Oy! We do not envy the Democratic National Committee at the moment. Not only are they fighting what's become an increasingly tough presidential election, but they're about to have a full-fledged discrimination trial!

After months of discovery and mediation, talks between the DNC and Donald Hitchcock failed yesterday. For those of you not paying attention, Hitchcock once served as the DNC's gay outreach officer, but found himself sacked soon after his boyfriend, Paul Yandura, wrote an open letter criticizing the DNC's gay politics.

The party organ, said Yandura, simply used gays as an ATM without fully incorporating them into the party. Hitchcock claims he was fired for political revenge. He also claims the DNC paid him less and marginalized gay outreach. The DNC and Chairman Howard Dean deny these claims, of course.

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The Democratic National Committee today released an ad attacking John McCain's blooming friendship with Ralph Reed, the Evangelical leader and Congressional hopeful whom McCain helped take down during the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Reed had a long career with Abramoff, who bilked clients out of millions of dollars.

Despite McCain and Reed's stormy past - and the fact that Reed may have backed McCain attack ads during the 2000 election - the Republican candidate's been saddling up to right-wing Reed in what the DNC calls a "desperate to raise campaign cash to run more negative attack ads." This ad, by the way, is called "Tainted."

Howard Dean and the DNC haven't always had the best relationship with gay press, a fact made evident in this testimony from the ongoing Donald Hitchcock discrimination lawsuit. Watch as Dean discusses the "hysterical" Washington Blade, the DNC's arch-nemesis. And he doesn't mean funny.

Politics can be a meticulous business. There are voters to analyze, boxes to be checked, heads to be counted and put in a row. Well organized electoral campaigns require a certain amount of numeric dissection. And, as with any game, numbers matter, especially when discussing potentially divisive social constituencies, like the gays.

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Things got heated after Donald Hitchcock's failed mediation with the Democratic National Committee.

A former gay outreach officer, Hitchcock's suing the party organ for discrimination and wrongful termination. He claims Chairman Howard Dean and other leaders sacked him in retaliation for his boyfriend's public criticism of the party. The DNC denies the allegations and potential settlement talks crumbled last week.

And months of tension exploded soon after…

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The Democratic Party prides itself on inclusion. Unfortunately, the so-called "big tent" doesn't always have room for everyone.

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The Democratic Party prides itself on its inclusion. Their past electoral missions, however, suggest otherwise.

In the months leading up to the 2006 election, the Democratic National Committee's Faith In Action initiative, led by the DNC's troublesome Chief of Staff, Leah Daughtry, funded and endorsed an anti-gay agenda.

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Thing aren't looking good for the DNC. Judge Jeanette Clark this week rejected the party organ's plea for a summary judgment in Donald Hitchcock's discrimination lawsuit.

Hitchcock, you'll remember, filed the suit after the DNC sacked him as their gay outreach officer. The politico alleges that Chairman Howard Dean and company were retaliating against him and his boyfriend, Paul Yandura, who wrote a very public letter blasting the DNC's gay politics and for using gays as an ATM. The DNC denies these claims and hoped Clark would put the issue to bed. But, alas, she will not.

And what's more, Clark's taking a hard look at Dean and DNC treasurer Andy Tobias, both of whom have been accused of making defamatory statements about Hitchcock.

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Wrapping up her DNC speech last night, Michelle Obama reminded gay voters of her husband Barack's driving philosophy - people can change the world, we can shape it, make it and mold it as it should be: inclusive.

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Ha!

One of the best parts of last night's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council dinner, where Michelle Obama pledged her support to the lavender set, was a press packet containing pride salutations from Barack Obama, the Democratic National Committee and The Republican National Committee.

As you can see, the RNC doesn't have a pride message, of course, and the DNC made that perfectly clear with a blank sheet of paper.

Very clever, Demmies.