Meanwhile… In The Mainstream Media… It Was “Gays Behaving Badly”
Last night’s protest at the Harold Ford/Stonewall Democrats event caused a great deal of “conversation.” My response, “Harold Ford’s Treatment No Better Than Tea Party Protests,” seems to have stirred up almost as much.
Let me add this.
Yes, I have a problem with the Tea Party style protest at last night’s event.
But had the protesters let Ford speak, THEN protested, I would totally have been fine with that. Had they restricted their protest to before and/or after his speech, or had they restricted it to outside the debate room before, during, and/or after his speech, I would totally have supported that too.
Protest? Absolutely!
Civil disobedience — done right, designed to change hearts and minds? Absolutely!
We are in the business of winning our civil rights — rights that I believe are “unalienable.” Being in the business of winning our civil rights from a majority who do not seem to want to hand them over to us means we are in the business of having to win hearts and minds.
Not the heart and mind of Harold Ford, but of the rest of America.
Nasty, rude, juvenile tactics designed to shut down conversation and debate are exactly what the Right has done to us for centuries. To emulate their oppressive behavior is simply not a smart tactic. It does not help us.
There are two arguments going on here. The folks who are on the side of the protesters, I believe, only care about sending a message to Harold Ford. They thought a rude, unruly, shout-down, Tea Party style protest was the best way to do it. Obviously, I disagree.
Those who have a problem with the protesters, at least, myself, know that Ford will either not run, or not win if he does. And so, I’m more concerned with our reputation, with winning hearts and minds, with having the average American not see us as “the mob,” so that they will WANT to support us. At least, so we don’t give them reasons to hate us more than they do.
I’m a fighter. I spend all day long fighting. But I’m smart enough to know that we need to be big-picture oriented. Not juvenile-tactics focused.
One thing I haven’t said publicly yet also is this.
My disagreement here comes at a price. I know these folks. Some of them I consider my friends. And while I was unaware of what they were going to do specifically — yes, I knew there would be a protest — I did not know what that would consist of, I assumed it would have been outside the debate room. And I have no doubt that they no longer will consider me their friend. Politics does that to people. I’m sorry to see that happen. But I cannot change my mind when so much is at stake.
Meanwhile, to prove I’m far from alone in my disagreement with the tactics of “The Power,” here’s what the “non-gay,” mainstream media — the one that voting citizens read, too –Â had to say.
(Although, again, I’ll mention even Queerty agrees with me, as have many other bloggers. Queerty’s front page says, “Did New York’s Terribly Rude Gays Give Harold Ford Jr. a Chance to Explain.)
And an update: Joe.My.God, whom I respect immensely, weighed in too:
“While I’m no fan of a carpetbagger like Rep. Ford, I don’t see the point of disrupting an ostensibly friendly speech on our own turf. Ford was the invited guest of the Stonewall Democrats.”
Look at the way we were represented in the mainstream media. Look at how we were perceived last night. Did we help ourselves in the media? No.
New York Magazine: “New York Gays Are Rude to Harold Ford Jr.”
Read some of the comments there:
“Though,
I don’t agree with the Tea Baggers at the town hall meetings last year. The respectful Tea Partiers spoke & listened with respect & dignity.
As a gay man, I can’t approve of the way that those other gays acted last night. I have no problem with activists protesting in the streets, however, when you’re inside at a meeting, there has to be some form of respect.
You can dissagree with him, you can tell him a lot of things but do it with respect.”“Rob,
I called out the Tea Partiers who were rude at the town hall meetings because they were.
As a gay man, I’m calling out my fellow gays for being rude.
Never kiss the politican’s @$$, however, have respect, I don’t care what politcal or social or cultural issue is at stake.”“Wow. I can’t imagine a situation where I wouldn’t let someone speak and just chanted insults at them. Was he an invited guest? Yikes.”
“It’s really not cool to set off things like confetti poppers at political events. I’m sure it scared the shit out of him. Not cool man.”
“They’re like any other group of NY liberals. They’re always rude to people who are not kissing their asses at the moment. They are better than everyone else, you see…and they deserve that respect!”
