ActBlue — Challengers to the Homophobic Hotlist

Challengers to the Homophobic Hotlist - The U.S. House

by Gibbo

14
Supporters 4,375
Raised $
Distributed among the recipients below

These 15 Democratic candidates are trying to unseat the 15 most vulnerable and most anti-gay Republican U.S House members.
All 15 of the Republican U.S. House members have 2 things in common:
1) The Cook Political Report, one of the most respected election prediction organizations, has listed these 15 seats as “in play.” In other words, THEY ARE VULNERABLE. The Cook Political Report also differentiates HOW vulnerable they are with the rankings TOSS-UP, LEAN REPUBLICAN, LIKELY REPUBLICAN. I’ve attached these ratings so that you may decide for yourself where your $$$ goes.
and
2) These 15 Republican House members received a ZERO rating from the Human Rights Campaign, a watchdog group of gay rights issues. The HRC rating takes into consideration how the house member voted on issues such as employment discrimination, equal protection, and gay marriage. Just being against gay marriage doesn’t get you a zero rating—being against ALL of these issues does.
Not all of these 15 Domocratic challengers are 100% progressive on gay issues. For candidates who have a proven track record on glbt issues I have added the tag RECOMMENDED and have included a summary of their track record with appopriate links. And so without any further delay, I present to you the 15 challengers:
UPDATE as of October 11, 2006 ~~- The Cook Poltical Report has ADDED more republicans seats to their list of vulnerable seats in November~~-and 6 of them have the requisite ZERO rating from the HRC so they have been added to make the hotlist now consist of 21 homophobes

Patricia Madrid

NM-01 (Map)

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
Patricia Madrid is going up against Republican Heather Wilson. Wilson is running scared as this district voted for Kerry in 2004. Wilson is trying to position herself as a moderate—SHE AIN’T when it comes to gay issues with an awful ZERO rating from the HRC.
Now let me give you a reason to vote FOR Patricia as opposed to AGAINST Wilson. The HRC reported that as Attorney General of New Mexico, she fought for both a transgender inclusive hate crimes bill (we love our trannies!) and a transgender inclusive nondiscrimination bill. If you give any money this election cycle to help elect a pro-glbt candidate then it should be Patricia Madrid. I mean we all know how much a homophobe Santorum is but giving $25 there won’t mean as much as $25 to Patricia.
DONATE to PATRICIA MADRID and send Wilson’s homophobic Republican ass back to New Mexico
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as a TOSS-UP.

Raised on this page: 8 1,275
Raised across ActBlue: 604 34,833

Angie Paccione

CO-04 (Map)

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
Angie Paccione is going up against one of the virulently anti-gay House members, Republican bitch extraordinaire, Marilyn Musgrave. She absolutely HATES HATES HATES gay people. And she wears her ZERO rating from the HRC as a badge of honor! And SURPRISE, SURPRISE—she also made the list of the the 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress
Angie, on the other hand, fights FOR us. She got into a shouting match with a republican colleague who was having a press conference to ‘tout’ his anti-gay marriage proposal. On another occasion she got cut off in a House session when she tried to highlight the issue of gay kids in school getting verbally abused by other students.
AND the kicker is this is a Republican leaning district yet Angie still does these things—she’s putting her neck on the line when it comes to glbt issues….let’s reward her with some dough and boot Musgrave’s homophobic ass from DC!
UPDATE as of October 6, 2006—The Cook Political Report has upgraded the rank of this race to LEAN REPUBLICAN from LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 6 2,340
Raised across ActBlue: 2,390 74,090

This election has ended.

Tim Walz

MN-01 (Map)

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
Tim Walz is going up against Republican Gil Gutknecht. Walz is going against Gutknecht in this southern Minnesota district that barely went for Bush in 2004. Walz, unlike some other candidates on this page, is positioning himself as a social progressive, for reproductive choice and gay marriage. This is what he had to say regarding gay marriage on the Lambert and Janacek show on KTLK on July 27th, 2006.

