We previously informed you that North Carolina Governor Mike Easley used the word "pansy" in his Hillary Clinton endorsement. Said Easley, "[Mrs. Clinton] makes Rocky Balboa look like a pansy." Well, you can check the video out after the jump.

Before you dive on in, one reader sent us a note on this poor word choice, which we'd like to share:

You might point out top readers that one would use that term, say, when chasing a gay guy with intent to harm. Or, say, not hiring him. Or maybe not letting him rent an apartment in one's building.

I expect more from her. She's no dummy. She knows exactly what that word means.

Considering the Senator's silence, we get the impression that she simply doesn't care. And this is a gay ally?

CONTINUED »

Hillary Clinton's campaign lives again!

The Senator from New York tidily won a victory in today's Pennsylvania primary. Only about 85% of the votes have been counted, but early results give Clinton 55% over rival Barack Obama's 45%. That's a ten point victory and more than enough to fuel Clinton's continuation.

The Democratic candidate made sure to highlight said continuation in her victory speech, telling voters that the "tide is turning."

Some counted me out and said to drop out, but the American people don't quit. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit, either.
…
Because of you, the tide is turning.

CONTINUED »

North Carolina's Jim Neal may be new to the political arena, but he's making great headway in his Congressional campaign.

A recently released poll indicates that the gay business man has tied with his rival, Senator Kay Hagan, who also wants to run on the Democratic ticket.

Hoping to keep up the momentum, Neal issued this call to action: asking supporters to donate ten bones to the campaign, enlist ten friends and bring ten people to the polls on election day.

We sense a common theme…

Kay Hagan is one clever lady!

The North Carolina congressional candidate, who's running against homo-politico Jim Neal for the Democratic nomination, recently revamped her website, which apparently needed some ruby slippers. She's obviously using the subtle Oz reference to woo the lavender vote. We gays simply can't resist Dorothy. (Actually, by a stroke of queer coincidence, we're listening to The Wiz soundtrack right now. Be a lion!)

In related news, Hagan and Neal will have a live debate this Friday. Neal's supporters, meanwhile, are looking for people who want to host Jim Neal house parties. They're doing a massive fundraising push on April 6th, one month ahead of the election. The candidate will also get on the horn to spread his good word. Click here for more information.

What!? Could it be the GOP has started evolving?

Homo-journo Matt Comer reports that anti-gay scribe Mary Francis Forrester, wife of state Senator Jim Forrester, has her state's Republican party running scared:

…Mary Frances Forrester is also running to fill the N.C. Republican Party’s National Committeewoman position. In fact, she’s the only candidate. Folks in the N.C. GOP are scrambling to find someone to run against her. Even in the state GOP, no one wants her representing them in the Republican National Committee.

Ha! That should bring Forrester down a peg.

Mary Francis Forrester took some time last week to write a very anti-lavender letter deriding the bent boys and girls. Why should you care about some crazy lady?

Because her husband's North Carolina state Senator, Jim Forrester, of course!

CONTINUED »

Two lesbians are causing quite a controversy in North Carolina, where they hope to open a camp ground called - yes - Camp Lickalotta. The space would have been a "safe and non-threatening" environment for queer campers. Neighbors, however, were enraged at the news and said the lesbians should pitch their tents elsewhere.

The girls have since been issued an eviction notice and now the ladies are in search of a new location. While the ladies are weighing their options, some opponents are voicing their Kern-like objections:

: If they had just kept quiet about their purpose, most people probably wouldn't have had any serious objections.

But that's not really what the homosexual agenda is about. It's about bringing sexual perversion out in the open, glorifying it, and forcing everyone else to accept it. If homosexual activists can't do that, it's not nearly as exciting, not nearly as much fun, not nearly as prideful.

I'm thinking that despite decades of erosion of moral values in America, there may still be enough sense of normality and what's right that homosexuals, with this stuff and stuff like the transsexual bathrooms, are on the verge of overplaying their hand.

Thanks for the advice…

North Carolinian Jim Neal headed north to New York last night for a DL21C-sponsored event. The openly gay Senatorial candidate greeted well wishers and do-gooders at a lovely little joint called Retreat, which we enjoyed for all the hard wood.

We snapped some shots of the happenings. Neal's speech covered much of what he told us in part one and part two of our exclusive interview. Our editor did raised two questions, one privately and one publicly. The first question: "What do you think about John Edwards dropping out of the race?" Neal said he was sorry to see Edwards go, particularly because the former Senator used his platform to highlight the ravages of poverty. Belonsky said that was true, but added that perhaps the White House wouldn't be the most effective place for him. Edwards should, instead, start a non-profit a la Bill Clinton and/or Al Gore.