Gothamist: “Gay Rights Group Heckles Harold Ford”
Comments:
“So they invited him to speak there just so they could heckle him? Kinda lame.”
“Would have been better if they invited him and no one showed up to listen. Heckling is sooo 1900s.”
DNA Info: “Harold Ford Jr. Gets Hostile Reception from Stonewall Democrats”
NY1: “Crowd Heckles Ford Jr. On Gay Marriage Stance”
New York Post: “Ford lambasted by gay community at Democratic Club”
I rest my case, except to say this: There are too few of us, and too few of our supporters. The LGBTQ community needs to find a way to work together. It’s OK to disagree over tactics and positions, but it’s not OK to make ad hominen attacks. When that starts happening, we’ve already started to lose.
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First Lady Melania Trump’s renovation of Jackie Kennedy’s iconic Rose Garden during Donald Trump’s first term drew widespread criticism. Now, President Trump is renovating that space once again—this time transforming it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio—sparking a fresh wave of backlash from critics.
President Trump defended what Newsweek described as “bulldozing” part of the Rose Garden, saying the change was intended to make the space more accessible for women wearing high heels, according to The Daily Beast. The renovations also involve removing several trees, including a saucer magnolia reportedly planted to honor President John F. Kennedy.
“It’s supposed to have events,” Trump said of the Rose Garden. “Every event you have it’s soaking wet,” he complained.
“The women with the high heels, it’s just too much… the grass, it doesn’t work. We use it for press conferences. It doesn’t work.”
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The White House has done little to inform the American people about the construction, leaving critics to ask questions including who is paying for the construction, and is there a federal agency or commission that approves changes to the White House, given its centuries-long history.
“The White House is a national symbol and not the personal property of any president. Permanent changes should be reviewed by preservation experts and consider public sentiment, not be made unilaterally for vanity or political messaging,” wrote Molly Ploofkins, a social media user whose bio says she is a retired Army medic.
“We’ve got money to bulldoze the White House Rose Garden and turn it into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio, but we can’t pay for cancer research for kids or make sure veterans aren’t living off food stamps,” remarked Democratic strategist and former Harris senior advisor Mike Nellis.
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“I love how people keep pointing out that private donations paid for it—not the government. I don’t give a s—,” Nellis added later. “The issue is this administration’s priorities. Trump thinks it’s fine to bulldoze the Rose Garden to build a patio so he can relax outside, while doing nothing to improve your life. That’s the criticism. He’s enriching himself, screwing everyone else, and not lifting a goddamn finger to help you. That’s the problem.”
Journalist Jane Coaston remarked, “I am increasingly of the view that Trump wants to ‘be president’ so he can watch musicals and manage the rose garden and he just lets other people be co-president for periods of time so he has more time for musicals and rose garden management.”
“RIP to the White House Rose Garden,” observed former Obama White House photographer Pete Souza. “Today the Rose Garden is being ripped apart as construction begins to pave over the entire grass area. A sad, and unnecessary, day for what used to be the People’s House.”
“The White House rose garden was established in 1913,” noted WAMU’s Esther Ciammachilli, before lamenting, “Trump has just paved paradise and put up a parking lot. This is not his house. It belongs to the American people. He is just a tenant. Nothing is sacred anymore.”
Image via Reuters
After stalling on a decision in the escalating Middle East crisis and delaying action—some say potentially in defiance of federal law—on the congressionally mandated TikTok ban, President Donald Trump, facing sliding poll numbers, a widely criticized budget bill on the brink of collapse, a looming debt ceiling showdown, and apparent tensions with his Director of National Intelligence, is heading to his Bedminster golf resort for a MAGA dinner and an early weekend likely to include several rounds of golf.
The decision to leave the White House early on Friday comes after he left the G7 early this week, reportedly to make a decision on whether or how to help Israel attack Iran. His former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, jokingly said Trump exited the conference with top world leaders because he was “bored,” The Hill reported.
The President is slated to exit the White House at 2 PM Friday.
