Follow The Money


In my last blog post, Where Your HRC Donations Are Going, I reported that HRC had donated money to sponsor the Log Cabin Republicans but that they had donated zero dollars to sponsor the Stonewall Democrats. Let’s take a closer look at who HRC is NOT supporting and what that effect has and will be.

In this email, Steve Driscoll, Co-Chair of the Stonewall Democrats, discusses the nonsupport of the Human Rights Campaign in the efforts of the NSD to elect Obama for President.

From: StDriscoll@…

To: _____________________

Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 2:24 PM

Subject: HRC Sucks.


In light of HRC taking the weasel way out – again – I think we should take the lead.

I might also add, that after beginning discussions with HRC in OCTOBER about collaborating on events for the Democratic National Convention (to avoid the the anger and resentment they engendered by their high-handedness in Boston four years ago) as well as requests for sponsorship of the NSD Denver convention, AND following up with phone calls every two months with no return calls, I finally heard from them TODAY that no sponsorship would be forthcoming. When I pointed out to Marty Rouse last week that they sponsored the Logs Convention, his response was “Oh right, we did, didn’t we”. I then pointed out the obvious, that there were a lot more of us than there were of them – and I got no response when I asked what they got for their purportedly $10,000 to the Logs.

When I called him (twice) today he said that budget constraints were the reason why they would not be giving us a comparable (or any) sponsorship. I siad that there was an inequity here and asked if no one took NSD under consideration when they decided to sponsor the Logs. I then suggested that perhaps they could come up with some other way show support. His response: “there will be couple of HRC staff people in Denver”.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am absolutely furious about this. Not only is this inequitable, it’s fuckin dismissive and disrespectul. The task Force is at least giving us a stack of tickets to their Unity Dance. From HRC we’re getting bupkiss – and worse.

I, for one, will not attend their concert – and I will not go quietly into that good night either.

Any ideas?

Marti Abernathey is the founder of the Transadvocate and the previous managing editor. Abernathey has worn many different hats, including that of podcaster, activist, and radiologic technologist. She's been a part of various internet radio ventures such as TSR Live!, The T-Party, and The Radical Trannies, TransFM, and Sodium Pentathol Sunday. As an advocate she's previously been involved with the Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, Rock Indiana Campaign for Equality, and the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition. She's taken vital roles as a grass roots community organizer in The Indianapolis Tax Day Protest (2003), The Indy Pride HRC Protest (2004), Transgender Day of Remembrance (2004), Indiana's Witch Hunt (2005), and the Rally At The Statehouse (the largest ever GLBT protest in Indiana - 3/2005). In 2008 she was a delegate from Indiana to the Democratic National Convention and a member of Barack Obama's LGBT Steering and Policy Committee. Abernathey currently hosts the Youtube Channel "The T-Party with Marti Abernathey."