...and the best thing that ever happened to me was to get married and I don’t see a reason to deny that to anyone.

That’s good for me to open up my wallet so let’s step up to the plate and help out this retired army veteran!
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

UPDATE: Check out this ad Tim just recently rolled out

Raised on this page: 5 60
Raised across ActBlue: 2,385 53,306

This election has ended.

John Cranley

OH-01 (Map)

RECOMMENDED
John Cranley is going up against Republican Steve Chabot. Although John Cranley has stated his opposition to gay marriage, he supports more rights for same-sex couples and in the past has introduced hate-crime legislation that specifically included sexual orientation in his capacity as a city councilman in Cincinatti. Cranley would be a huge improvement from the homophobic Chabot who is a reliable anti-gay vote in Congress as evidenced by his BIG FAT ZERO rating from the HRC.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 4 75
Raised across ActBlue: 797 32,061

This election has ended.

Joseph Sestak Jr

PA-07 (Map)

RECOMMENDED
Joseph Sestak Jr. is going up against Republican Curt Weldon in this suburban Philadelphia district. Sestak has come out for civil unions and, although not for gay marriage, would not vote for a constitutional amendment banning it. Sestak also believes that the Supreme Court will overturn the current ‘Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell’ policy of the armed forces—and he believes this is the right thing to do also. The incumbent Weldon has been winning his reelection bids with smaller majorities each time and Sestak is the first serious challenger he’s had in some time. Weldon has held the seat since 1987. This district is socially moderate and Weldon with his ZERO rating from the HRC is way of step with his constituents on this one. Time for him to go back to PA!
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 3 25
Raised across ActBlue: 9,300 868,287

This election has ended.

Jerry McNerney

CA-11 (Map)

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATION
Jerry McNerney is going up against Republican Richard Pombo. Another corrupt homophobe here. Pombo paid his wife and brother over $350k in campagin funds and was placed on a VERY distinguished list—the 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress by the watchdog group Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics. Even Pombo’s super gay mustache didn’t prevent him from getting a ZERO rating from the HRC. Give Jerry some $$$ so we can send Pombo AND his mustache back to California!
Unfortunately there is nothing on Jerry’s website regarding his stance on ‘civil rights’ issues. He is largely a netroots/anti-war candidate with strong backing from unions—all good things but I’ll keep you all posted if I find out more.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 5 205
Raised across ActBlue: 6,234 206,581

This election has ended.

Harry Mitchell

AZ-05 (Map)

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATION
Harry Mitchell is going up against Republican J.D. Hayworth. J.D. Hayworth is a total FASCIST. In ADDITION to his ZERO rating from the HRC, he voted in 1999 to ban gay adoptions. His voting record is totally out of whack with his constituents who gave Kerry 45% of the vote in 2004 and Gore 42% in 2000—this district is TOTALLY trending Democratic. Let’s make 2006 the year it boots his homophobic ass back to Arizona.
Harry is definitely positioning himself more moderately on the gay issue. He has come out AGAINST the Federal anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment but is FOR the one that is before the Arizona voters this fall. I leave it up to you to decide whether to give $$$ but getting rid of Hayworth would still be absolutely fabulous
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 3 30
Raised across ActBlue: 515 23,042

This election has ended.

Chris Carney

PA-10 (Map)

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATION
Chris Carney is going up against Republican Don Sherwood in this Republican stronghold. The only reason this seat is up for grabs is the scandal that the incumbent, Sherwood, is involved in. This congressional district voted for Bush with 60% in 2004. Carney is positioning himself as a social conservative here yet he supports the inclusion of sexual orientation into federal anti-discrimination laws. I believe that’s the most progressive we’re going to get in 2006 from this district which still would be a HUGE improvement over Don Sherwood who gets a ZERO rating from the HRC.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 2 15
Raised across ActBlue: 1,797 94,575

This election has ended.

