Michael Mitchell, Executive Director of Stonewall Democrats.
“Our community has been taught the harsh lesson that promises and election year pandering from a politician are not indicative of that person’s actions in Congress. A better indicator of what Mr. Ford’s future work for the LGBT community might look like is what he’s already done: nothing.”
[UPDATE: Thanks to Matt Yglesias for posting the news.]
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Chris Geidner is the senior political writer at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found