Oh, girl!

Barack Obama made a play for some new gays - and won. The Senator from Illinois just enlisted an additional 40 LGBT leaders, activists and politicos to endorse his campaign. They aren't just any gays, either, but a specially selected swath of endorsees.

As Obama campainer Eric Stern tells Kerry Eleveld, "It's not just a list. It’s a group of individuals, all of whom are highly skilled and bring a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to the campaign." And send a powerful, strategic message.

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HRC got hit where it hurts today. Donna Rose and Jamison Green, the last two trans folk on the Business Council, resigned. For those of you not up on HRC's many tentacles, the Business Council monitors gay and not-so-gay friendly businesses and tallies them in the Corporate Equality Index. HRC most recently brandished against Wal-Mart.

Former Board member Rose and Green's resignation comes after Human Rights Campaign flip-flopped on the non-inclusive ENDA. The non-profit originally said it wouldn't back the Employment Non-Discrimination Act without trans inclusion, then it said it would support an act that didn't include trans folk, and then it backstabbed and supported the measure. People were not pleased, not least of all Rose and Green, who write:
The letter's signed "In Solidarity and Equality". We're not sure if they include Solmonese on that one…

Download the Rose and Green resignation here.

• Actress JoAnne Worley fulfilled her The Drowsy Chaperone obligations and made a "special appearance" at J&R Music and Computer World yesterday. We love you Worley, but you look like a drag queen in this picture.

• Preliminary investigation begins for Larry Craig ethics hearing. Barbara Boxer says:

We are in the process of conducting a preliminary inquiry, and this stage is always closed to the public. If, at the end of the preliminary inquiry, the Ethics Committee decides to move into the adjudicatory phase, any hearings held would be public unless the committee votes to close them. But that is a decision that is made after we have completed our preliminary inquiry.

The Democrats are also reportedly worried public hearings will set a potentially embarrassing precedent.

• More evidence of Jossip editor Rebecca Aronauer's jerky ways.

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The HRC Board's only trans member and co-chair for diversity Donna Rose has resigned over the organization's refusal to actively oppose the deflated ENDA:

Less than a month ago HRC President Joe Solmonese stood before almost 900 transgender people at the Southern Comfort Conference in Atlanta to pledge ongoing support and solidarity. In his keynote address he indicated that not only would HRC support only a fully inclusive ENDA, but that it would actively oppose anything less. That single pledge changed hearts and minds that day, and the ripple affect throughout the transgender community was that we finally were one single GLBT community working together. Sadly, recent events indicate that those promises were hollow.

An impressive coalition of local and national organizations has lined up to actively oppose the divisive strategy that would leave some of our brothers and sisters without workplace protections. This effort has galvanized community spirit and commitment in ways few could have imagined, and it has demonstrated to those who would divide us that anything less than full inclusion is unacceptable.
…
There is a single significant organization glaringly missing from that list. The Human Rights Campaign has chosen not to be there.

Damn, girl…
.