In The Mixner
David Mixner On The Clintons, HRC, Outing and Obama
 
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AB: I know that you started – well, obviously you're a big grass roots organizer and you never really abandoned that mission, but you've also worked within campaigns, you worked with Eugene McCarthy and all that. So, I want you thoughts on the pros and cons of working within and without the system.

DM: I've never found it to be an either/or. Some people did find that it had to be either/or. I've always said that I'm the best outsider on the inside. I would work for campaigns, whether it was Eugene McCarthy or Bobby Kennedy or local officials, but I also would go down south and get arrested and go to jail – I've been to jail about a dozen times for the things I believe in. I would organize the Iowa Caucuses for McCarty and then resist the draft. For me it's never been an either/or. Somehow I've been able to get away with it, but I don't know how! I just refuse to be confined to one path.

AB: One of the pretty essential things that you've done is that you were a founding member of the Municipal Election Committee of Los Angeles, which was the nation's first gay PAC. Obviously we have many more gay PACs around and some of them have become pretty ingrained in Washington, like HRC has a PAC and they have been criticized in many ways – including by this website and myself – for becoming so ingrained that they have lost some of the -

DM: The luster.

AB: Yes, that's a good word. So, how can an organization such as HRC or the Task Force – organizations that are in the halls of Washington – keep their luster while so ingrained?

DM: I guess one of the true signs of equality is that we indeed can become like anyone else. Our organizations within the beltway at times can be as removed from what's happening outside as any other organization inside the beltway, whether it's the NRA or the National Education Association. I think by nature of the beast, having to work on legislation and being based in Washington DC, that it's very difficult to be a leading force out in the states, especially when issues are moving as fast as the marriage equality issues. I have always historically found Washington organizations catching up with local movements. Obviously the Task Force has more of an outreach into constituencies and organizations and has done a better job of redefining itself constantly as a grassroots organization. The HRC has become more and more of a traditional Washington organization, a PAC, a lobbying organization. The true test for all of our national organizations is how they respond to the epic battle that's going to take place in California this November. We’ll see what they're made of – I'm eager to see what they're going to be doing.

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Comments (9)

No. 1 · fredo777

TLDR

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 2:01 pm
No. 2 · reversion

I almost went "TL;DR" for the whole thing…then as page 3 came up, I *facepalm*'ed and skimmed the rest.

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 3:11 pm
No. 3 · afrolito

zzzzzzz

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 7:08 pm
No. 4 · Dick_with_no_brain

yeah… what did you think of doing such an interview? you know we need at least one almost naked guy in his 20s on every page to keep us interested. Or did you really expect us to use our BRAINS???

come on, the only interesting guys out there are those who are ready to get rid of their clothes in two seconds.

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 7:55 pm
No. 5 · Thomas Delayed

AB…Did you ever get to meet Oprah Winfrey?

Mixner…Once, just briefly.

AB…What was she like, what was she wearing?

Mixner…Oh Girl, she was wearing some sort of Calvin Klein that she was too big for.

AB …What is your favorite color and why?

Mixner..Off yellow…like the fact I had sucked out during liposuction.

AB….Do you think I look hot in this shirt and are you a Gemini

Mixner…You look young and sexy in that shirt and I am a Gemini too which means there are four of us here….

Laughs, giggles and more laughs ..hee haws
giggles

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 8:33 pm
No. 6 · fredo777

"Dick", calm the fuck down.

I've read longer (w/o the need of half-naked hotties), but when I come to a blog, I prefer more concise snippets of information.

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 10:00 pm
No. 7 · Landon Bryce

Yeah, right. It's not the homophobic Black Caucus in the DNC that worked and is working to block any representation for sexual minorities who should be blamed for keeping as many gay delegates as possible out. No, no: it's those minorities themselves. Way to blame the victim, you fucking idiots. And way to tiptoe around a problem that the gay community needs to be screaming about, not ignoring.

Posted: Jun 19, 2008 at 10:52 pm
No. 8 · Charley

He's been through alot. Sorry about his losses.

Posted: Jun 20, 2008 at 5:55 am
No. 9 · CitizenGeek

Wow, it's really hard for someone like me (I'm 18 in 2 weeks and I live in Ireland) to imagine how utterly devastating the AIDS epidemic was. I feel so sorry for Mixner, and everyone else that had to endure that.

Posted: Jun 21, 2008 at 6:41 am
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