Date:         Mon, 22 Jul 1996 16:51:35 -0400
From: Tom Concannon <tom_concannon@jsi.com>
Subject:      Opinion Piece on HRC's Endorsement of Rep. Torkildsen


For Immediate Release: July 22, 1996
Publish or Distribute with Attribution

*How will the Human Rights Campaign Salvage its Credibility?*
*by Tom Concannon*
        I wish the staff or Board of the Human Rights Campaign would
level the playing field in their endorsement process. They made an
endorsement of Representative Peter Torkildsen (R-MA) without giving
John Tierney, his Democratic opponent, an equal chance.  Now they
have mud on their faces with a candidate who supports the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies gay men and lesbians equal
treatment in marriage laws.  Had they given Mr. Tierney an equal
opportunity to compete, they would have enorsed a candidate who
supports our right to marry.
        Mary Breslauer, Co-Chair of HRC's Board of Directors, has
acknowledged that the organization did not inform Mr. Tierney about
when and how the endorsement was to be made.  In fact, it wasn't until
after the endorsement that HRC returned calls to Tierney supporters.
Months later, they still have not contacted the candidate himself.
        It looks to me as if HRC has studiously *avoided* learning about
Mr. Tierney's 100% support to the gay and lesbian community while it
scrambled to find a Republican - *any* Republican in this year's
extremist Congress - who could rate higher than 50%.
        I understand that HRC thinks the world of Peter Torkildsen.  But
take a look at his full record:
           As a Massachusetts State Representative, Mr. Torkildsen voted
against the gay rights bill in 1987 and 1989.  In 1990, he opposed a
universal health care bill which would have extended medical care to
uninsured people living with HIV and AIDS.  The Christian Coalition gave
him a 67% rating as a first term Congressman in 1993, and he voted 88%
of the time during 1994-1995 to support the Contract with America, giving
Newt Gingrich the most votes of any Representative in the
Massachusetts delegation.
        Now he has voted for DOMA, and plenty of us in Massachusetts
think that HRC looks silly.  Mr. Torkildsen's spokesman explained, *He's
not a real big fan of gay marriages.*  This is similar to the sloppy defense
offered by President Clinton.  While we have little choice but to vote for
Clinton, local voters can turn away from Peter Torkildsen to support John
Tierney, who will not abandon the community for short term gain.
        John Tierney, on the other hand, is on record with full support for
gay and lesbian equality in all areas of the law, including marriage,
housing, employment and the military. His support for our issues is
stronger and has more historical evidence than any other candidate in
recent memory on the North Shore of Massachusetts.  Perhaps most
important of all, if he is elected, we can count one more vote for ousting
the House leadership of Newt Gingrich and company.
        Political observers say Mr. Tierney has a strong chance to win
the race, giving HRC a good reason to pay attention to him.  The *Boston
Globe* reported on July 16, 1996 that Mr. Tierney raised more money
than Representative Torkildsen in the January to June period.  In addition,
Mr. Tierney came the closest of any Democrat in the country to unseating
a Republican in 1994, the year of the Gingrich revolution when no
incumbent Republican lost a race.  Mr. Torkildsen won that year with a
2% margin, and is not favored to win again in a district that historically
favors Democrats. Both the Republican and Democratic Congressional
Campaign Committees have targeted the race heavily.
        The Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance of Massachusetts recently
recognized the difference between these candidates by unanimously
endorsing Mr. Tierney.  Not a single vote came in for the candidate who
would vote against same-sex marriage.
        If Mr. Tierney is elected in the Fall, how will HRC explain its
new-found interest in him?  How will their credibility be spared if they
persist in supporting an anti-marriage candidate against one who
supports us?  I think HRC should begin mending fences with pro-gay
candidates like John Tierney *before* the upcoming election.
        Now that Mr. Torkildsen has openly spit in the faces of his gay
and lesbian constituents, HRC has an obligation to rethink its position.

*Tom Concannon is a Board Member of the Massachusetts Gay and
Lesbian Political Caucus and Bay State Gay and Lesbian Democrats*

For confirmation only:
tconcannon@jsi.com
(617) 482*2110 X216 days