Vote As If Your Life Depends On It Because It Does....

By David Mixner -

No one has been more gravely disappointed and, at times livid, with the practically non-existent record of President Obama on LGBT equal rights. Over and over again I have held this administration's feet to the fire in an effort to force them to move forward in our struggle for freedom. As we all know by now, those pleas often have fallen on deaf ears. Our disappointment, anger and frustration is totally justified.
What is not justified is to allow those emotions to intrude on our ability to be intelligent voters this election day. We cannot and should not shoot ourselves in the collective foot because of the administration's actions.
Why is it important to vote? Let's get right down to it: If the House and Senate fall into Republican Tea Party hands on November 2nd, the LGBT community will be facing the most hostile United States Congress in our history. The election of these bonafide Teabagging wing-nuts could cause chaos, fear and intimidation in our political process. Their ascendancy to power would validate some truly dark and despicable forces operating in American politics. If we think it is hard to achieve equal rights now just try and do it in a Tea Party dominated Congress.
Simply put, our political and government process could end up in chaos, anger, violence and the legitimizing of bigotry against LGBT people in American politics. You think I might be exaggerating? Well, then guess again because all over the country we have seen time and time again this election season the most extreme positions, unheard-of actions and uninformed incitement to overthrow the government. These incidents have not been isolated - they have been rabidly, almost incoherently widespread.
The more prominent ones feature the literal call to arms by Sharron Angle in Nevada, the numbing idiocy of Ken Buck of Colorado's stance on LGBT issues, the handcuffing of a reporter by the black suited, sunglass wearing staff of Alaska's Joe Miller or the dragging to the ground of a MoveOn worker in Kentucky and then stomping on her head by the supporters of Rand Paul. The list does stop here. The tragic fact is that I can go on and on reciting devastating positions of Tea Party candidates and the mindless and mean-spirited rhetoric they employ daily that validates violence.
Believe me the America they advocate does not include us as full citizens.
Don't get me wrong. My faith in the Democrats has not been reborn - however there are many, many allies of the LGBT community who support full equality, including marriage equality, who are in tight races on the ballot. For us to punish them by staying home is inconceivable to me. Why in the world would we abandon our real friends in a time of need?
If you need to skip a vote for a Blue Dog Democrat then just cast a protest vote by electing those who are good for not only our community but for our nation.
This year voting is about protecting sanity in American politics. The last thing you should do is play games with this election by stay home. Unacceptable. Untenable. And unbelievably scary.

for more from David visit Live from Hell's Kitchen.

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