Heath Shuler

NC-11 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Heath Shuler is going up against Republican Charles Taylor. Charles H. Taylor (The “H” stands for Homophobe!) was named by Citizens for Responsiblility and Ethics as one of the 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress. The allegations include money laundering and fraudulent loans but poor Chucky only thinks things are wrong if buggery is involved. Give Heath some dough so we can send Chucky’s HRC ZERO-rated ass back to North Carolina. Jesse Helms’s corpse REALLY misses him! Although I’ve rated this with no recommendation its due to the fact that I have not found any information on his position on glbt issues.
Note:It is most probable Shuler is against gay marriage—this IS a socially conservative district but what I am looking for is postions on employment discrimination and such.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as a TOSS-UP.

Raised on this page: 3 115
Raised across ActBlue: 287 14,702

This election has ended.

Joe Donnelly

IN-02 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Joe Donnelly is going up against Republican Chris Chocola in this Republican leaning district that voted 56 to 43 for Bush over Kerry in 2004. Joe Donnelly is positioning himself close to the center on such issues as gun control and abortion—he’s against both of them. That said, Chocola is AWFUL, earning a ZERO from the HRC. Again I leave it up to you to decide to which candidates your precious dollars will go.
Note:It is most probable Donnelly is against gay marriage but this is a socially conservative district. If I find that he supports employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation his recommendation status will be upgraded.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LEANING REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 2 15
Raised across ActBlue: 479 39,436

This election has ended.

Gary Trauner

WY-01 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Gary Trauner is going up against Republican Barbara Cubin. Besides her blatently racist remarks she made on the House floor a few years back, Cubin has been a hypocrite on gay issues. After the murder of Matthew Sheppard she sponsored a nonbinding resolution to “do everything in its power” to fight intolerance while she votes for laws (that ARE binding!) that promote discrimination against gay people. Oh yes, and lest we forget, Barbara Cubin gets a ZERO rating from the HRC.
Note:It is most probable Trauner is against gay marriage but this is a socially conservative state. If I find that he supports employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation his recommendation status will be upgraded.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 3 90
Raised across ActBlue: 3,999 275,780

This election has ended.

Charlie Brown

CA-04 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Charlie Brown is going up against Republican John Doolittle. John Doolitlle gets a ZERO rating from the HRC.
Note:It is most probable Brown is against gay marriage but this is a socially conservative district. If I find that he supports employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation his recommendation status will be upgraded.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 3 65
Raised across ActBlue: 2,154 61,077

This election has ended.

Charlie Stuart

FL-08 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Charlie Stuart is going up against Republican Ric Keller. Ric Keller gets a ZERO rating from the HRC.
Note:It is most probable Stuart is against gay marriage but this is a socially conservative district. If I find that he supports employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation his recommendation status will be upgraded.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 1 5
Raised across ActBlue: 267 9,494

This election has ended.

Mike Weaver

KY-02 (Map)

NO RECOMMENDATION at this time
Mike Weaver is going up against Republican Ron Lewis. Ron Lewis gets a ZERO rating from the HRC.
Note:It is most probable Weaver is against gay marriage but this is a socially conservative district. If I find that he supports employment discrimination laws that include sexual orientation his recommendation status will be upgraded.
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as LIKELY REPUBLICAN.

Raised on this page: 1 5
Raised across ActBlue: 515 29,348

This election has ended.

Zachary Space

OH-18 (Map)

Bob Ney has dropped out of the race
The Cook Political Report ranks this race as a TOSS-UP.
Zachary Space is going up against Republican Bob Ney. Oh poor Bob Ney—part of the club involved with Abramoff scandal. Oh poor Bob Ney, a ZERO rating from the HRC. Oh poor Bob Ney, homophobic AND corrupt.
Send his corrupt homophobic ass back to Ohio!
GIVE $$$ to Ney’s challenger, Zachary Space!
UPDATE Monday, August 7 —