Lesbian politics: Is a lesbian's vote for Senator Obama *gender traitorism*?

I wish I had a nickel for every person who's told me how deeply I've betrayed my gender by endorsing Obama. Does everyone here know what a "granfalloon" is?

Kurt Vonnegut in his brilliant 1963 novel Cat's Cradle defines a "granfalloon" as "a proud and meaningless association of human beings." The members of a granfalloon amplify one or two characteristics they share in an attempt to promote a cohesive identity where none really exists.



In the case of the 2008 Presidential race, Hillary's supporters look at me and see a woman who doesn't support womankind as though all people with pussies should think alike. This idea demonstrates a granfalloon; the fact is, I do not have much in common with Senator Clinton except for the ladyparts.

I wanted very deeply for Hillary to be my candidate and absolutely because she is female. I would have been proud to stump for a woman had I felt that she made women look powerful and noble. Even when she won her first primary, I had a feeling I could not overcome of secret joy that the woman made it out on top; yet at the time I was trying to make up my mind between Edwards and Obama. I knew Hillary just wasn't it for me.

Now, had Hillary won the nomination, I could have supported her still with the fervor of a lifelong Democrat. (Vonnegut would have argued that political parties themselves are granfalloons, and any vote for Hillary from me would highlight that.) Had Hillary won the nomination, I would have had to have swallowed all my feelings about

· Hillary's shameless triangulating,
· her negativity to the detriment of the party,
· the 101 positive things she's said about John McCain (here's one--they've been friends a long time, you know),
· her unwillingness to fully get rid of the Defense of Marriage Act that Bill put into place (which she is somehow trying to spin as a positive for the gay community),
· the similarity of her health care plan to Mitt Romney's,
· her ties to Big Business (now compounded with her 10-year $109,000,000), and
· her foreign policy in regards Iran.

Those are the things that bother me most.

I do not wish to see myself as a woman who supports women at the expense of her own best interests. I want to be an honest woman with blazing integrity who speaks her mind concisely even when she's unpopular and stands up for people less fortunate even when she must struggle to do so. I'm sorry, ladies; I don't see Hillary as representing me.

Here are just a few reasons why I am backing Obama:

· Obama wishes to enact a Fair Pay Act, under which women would get equal pay.
· Obama wishes to strengthen federal hate crimes legislation.
· Obama takes no money from federal lobbyists or PACs.
· His health care program would include a National Health Insurance Exchange to act as a watchdog group over the private insurance market.
· His health care program would require employers to help employees with health care costs.
· He would also require health care providers to publicly report their expenses.
· He opposed the Kyl-Lieberman resolution on Iran (unlike Hillary).
· He is the most conscious of the Democratic Party; he has abided by the DNC rules (unlike Hillary).
· He unequivocally is against torture (unlike Hillary, who posed a "ticking time bomb" scenario in 2006 and then changed her mind in 2007).
· Small donors (<$100) make the majority of his campaign contributions; he would govern for the people, not for the wealthiest corporations or most powerful lobbyists. · He disclosed all his earmarks.
· He provided names of fund raising bundlers at all financial levels.
· He released his income tax returns to the public long before anyone else.
· He opposed the war from the beginning.
· He has pledged to be bipartisan in his cabinet appointments.
· He is a big labor booster in trade agreements.
· He believes in setting standards for trade with China.
· He would repeal Bush's tax cuts (unlike Hillary).
· He would give a $4,000 tax credit to college students in exchange for 100 hours of public service.
· He wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

The guy is also a civil rights attorney who taught law at Harvard; I believe the person with the strongest knowledge of the Constitution will do the most for the LGBT community. Check out his recent interview with The Advocate.

As lesbians, we all do our part to promote womankind, whatever that is, because we promote love of ladies by being ourselves. No vote for Hillary can touch that. Is lezkind a grandfalloon?

You can click here to join Senator Obama's LGBT online initiative at my.barackobama.com:
Click here to join LGBT Voters for Barack Obama