The rumors are true!

Former presidential candidate Chris Dodd officially endorsed Barack Obama this morning. Dodd wrote in an email to supporters:

I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him - to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.

Will Dodd's support help push Obama further toward victory? It sure as shit couldn't hurt.

Read the rest of Dodd's very special message, after the jump…

CONTINUED »

And so it begins… Democratic presidential candidates Chris Dodd and Joe Biden apparently can't take the campaign heat:

Two Senate veterans — Democrats Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd of Connecticut — are abandoning their presidential campaigns after very poor showings Thursday night in the Iowa caucuses.

Neither mustered more than 1 percent in the intensely competitive contest won by freshman Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

We anticipate similar headlines after next week's New Hampshire's primary.

Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd just sat down with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and offered a look behind the political curtain.

Discussing Dennis Kucinich's recent call for his supporters to support Barack Obama, Mitchell asked Dodd whether he would make a similar endorsement. Dodd's reply: "I'm opposed to making deals to support other candidates".

Apparently a number of campaigns are calling rivals - including Dodd - and attempting to sway them toward their camp. We can't help but wonder if Obama's people are saving Kucinich a place in the potential administration…

HRC's inquisitive commemoration of Don't Ask, Don't Tell's 14th anniversary concludes with some words from Hillary Clinton.

CONTINUED »

Barack Obama offered a straight answer to HRC's straight-forward question: “If you are elected President, what concrete steps would you take to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?'”.

Unlike John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, the Illinois Senator actually tells voters what he'll do to overturn the military's gay ban: sign the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, among other things.

And, like a good politician, he slyly reminds us that a Democrat - Bill Clinton - helped enact the discriminatory act. Clever.

Read all about it, after the jump…

CONTINUED »

HRC has been lamenting Don't Ask, Don't Tell's 14h anniversary by asking the Democratic presidential candidates one simple question: “If you are elected President, what concrete steps would you take to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?'"

John Edwards and Chris Dodd blew their respective responses on the obvious: our government should not discriminate against gays in the military. Neither candidate, however, found time to actually answer.

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware doesn't do much better…

CONTINUED »

HRC's hopeful commemoration of Don't Ask, Don't Tell's 14th birthday continues! The non-profit previously featured presidential candidate John Edwards' reply to this simple question: “If you are elected President, what concrete steps would you take to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?'"

The Democrat didn't exactly address the question, but chose to remind readers that DADT does no good.

Today HRC features Senator Chris Dodd's more thoughtful, yet still insufficient answer. Read it and weep at political skirting, after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd used the CNN/YouTube debates as an opportunity to question his Republican competition:

Hi I'm Chris Dodd. I'm from East Haddam, Connecticut and my family and I are spending a little time in Iowa these days.

I have a question about the Constitution.

Many Americans are concerned that the administration seems to be making a false choice, that is, to be safer we have to give up rights. I don't believe that, I wonder if you do.

And if you believe that we ought not give up our rights, then what would you do in order to protect our Constitution?

That's a very good question. Unfortunately, we fear many of the Republicans will be stumped by the very concept of constitutional rights.

Senator Chris Dodd cleared time this morning to answer questions posed at last week's gay forum, which the presidential hopeful missed because of "scheduling conflicts".

CONTINUED »

• Barack Obama's proud to have gay Bishop Gene Robinson's vote. Interfaith Alliance honcho, Reverend Welton Gaddy, however, isn't so pleased with Barack Obama's Robinson pride:

Today’s endorsement of Senator Barack Obama’s campaign for president by Bishop Gene Robinson is just the latest example of candidates misusing religious leaders for political gain.

Holy smokes!

• Picture it: America, 2035 - God has smitten costume-wearing sex fiends. Gays become national treasure.

• Can Singapore's homophobia get any more ridiculous? The Media Development agency has censored a short story reading which included a story by gay author Ng Yi-Sheng:

Ng's text was disallowed as it had gone beyond good taste and decency in taking a disparaging and disrespectful view of public officers.

Ng's got at least one theory as to why the government banned his story: it included a politician called "Lee Low Tar," which sounds somewhat similar to PM Lee Hsien Loong.

CONTINUED »

Last night's CNN/YouTube presidential debates may have been the gayest political debates since - well, ever! We've never seen a network allow so much time to be spent discussing the dirty homos and their political inclusion. Although, it is CNN, the gayest of all the news networks.

Regardless of CNN's sexual proclivity, the network - and voters - kept the democratic candidates on their toes with a slew of lavender-hued queries. Above, Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich hits the ball out of the park while discussing gay marriage, telling a lesbian couple he would allow them to marry:

…If our Constitution really means what it says, that all are created equal, if it really means what it says, that there should be equality of opportunity before the law, then our brothers and sisters who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered should have the same rights accorded to them as anyone else, and that includes the ability to have a civil marriage ceremony.

It's especially powerful coming from his little bobble-head.

Chris Dodd did well, too, again turning the question around to discuss his two-year old and five-year old daughters (whose existence really boggles the mind - go Dodd!). Dodd wouldn't want his little girls discriminated against, you see, so why would he discriminate against the gays. Voters eat that shit with a spoon.

Meanwhile, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson got real about the ever-contentious issue, saying, "I would do what is achievable.What I think is achievable is full civil unions with full marriage rights. I would also press for you a hate crimes act in the Congress." He also pledged to take down "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

But, wait, there's more…

CONTINUED »

Senator Ted Kennedy dug into Surgeon General Dr. James Holsinger during today's Senate hearing. The senator from Massachusetts eschewed questions on obesity and tobacco, two of Holsinger's medical missions, and instead asked the Kentucky based doctor about that now infamous anti-gay, United Methodist Church-backed paper, "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality":

This grave misuse of science gravely concerns me, and I need to hear from Dr. Holsinger himself that he will not similarly misuse his position to push his personal ideological beliefs over scientific research.

Not surprisingly Holsinger denied being a homophobic fundamentalist.

CONTINUED »