OCTOBER 28, 1994

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11

SPEAK OUT

We can defeat the Right where it counts

by Eric Resnick

Never in history has such opportunity been set before the gay and lesbian community. Thanks to the hostile political climate and the no-holds-barred campaign to deny civil rights to gays and lesbians at all levels of government led by Pat Robertson, et. al., we have the opportunity to finally square off with our "enemy" and use the great political clout we potentially have to change the course of political history in Ohio.

We cannot deny the importance of winning this battle at every opportunity. Nationwide, the Right Wing effectively grows by 11,000 members each week. We do not. The Christian Coalition is politically sophisticated. They have an incredible budget and eager volunteers. We do not. They own their own TV and radio broadcasting networks and employ the most skillful consultants in the industry. We can't even keep In The Life on the air. Their leaders are household names in America. Most of us are still in the closet.

But November 8, we will be able to defeat the enemy where it counts-at the ballot box, if we want it badly enough. No matter what else the right wing has, they need their political candidates elected in order to be effective. The right wing has spent millions of dollars in Ohio trying to make sure that Governor Voinovich is re-elected and Mike DeWine goes to Washington. Operation Spotlight has hurt many judicial candidates friendly to us, and planted fears in candidates for every election from School Board to Senator.

Still, I am optimistic. The right wing knows, and we should know, that there are over a million gay and lesbian people in this state. Add to that the number of gay-friendly people and non-gay people willing to stand by our side in the marches and at Speak Outs and understand without a doubt that we too are a major force to be reckoned with when we are out, united, and focused. Our activism and willingness to unanimously support candidates friendly to us gives us the opportunity to dictate to the Ohio Family Values Forum, the Christian Coalition, and the American Family Association, and all their allies exactly how they need to spend their budgets to fight us. It is out of this sense of frustration that our enemies keep coming up with more incredible schemes every year. They have no choice. So, what do we need to do?

First, we must understand that the Christian Coalition is more about political power than religion. Since we don't have big budgets and TV networks, we have to be educated and willing to put all other political issues and party affiliations aside when it comes to supporting candidates who are willing to support us. This means financially, with our volunteer labor, and most importantly, with our vote. Nothing will hurt Operation Spotlight more than the election of candidates they tried to defeat.

Second, we need to understand that outrageous stunts like Issue 3 in Cincinnati are designed to wear us out. The Christian Coalition knows that none of these "anti-special rights" initiatives will be upheld before the U.S. Supreme Court. Yet, they introduce them anyway because we have such a hard time defeating them at the ballot box, and to defeat them in court depletes our resources and our will. If key political offices are held by right wing candidates, it is a signal to the right wing that a state is "ripe" for their despicable tactics.

Third, we need to defeat the right wing at the ballot box, where the cost is relatively low compared to litigation. Just ask Cincinnati why this is crucial. In the time remaining before the election, send checks, even small ones, to the candidates endorsed by the Chronicle and let them know they are getting "gay dollars."

The October 14 issue of the Chronicle pointed out the polarization of friendly versus non-friendly candidates in each race. A strong signal is sent by candidates (mostly Republican ones) who didn't even return the survey. The major candidates like Rob Burch, Peter Lawson Jones, Joel Hyatt, and Eric Fingerhut, and others who all face uphill battles and heavily bankrolled opponents, have come out profoundly for us and we need to elect them.

The truth is, we can! We have the opportunity (and the duty) to make 1994 the first year in Ohio election history that the gay vote was the deciding factor in electing the major candidates. Our million plus voters can swing any and every statewide election in Ohio! The need for the enemy to use tactics like Operation Spotlight as a response is all the proof that you need.

As long as we can unite and elect our candidates, Operation Spotlight and all their schemes become futile. We will wear them out!

Our enemies are trying to make this a campaign of apathy. The message is that their candidates are so far ahead, it won't make any difference for us to get involved, If we refuse to buy into that logic, they have a problem. Make no mistake, if we fail, we have a

problem. Minor disagreements you may have with gay-friendly candidates on things like taxation will pale in comparison to the amount of money we will need to raise and spend to challenge them in court. There is no doubt in my mind that the radical right wing is poised and ready to pounce on Ohio like a cat jumps its prey. With Bork and Meese coming to defend Issue 3, we are kidding ourselves if we think otherwise. The prey becomes more vulnerable if Rob Burch is not elected as governor, Joel Hyatt is denied the opportunity to go to Washington, and the majority of the rest of our endorsed candidates are defeated. Fortunately, we have the opportunity November 8 to protect ourselves. If we fail, we have only ourselves to blame.

More than ever before, we need to vote our pride. ♡

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