Progressive Democrats of America released the results of their straw poll yesterday:

Kucinich 41%
Edwards 26%
Barak Obama 13%
Clinton 9%
Bill Richardson 5%
Joe Biden 3%
Chris Dodd 1%
Mike Gravel (less than 1%)

Despite an eight candidate field, Kucinich was fairly close to winning an outright majority in the poll and left the second place candidate far behind. Clinton couldn't break the single digits.

This shows that Ms. Clinton is very weak among progressives, even though she could become the first woman president, and, at least at the PDA events I've attended, most of the people in the organization are women. Clinton's conservative policies have alienated liberals and progressives in the party.

The poll results also offer a window into what Americans' political views might be like in the absence of right-wing corporate media propaganda. PDA members tend to be much better informed and get their information from a much broader pool of sources than the general public.

Despite the rain, it was energizing and reassuring to march along with thousands of people in one of eleven protests today against the insane and illegal war in Iraq. (It also was fun to yell "shut up and enlist" at the three GOP counter protesters.)

One of the things the organizers, United for Peace and Justice, did really well was to host a peace fair after the protest to connect protesters to organizations and build the movement for peace, human rights, and social justice.

The most moving thing for me was seeing the military families holding their signs at the peace fair. You could see how speaking out against the war was part of the grieving process for many of them. It is so tragic knowing that they are suffering so a bunch of war profiteers can make vast, unearned profits.

The best tee-shirt said: "My friends went to Iraq looking for Weapons of Mass Destruction and All They Found Was This Lousy Tee shirt"

Whether you attended or not, you still have a responsibility to follow through on what was done during this protest. Here are some excellent organizations and resources that you should look into both in NYC and nationwide.

United for Peace and Justice
This is the coalition of organizations that is trying to stop the Iraq war and prevent an even crazier one with Iran. They have an excellent events calendar with actions by a variety of groups trying to stop the war.


Kucinich Campaign Site
Kucinich has the strongest anti-war message of the major party candidates, and he supports the broadest range of liberal positions.


Code Pink NYC
They have a variety of actions you can support in the NYC area and had a big contingent in the protest march.

www.listenhillary.org
This is a Code Pink project trying to get Hillary Clinton to listen to the movement to stop the Iraq war. Their Bird Dog Talking Points does an excellent job rebutting the corporate media's claim that Clinton is a liberal.

Granny Peace Brigade
These grannies are some of the most courageous peace activists in the country. Their description tells us a lot about them and one of the more famous free assembly cases in recent memory.

Who We Are: When a group of women ages 59 to 91, many of us grandmothers, tried to enlist in the United States military on October 17, 2005 The Granny Peace Brigade was born. We asked to enlist in order to replace grandchildren who had been deployed in Iraq unnecessarily. However, we were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. After a six-day trial, we were acquitted. That was the beginning.

Here is an action of theirs you can support, and more are available on their web site.

Every Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30 PM Grandmothers Against the War holds a vigil at Rockefeller Center. All are welcome.

Let Gravel Debate!
I prefer Kucinich to Gravel because I don't like Gravel's tax policies, but he certainly should be included in the Democratic presidential debates. NBC is excluding Gravel from the upcoming debate (actually joint appearance) at Drexel University. NBC is owned by GE, a war profiteer which is why one of the anti-war candidates is being excluded. They want the debate highly biased in favor of the war.

Half Empty has an excellent posting on the issue. The article has a variety of email addresses of NBC/GE executives you can contact as well.

Progressive Challenge 2008
They have an excellent, though abreviated, version of a progressive platform. When rightists ask "what do liberals stand FOR?," you can send them the link.

Peace Action New York State
Peace Action is one of the coalition partners in United for Peace and Justice, and does a lot of important work on its own as well. Staten Island has a particularly vibrant and active chapter.

Military Families Speak Out
They are doing an incredible job framing the war funding debate in a way that cuts through the corporate media spin.

"Funding the War is Killing Our Troops
Support Our Troops
Fund a Safe and Orderly Withdrawal from Iraq and Care for Them as They return"

"Military Families Speak Out continues to call on Congress to end funding for the war in Iraq, save what is needed to bring our troops home quickly and safely. Funding the war is not supporting our troops. The way to support our troops is to bring them home now and take care of them when they get here."

Read How Military Families Responded to the "Betray Us" Report. They also have some excellent actions you can take.

US Labor Against the War
This website has in depth coverage of the Iraqi oil law and mistreatment of Iraqi workers.

International ANSWER
This is the other organization that launches large, anti-war protests on a regular basis. They oppose the war in Iraq in a broader context of fighting racism and social injustice. Our society often ignores the racism involved in the Iraq war, but ANSWER does not. Check their website for future actions.

Ordinarily, I would object to having candidates interviewed in a talk show format rather than in a debate format where they can challenge each others views. However, there is a specific concern that queers are stuck with trying to ascertain in presidential candidates:

How comfortable are they with us and being around us?

This may sound shallow, but it reflects political reality. Bill Clinton's painfully obvious discomfort with us and even talking about us made it even more difficult for us to challenge the military ban while he was president. Our chances of getting meaningful results on queer issues will be enhanced with a politician whose comfort with us leads the general public to be less uncomfortable about progress on our legislative priorities.

The talk show format was a strenuous test for most heteros and it should have been. Very few heteros, much less hetero politicians, have been in a room surrounded by queers, with few or no straight people. The absence of the other candidates in the room made it an even more difficult test.

How did they do?

1. Dennis Kucinich: Not only was Kucinich great on queer issues, he was comfortable and genuinely happy to be there. Part of it had to do with the fact that he was with an audience that agreed with him on the issues being debated, of course. But, being able to see queers primarily as a friendly audience of people he likes puts him miles ahead of most politicians. Kucinich was engaged with the audience in a way no other candidate came close to demonstrating. He made sure to look at people sitting in all parts of the room, empathizing with people who got less desirable seats and their natural desire to feel included.

2. Barack Obama and Mike Gravel (tie): Both of them were at ease in the setting and happy to be there. They weren't as engaged as Kucinich, but that says more about Kucinich than anything else. They even were able to relax and be themselves as hetero minorities in a queer environment.

4. John Edwards: He was occasionally awkward around queers, even squirming a bit in his chair, but he obviously was moved by the going to the queer center in L.A. and seeing that queer youth who were kicked out of their homes. I think this may genuinely change his view on queer people as individuals and make him a better person.

5. Hillary Clinton: She often was stiff and very tense around the panelists and tried to ignore the audience except when she was using one of them as a prop. She had a disdainful attitude that suggested she felt she was entitled to our lowly support, regardless of what she had done or might do in the future. Clinton's smile showed more hostility than warmth. She also seemed to think we were gullible and would fall for the weakest spin on issues such as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” She showed a Bush-like inability to acknowledge mistakes. The best that could be said was that she showed up and did not say anything overtly homophobic.

6. Bill Richardson: He is an oddity. The abstract idea of lgbt equality obviously is more important to him than his visceral dislike and discomfort being around people who are not heterosexual. His performance and the reactions to it said a lot about him, American society, and the queer community.

What about the Democratic no-shows?

The absence of Dodd and Biden was disturbing to say the least. One would think that trailing candidates would have a strong incentive to show up to a forum with a large national audience of Democratic voters. Obviously, their issues with homosexuality trumped political expediency.

What about the Republicans?

The refusal of every Republican to accept an invitation to attend a similar event by the same sponsors speaks volumes about just how fanatical the homophobia is in that party.