Born with two left feet in his mouth

Back during the keynote address at the 1988 Democratic convention then-Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards skewered the sometimes upper-crust but less-than-elegant speaking style of George H.W. Bush (a.k.a. "Bush the Elder") by describing him as "born with a silver foot in his mouth." Perhaps Republicans now have a target they can aim similar vitrile at in the person of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean who seems to have been born with two left feet in his mouth.

Let's face it. It hasn't been a good week to be Howard.

First there was the dustup over his firing of the DNC's gay outreach adviser Donald Hitchcock less than a week after Hancock's partner, Paul Yandura, accused Dean of not doing enough to promote the cause of gay equality. You can read about the firing here and read Yandura's remarked that reportedly prompted the firing here.

Though Dean denies it, the firing has all the earmarks of retaliation. Barely had the dust begun to settle in that skirmish when Dean found himself in trouble once again with LBGT Democrats who are among the party's most consistent Democratic voters.

This time Dean has stepped in an even bigger pile of steaming political doo-doo. In what was supposed to be an effort to woo disaffected conservative voters, Dean made an appearance on fun-D'uh-Mental-ist whack-job and uber-conservative Pat Robertson's "The 700 Club." During his interview, Dean stated that "the Democratic Party platform from 2004 says marriage is between a man and a woman." Governor Dean went on to point out that Democrats seek to respect and provide equal legal protections to all families.

Depending on one's personal views, Dean was either: a) "mispeaking" in the style of the White House's current occupant; b) outright lying for the benefit of the fundie followers of Robertson; or c) had been sucking on a crack pipe just prior to his appearance.

For the record, here's the exact wording of the Democratic 2004 platform on the issue of gay rights and marriage equality:

"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a 'Federal Marriage Amendment.' Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart."

No reference to "one man and one woman." In fact, the platform even goes so far as to repudiate Bush's Federal Marriage Amendment proposal.

Reaction from LGBT organizations was swift.

The National Stonewall Democrats released a statement saying: "Our founders created a federal system that allows individual states the freedom to develop policy for their own families as they see fit. Democrats do not believe that the federal government should forcefully dictate family policy for individual states, as championed by congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration. Therefore, we strongly point out that Governor Dean incorrectly spoke when stating that the 2004 Democratic Party platform defines marriage as between a man and a woman."

From the Human Rights Campaign's Director Joe Solmonese: "Governor Dean's comments weren't a mere slip of the tongue but a glaring reminder of the governor's lack of leadership on this issue. As we face a Senate vote in June that threatens to put discrimination in our Constitution, Governor Dean should not only have known better but he should have used the opportunity to speak out about the lack of values involved in the current constitutional debate."

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force went so for as to return a $5,000 contribution from the Democratic National Committee. In the Task Force statement, Executive Director Matt Foreman said: "Governor Dean's record on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues since becoming DNC chair has been sorely and sadly lacking. The Democratic Party chair should stand by and fight for the party's own platform and values. In light of Governor Dean's pandering and insulting interview today with the Christian Broadcasting Network, we have decided to return the DNC's recent $5,000 contribution to us. We do so with great sadness, knowing that the Democratic Party has long been a champion of our rights."

Caught between a rock and a hard-headed fundie, Dean issued the following statement:

"I misstated the Democratic Party's platform, which does not say that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman, but says the Party is committed to full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and leaves the issue to the states to decide," he said in a statement.

"The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans. How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our Party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans."

So let's recap, shall we?

Former presidential candidate Howard Dean enjoyed a great amount of support from the LGBT community. Under Dean's governorship, Vermont became the first state in the nation to offer civil unions for same-sex partners. He parlayed his popularity - and LGBT support played a large part in that popularity - into his successful bid to become chairman of the DNC. His elevation to that post was deemed a victory for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party ... and a defeat for the moderate, pro-business, socially conservative portion of the party represented by groups like the Democratic Leadership Council.

Safely installed in the ivory tower chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, Dean embarks on a mission of being all things to all people. This leads him to an appearance on Pat Robertson's odious "The 700 Club" in which he tries to court religious conservatives who feel disenfranchised by the Bush Administration into the Democratic Party's "big tent."

Oops! I guess to accommodate all those fundies just looking for a chance to break ranks with Republicans and sign up for the Democratic Party, Dean had to kick the LGBT community out of the other side of the big tent.

When called on his actions by LGBT folks (who are disproportionately Democrats, by the way), Dean issues a less than satisfying mea culpa:

"I misstated the Democratic Party's platform, which does not say that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman, but says the Party is committed to full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and leaves the issue to the states to decide," he said in a statement.

"The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans. How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our Party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans."
Now it's the fundies' turn to say See? We knew he was lyin'! We jes' knew Guv'ner Dean supported that dang homo-seck-shul agenda!

End result? The fundies Dean was trying to woo can't trust him. The LGBT community who would normally be natural allies with Dean and the Democrats can't trust him. In a matter of days Dean manages to piss off both ends of the political spectrum.

Way to go, Howie. I'm sure somewhere Karl Rove is dancing a little fairy jig and thinking I couldn't have sown the seeds if division any better myself!

With friends like Howie, the LGBT community doesn't really need any enemies.