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“With the world on edge, the president’s early departure underscores a pattern critics say reflects misplaced priorities, favoring fundraising and familiar retreats over the day-to-day demands of governance,” MeidasTouch News reported.
The long weekend also comes just hours after President Trump denounced “too many days off” for federal and other workers, a remark he made on Juneteenth, a federal holiday signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. Trump had campaigned on passing the legislation to honor and celebrate the day that symbolizes the end of slavery, but made no mention of it this year.
“Too many non-working holidays in America,” Trump decried Thursday evening.
“I know this is a federal holiday.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday. “I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We’re working 24/7 right now.”
This week, in addition to meeting with his national security team, and an “awkward” meeting with players of the Juventus soccer team, Trump presided over the installation of two 88-foot flag poles and the raising of massive American flags at the White House.
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Trump’s long weekend also comes just one week after millions protested his policies across all 50 states and internationally on Saturday, while he attended a military parade celebrating his and the U.S. Army’s birthdays, and after a tragic political assassination of a Democratic lawmaker and her spouse.
It also comes one week after Trump appeared to make a major about-face, saying farm, hotel, and restaurant workers are valuable and extremely difficult to replace. He suggested that ICE would pause targeting those workers, only to turn around just days later to announce “the largest mass deportation program in history.” The pause on deportations was canceled, leading one notable political commentator and legal analyst, Joyce Vance, to wonder if Trump is actually in charge.
“Who’s running the show?” she asked, suggesting someone may have “countermanded” him on the deportations. “Who’s in charge? Trump or someone else?”
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Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump, who campaigned in 2020 on making Juneteenth a federal holiday, used the occasion this year to criticize the number of federal holidays—a comment many viewed as a direct slight against Juneteenth, which marks the symbolic end of slavery in the United States. He did not issue a presidential proclamation recognizing the holiday.
It was President Joe Biden who signed the legislation making Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021. And while he is no longer in office, it was Biden—not Trump—who formally honored and celebrated Juneteenth.
On Thursday, President Biden “took part in the service at the Reedy Chapel AME Church,” in Galveston, “one of the locations where an order announcing the end of slavery in Texas was read on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,” CBS News reported. Biden criticized “ongoing efforts to erase history” during the event, “and appeared to take a shot at his successor, President Trump.”
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President Biden said, “Still today, some say to me and you that this doesn’t deserve to be a federal holiday. They don’t want to remember…the moral stain of slavery.”
“Our federal holidays say … who we are as Americans,” Biden also said Thursday, as CNN reported. “What we celebrate says what we value.”
At least twice, Biden appeared to refer to Trump, although not by name.
“When speaking about attempts to erase history, he referenced ‘this guy’ before giving himself the sign of the cross — drawing laughter from the audience,” CBS noted. “At another point, Biden pointed to efforts during his administration to rename military bases named after Confederate military officers, a process mandated by Congress.”
Also on Juneteenth, President Donald Trump launched an angry missive at the number of federal holidays, although he did not mention Juneteenth specifically.
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“Too many non-working holidays in America,” Trump declared. “It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
While shuttering the federal government while paying workers does cost money, Trump offered no evidence to support his claim that workers don’t want the day off.
Critics berated President Trump.
“Saying there are ‘too many non-working holidays’ on Juneteenth is so on brand for a man who is actively trying to erase Black history,” wrote U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). “This from the same man who’s wasted over $26 million in taxpayer dollars and spent more than 30 days golfing since January 20, 2025? Please.”
“As Americans celebrate Juneteenth,” U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) wrote, “I want to say: Trump can try to erase whatever history he doesn’t like, and he can try to brand ‘diversity’ as something bad. But he won’t succeed. We’ll remember ALL of our history and affirm that diversity is our strength here in America.”
“Not only is he trying to make you work MORE but also he’s taking an apparent dig at Juneteenth. This is coming from the same guy who golfs every weekend. Pathetic,” declared political commentator Harry Sisson.
RELATED: Hegseth Sidelines Juneteenth and Its Military History
Image via Reuters
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