It's a big day for Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee! Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry takes the stand today in the ongoing discrimination discovery hearings. Daughtry allegedly asked former staffer Donald Hitchcock to resign after Hitchcock's boyfriend, Paul Yandura wrote an open letter criticizing the DNC.
Confused? Yeah, we are, too. That's why we've compiled a list of all the witnesses testifying during the case's discovery period. Get to know the DNC players, because you may be hearing a whole lot more from them.
Brian Bond: Donald Hitchcock's successor at the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council, Brian Bond works to build queer support for the party, particularly with regard to fundraising. This isn't Bond's first time working within the Democratic National Committee – he previously worked for the since disosolve gay and lesbian outreach, during which time he organized "financial contributions to targeted LGBT clubs." That outreach, says the DNC, has been "absorbed" into the AMP. Bond, it seems, serves as both GLLC honch and the AMP's gay representative. Lucky duck!
Bond's appointment seemed like a perfect fit. The politico worked as the Victory Fund's executive director from 1997 to 2003, during which time the number of openly gay politicians rocketed from 127 to 228. He and his staff raised over $300,000 for 60 candidates during the 2002 campaign. Bond also worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. No doubt Howard Dean hoped Bond would set the GLLC straight: Brian's proven and effective leadership will be crucial to our effort to confront the issues facing the Party and the LGBT community. The Democratic Party has a long history of standing against discrimination and standing up for equal rights for every American… Brian will help lead our fight to end the Republican politics of fear and division. Brian wasn't so sure – he reportedly reached out to Hitchcock and Yandura for guidance on how to keep the DNC's gay politics from going sour.
Claire Lucas: A central character in the unfolding drama, Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council board Chair Claire Lucas has been grabbing more than her fair of headlines around here. The self-described "investor" raised eyebrows for refusing to testify in the discovery. She also came under fire for murky tax and property records. The Pomona graduate and former National Stonewall Director also sent a series of emails to communications director Karen Finney in which she derides Hitchcock as a "loser" and strategizes on how to best handle the scandal: direct response and "pro-DNC editorials".
Rumor has it Lucas has a reputation for being difficult. In fact, people have been known to say, "Oh, you've been Claired". We're not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds painful. Apparently Lucas can afford to be curt: her grandfather invented the overhead projector, or something crazy like that.
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Is Dean going to have sex with those cows?
Cuz, if he ain't me and my pal Mike Huckabee might want to give 'em a good spit fuck.
It is sad that people like Lucas can do whatever they want to other people and be unprofessional and underhanded while doing it with no consequences.
Nice story … but it all just seems politics as usual to me. This is the way the Big Boys (and Girls) play. I'm missing the deeper significance of the story.
The "significance of the story" is that the DNC is running away from the gay marriage issue and should be held accountable for it by this key constituency.
A written expression of this sentiment, by the love interest of a party staffer, led to the staffer's dismissal.
"Nice story", indeed…
It doesn't seem clear that Hitchcock was fired because of the letter. I don't think that it's any mystery that lots of gay people are intent on gay marriage even to the exclusion of other political issues. Not all people believe that gay "marriage" as such is the most intelligent solution to the issues relevant to partnership or family. Conservatives like Sullivan have done a great job of convincing people that gays should be best off in bougeoise heteronormative guise.That outside of that issue nothing matters as far a gay rights. WE queers need to wise up and realise that we have been misslead into believing that THAT is necessarily a substantive issue, and that we need to develope a much more responsible and rich gay platfom. I seriously doubt that a letter from Hitchcocks partner , buy itself would have any affect on a firing decision. That seems silly.
Two thoughts here…well, maybe 3…1) Much Ado About Nothing; 2) The Gay Press/Blogs have done the best job at "going green" – there isn't anything they won't recycle – because day, after day, the same page from a long ago canceled soap-opera keeps coming back…and 3) several of my fellow bloggers need a serious, medically supervised reality check – who told them that their politicall party affilation would make all their dreams come true. Those people need to call "Dr. Phil" and not "Dr. Dean"
Sorry – I had a 4th thought about this article. When did "Bitch Boy" from the Blade get the promotion to start writing the "heavy" stuff? While he may have moved on – he still entertains us with that dry, comic wit!
Patty – I guess I'm seeing a lot of in-fighting here, but I'm not convinced that it's really over issues of conscience. It's striking me as personality conflicts that people are wrapping in the cloak of bigger issues.
I don't know any of these people, and I live close to 5000 miles from DC. I obviously don't know the inside story … but based on political groups I've been involved with in the past this seems like the same old story that's repeated ad nauseam in every organization.
What does "AMP" stand for?
About Claire,
Yes, she has OMP (i.e. family money) but is the world better or worse for Claire ?? Probably better, like cats and Cher..you love them or hate them. At the end of the day we have more money. Let's get along. I believe that she is like many others by not having the savey and advice about complex state tax issues. She is not a tax scammer. She will need to cough up to our detriment. Leave her alone.