The next question, which came after Neal's speech, concerned the candidate's ideas on American inclusion. Neal told the audience that "American democracy doesn't belong to the politicians, but to the people". All of these people live in America, said Neal, and should thus have an equal say in policy matters - or at least be brought to the table.

Belonsky asked Neal how he would approach extremist, fundamentalist groups such as the KKK and the Westboro Baptist Church. Neal replied that such "fringe" groups are motivated by emotion-based logic, rather than reason and, thus, aren't prepared to fight fair. He also said that the secular and spiritual must remain distinct, but later referred to "the man upstairs," a monotheistic god. It's queer, isn't it, that so many politicians insist on dividing religion and the state - which is right, rather than Right - yet favor the Western concept of the G-man. Just a thought.

Anyway, click the thumbnails for the action. We've included cute little captions. Well, we think they're cute.

Yesterday we introduced you to gay Senatorial candidate Jim Neal, pictured above with one of his two sons.

The conversation continues today with our editor getting into the nitty-gritty of Neal's current campaign.

Andrew Belonsky: What made you stop volunteering for or fundraising for campaigns, as you did for Kerry, and actually launch your own?

Jim Neal: Well, I've always wanted to do it. I was a little kid and wanted to be president. I don't want to be president right now, but I have always contemplated running for federal office. I think there were two things that prevented me from moving on it. One was that when I did come out in my early-30's, I thought, "Okay, that's it. A gay person can't run for public office. It's off the table". The times changed and that was no longer necessarily the prevailing wisdom, but I had custody of my two children. I was a single parent raising two young children and they came first. Their needs came first. That was the most difficult job I've ever had in my life, but it was also extraordinarily rewarding. Raising two kids with two parents is a challenge, much less one, because you have to be both dad and mom. You've got to have the maternal side and the more stereotypical father role. I think I yielded more to the maternal because I felt like my kids needed that, because they didn't have it. Even before I declared my candidacy, I spoke with both my children - my boys, they're not children anymore - and told them what it would entail, made it clear that I was the one running for office, they could be as involved or not be as involved as they wanted to be. They both said, "Go for it," but my older son threw in the caveat, "Dad, please don't ever forget the little guy."

AB: Your sexuality is not the cornerstone of your campaign, but I want to talk a little about Chuck Schumer and how things went down with your campaign announcement and what could be perceived as the cold shoulder from your Democratic peers. Do you think that reaction tacitly stressed your sexuality?

JN: Not necessarily. There was a good deal of concern - not necessarily expressed, but certainly there were folks who were part of the status quo political system that found my candidacy threatening. They felt that a gay person on the ballot would draw out social conservatives to vote against me and therefore to vote for the other candidate on the ballot. My view of that - I didn't foresee that. It didn't even cross my mind. Chalk it up to political naivete, but it didn't cross my mind because I think it's silly. It's analogous to the so-called conventional wisdom that said a black person could never be elected or a woman, much less a Roman Catholic to the White House. They were wrong then and they are wrong now.

North Carolina native Jim Neal just may be the most controversial queer candidate this political season. The 51-year old entered the race to rival Republican Elizabeth Dole. One would expect resounding praise for a man with such balls - Bob excluded - but Neal's senatorial candidacy became a scandalous affair.

Most people believed that Brad Miller would run as the Democratic candidate, but the Congressman ended up eschewing the race. Democratic Senate Campaign Committee chair Chuck Schumer attempted to persuade two other candidates - Sen. Kay Hagan and state Rep. Grier Martin - but both refused. Thus, Neal entered the raise, without Schumer's blessing. In fact, it's been widely reported that Schumer initially ignored Neal's calls, leading many to believe Schumer had little faith in a gay candidate.

Neal recently gave our editor some of his time to discuss the Schumer scandal. But, before we get into the present day political debates, we're going to take a trip back to see how former finance executive Jim Neal became a Democratic Senatorial candidate.

John Edwards got some good news today. Q-Notes - the "leading gay news source of the Carolinas" - decided to endorse the controversially coiffed candidate. From Out For Edwards:

After a series of meetings between the editors, the staff and the publisher, Q-Notes has endorsed John Edwards for President. His concrete, progressive policy positions (including steadfast support for pro-LGBT issues), his commitment to returning power to the people from moneyed special interests, his outstanding polling strength against the Republicans and his positive impact for down-ticket candidates nationwide combine to make him the best candidate in the race.

Q-Notes encourages all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters to support John Edwards in the primaries and beyond.

We're not sure we're going to take you up on that offer, Q-Notes. We're still undecided, but rest assured we'll be taking a stand soon enough.