The
original
version
of
this
story
incorrectly
reported
that
the
Democratic
Senatorial
Campaign
Committee
removed
from
its
website
a
pledge
not
to
discriminate
on
the
basis
of
sexual
orientation
in
hiring.
It
was
the
website
of
the
Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee.
Officials
with
the
Democratic
Party
took
notice
last
week
when
a
gay
former
staffer
from
the
Clinton
White
House,
who
held
key
positions
in
the
presidential
campaigns
of
Bill
Clinton
and
Al
Gore,
publicly
criticized
his
party
for
not
taking
stronger
action
to
defend
gays.
Paul
Yandura,
a
party
loyalist,
sent
an
open
letter
on
April
20
to
gay
Democratic
activists
charging
that
Democratic
Party
Chair
Howard
Dean
and
the
Democratic
National
Committee
have
failed
to
counter
efforts
by
Republicans
to
promote
anti-gay
ballot
measures
as
a
wedge
issue
to
win
elections.
"For
many
months,
a
number
of
us
have
made
appeals
to
Howard
Dean
and
party
officials
to
care
about
and
defend
the
dignity
of
gay
and
lesbian
families
and
friends,
in
the
same
way
they
defend
the
dignity
of
other
key
constituencies,"
Yandura
said
in
his
letter.
"All
progressives
need
to
be
asking
how
much
has
the
DNC
budgeted
to
counter
the
anti-gay
ballot
initiatives
in
the
states,"
he
said.
"We
also
need
to
know
why
the
DNC
and
our
Democratic
leaders
continue
to
allow
the
Republicans
to
use
our
families
and
friends
as
pawns
to
win
elections."
In
a
comment
that
is
certain
to
raise
eyebrows
among
party
leaders,
Yandura
added
that
until
the
party
provides
answers
to
these
questions,
"my
advice
is
don’t
give
any
more
money
to
the
Dems."
Yandura’s
outspoken
remarks
create
an
uncomfortable
situation
for
DNC
officials
and
his
domestic
partner,
Donald
Hitchcock.
Hitchcock
serves
as
the
DNC’s
adviser
on
gay
issues
as
well
as
director
of
the
DNC’s
gay
fundraising
arm,
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Leadership
Council.
DNC
spokesperson
Karen
Finney
said
Hitchcock
organized
a
meeting
on
April
26
between
Dean
and
other
high-level
DNC
staff
members
and
officials
of
national
gay
rights
groups
to
discuss
strategy
for
addressing
anti-gay
ballot
measures.
Among
those
attending,
Finney
said,
were
officials
from
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
and
the
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
which
represents
gay
Democratic
clubs
located
throughout
the
country.
"It
was
a
very
good
meeting,"
said
Finney,
who
declined
to
disclose
what
was
discussed
on
grounds
that
the
party
doesn’t
publicly
reveal
its
election-related
strategy.
Hitchcock
has
declined
requests
for
an
interview,
saying
Dean
has
put
in
place
a
policy
that
doesn’t
allow
him
to
speak
to
the
media
under
most
circumstances.
Yandura
said
he
believes
the
DNC
meeting
with
gay
leaders
had
been
scheduled
before
he
released
his
open
letter.
He
said
he
made
his
concerns
known
to
DNC
officials
privately
nearly
a
year
earlier.
"This
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction,"
Yandura
said.
"It
shows
they
are
taking
this
seriously.
But
the
real
proof
will
be
if
they
actually
do
something."
Yandura’s
letter
comes
shortly
after
reports
surfaced
that
some
members
of
the
DNC’s
Black
Caucus
had
expressed
opposition
to
a
proposal
by
gay
DNC
member
Garry
Shay
of
California
to
add
gays
to
the
party’s
affirmative
action
guidelines
for
selecting
delegates
to
the
2008
Democratic
National
Convention.
A
New
York
Daily
News
blog
reported
that
Black
Caucus
member
Donna
Brazile
was
among
those
who
raised
concerns
about
the
Shay
proposal,
on
grounds
that
it
could
result
in
fewer
African-American
delegates.
Shay’s
proposal
calls
for
a
DNC
rule
change
that
would
require
all
state
parties
to
establish
goals
and
timetables
for
selecting
a
minimum
number
of
gay
delegates
in
the
same
way
they
currently
allocate
certain
numbers
of
delegate
slots
for
African
Americans,
Latinos,
Asian-Pacific
Islanders,
Native
Americans
and
women.
Sixteen
states,
including
California
and
New
York,
already
include
gays
in
their
affirmative
action
polices,
according
to
Shay.
Brazile
called
the
blog
report
"ridiculous"
and
"totally
inaccurate."
She
said
that
she
and
Shay
had
a
friendly
discussion
over
the
proposal
and
that
she
would
help
him
fine-tune
the
proposal
to
ensure
it
receives
support
from
all
segments
of
the
party.
"I
have
no
problem
with
the
merits
of
Garry’s
proposal,"
said
Brazile,
who
frequently
appears
on
TV
talk
shows
as
a
Democratic
Party
strategist.
She
served
as
chair
of
the
2000
presidential
campaign
of
Democratic
nominee
Al
Gore.
Brazile
has
refused
to
answer
questions
about
her
own
sexual
orientation,
even
though
she
has
a
history
of
gay
rights
activism,
including
a
seat
on
the
board
of
the
gay
Millennium
March
on
Washington
for
LGBT
Rights
in
2000.
She
again
declined
to
discuss
the
matter
in
a
telephone
interview
this
week,
though
she
cited
her
past
gay
rights
advocacy
over
many
years
within
the
DNC
and
within
the
DNC’s
Black
Caucus.
Daily
News
blog
writer
Ben
Smith
reported
he
obtained
his
information
about
Brazile’s
and
other
Black
Caucus
members’
reported
opposition
to
the
Shay
proposal
from
an
e-mail
that
an
unknown
person
forwarded
to
him.
New
York
gay
Democratic
activist
Jon
Winkelman,
who
serves
on
the
board
of
National
Stonewall
Democrats,
wrote
the
e-mail,
which
Smith
said
he
published
verbatim
in
his
blog.
In
his
e-mail,
Winkelman
said
he
obtained
his
information
about
purported
opposition
to
the
Shay
proposal
from
gay
DNC
member
Rick
Stafford
of
Minnesota
and
New
York
party
activist
Emily
Giske,
a
lesbian
who
is
one
of
several
vice
chairs
of
the
New
York
State
Democratic
Party.
Stafford
and
Giske
did
not
return
calls
seeking
comment.
Winkelman
said
the
e-mail,
as
published
by
the
blog,
was
out
of
context
and
contained
inaccurate
information.
He
declined
to
say
which
information
was
inaccurate.
"This
was
intended
to
be
a
private
communication,"
he
said.
"Whoever
released
it
...
