Under the Wheels of the (Union Made) Bus

As election season creeps closer, every PAC from Washington, DC to Kirksville, Missouri is doing their candidate survey-screening-interviewing-endorsement process. In DC, these endorsements mean private wine lockers at the Capital Grille. In Kansas City, these endorsements mean a few hundred bucks and a half dozen democracy-loving Midwesterners to help a candidate knock those 6,000 doors.

My organization participates in a coalition of progressive organizations around the state. While we have our own PAC, we participate in this Coalition, along with mostly labor groups and a few community organizations, with a goal of election progressive candidates to the Missouri State House. Last week we held our first round of candidate interviews, and I found out what it feels like to be thrown under a (union made) bus.

We were interviewing Ms. Candidate. Ms. Candidate was approached to run by the Democratic Party, is a lovely woman, has an old connected family, and is a little dear-in-the-headlights to the campaign process. During the interview, I questioned why she had failed to answer the Gay questions on the Coalition questionnaire. Before she could answer, the UAW representative chimed in. Here's a general transcript of that heart-warming conversation:

ME: I know a number of party officials have told you to not fill out our questionnaire or that of Planned Parenthood because we will post your name and answers and loose your election for you. But we want to assure you we do not post the names or answers from any questionnaire and we do not endorse anyone who doesn't want our endorsement. However...
UAW REP: Well, in her district she shouldn't have anything to do with "Pride issues." Representative So-And-So made a Pride vote and that made him loose the election. And Candidate So-And-So, well, his Republican opposition sent out a mailer two days before the election saying he was pro-gay. In that district you really can't have anything to do with any gay issues.
[The entire room looks at me. I open my mouth, they all look at their hands]
ME: So you are saying leave us behind? Throw us under the bus?
UAW REP: Yes, leave you behind.

I readily admit, I lost my cool in front of a candidate. But I wonder, would it have been better to smile politely so as not to disagree with the straight white labor man in mixed company? The UAW Reps comments were so out of line, and I was even more distressed that no one stepped in to step up for me or my organization. I am the first person to admit that when it comes to the Gay Agenda, we have to be strategic in more conservative districts during campaigning.

However, here I have been in this Coalition in which we have all come to the table and agreed on a set of Progressive Issues we support. We might not agree with each other on every issue, but we have agreed on certain basic principals. In addition, to have this kind of "strategic campaign policy" discussion in front of a first-year candidate is completely out of line.

I was professionally humiliated and personally devistated. I went out to my car, had a good cry, smoothed the hair on my legs and the wrinkles in my skirt, walked my Queer Ass Self back into the interview room to continue my Coalition work, and asked my next set of questions: "So, Mr. Candidate. What kind of car do you drive? Is it union made? Do you believe in the right to collective bargaining?"