James
Taylor
chuckles
when
he
recalls
his
encounter
with
presidential
hopeful
Rudy
Giuliani.
Taylor,
a
28-year-old
gay
man
who’s
helping
educate
Iowa
caucus
voters
about
gay
issues,
earlier
this
month
asked
the
Republican
to
pose
for
photographers
with
a
Human
Rights
Campaign
shirt.
Giuliani
agreed.
“That
really
blew
a
lot
of
people’s
minds
because
of
his
party
affiliation,”
he
said.
“But
he
was
very
friendly,
very
receptive.
He
was
great.”
It
was
a
big
moment
for
Taylor’s
efforts
in
the
Hawkeye
State
and
one
that
invigorated
him
as
the
crucial
Jan.
3
caucus
vote
approaches.
“Mitt
Romney
is
going
to
be
around
later
this
week,”
he
said.
“Hopefully
we
can
get
him
to
hold
up
a
shirt,
too.”
Gay
activists
are
intensifying
their
efforts
in
Iowa
and
New
Hampshire,
engaging
candidates
and
discussing
key
issues
as
the
presidential
campaign
approaches
a
crucial
juncture.
In
two
months,
voters
will
begin
casting
ballots
and
attending
caucuses
to
choose
their
party’s
presidential
nominee.
Iowa
leads
the
process
with
its
caucus
vote,
followed
soon
thereafter
by
the
New
Hampshire
primary.
The
significance
of
these
first-in-the-nation
polls
is
not
lost
on
gay
activists.
Marty
Rouse,
HRC’s
national
field
director,
said
to
influence
voters
in
those
states
is
to
influence
the
entire
presidential
nomination
process.
“The
election
of
the
most
powerful
person
in
the
world
begins
to
take
place
in
Iowa
and
New
Hampshire,”
he
said.
“If
the
LGBT
community
wants
to
influence
the
selection
process,
the
community
needs
to
be
involved
in
those
two
states.”
Rouse
said
that’s
why
HRC
maintains
a
bustling
office
in
New
Hampshire
and
has
partnered
with
One
Iowa
to
further
efforts
there.
Taylor,
the
caucus
director
at
One
Iowa,
and
Heather
Gibson,
HRC’s
regional
field
director
in
New
Hampshire,
are
pushing
to
keep
gay
issues
in
discussions
at
candidate
appearances,
town
hall
meetings
—
even
a
steak
fry.
“It’s
kind
of
hokey
in
a
way,”
Rouse
said.
“But
when
you
think
about
it,
to
be
visible
in
California
is
one
thing.
To
be
visible
in
Iowa,
to
be
visible
in
New
Hampshire,
that
impacts
these
presidential
candidates.”
Andrew
Smith,
a
presidential
primary
expert
and
director
of
the
University
of
New
Hampshire
Survey
Center,
said
HRC
and
One
Iowa
are
wise
to
engage
in
such
efforts.
“Because
of
the
frontloading
process
that’s
been
going
on
this
year,
it’s
my
sense
that
whoever
wins
the
New
Hampshire
primary
will
be
the
nominee,”
he
said.
Although
some
dates
remain
in
flux,
voters
in
more
than
two-dozen
states
are
expected
to
cast
their
primary
ballots
by
Feb.
5.
But
the
focus,
Smith
said,
remains
on
Iowa
and
New
Hampshire,
which
lead
the
pack.
Because
the
states
hold
such
political
value,
he
said,
gay
activists
are
challenged
to
make
their
voices
heard
over
others.
“It’s
a
tough
thing
to
do,
because
everyone’s
doing
the
same
thing,”
Smith
said.
“Because
there
are
so
many
groups
competing
for
time
with
the
candidates,
you
don’t
want
to
give
candidates
a
reason
not
to
respond
to
you.”
Gibson
said
to
rise
above
the
clamor,
she’s
pushing
her
volunteers
to
personally
engage
the
candidates
whenever
and
wherever
possible.
“I
think
that’s
why
our
personal
stories
become
really,
really
important
in
this
process,”
she
said.
“For
somebody
to
tell
their
story,
one
on
one
with
a
candidate,
makes
all
the
difference.”
Rouse
agreed.
He
said
such
interactions
—
even
those
that
are
brief
or
passive
—
are
invaluable.
“You
never
know
when
what
you
say,
or
what
you
wear,
or
how
you
look,
or
whose
hand
you’re
holding
will
impact
a
presidential
candidate
or
campaign,”
he
said.
“You
just
never
know
when
that
moment
happens.
That’s
why
you
have
to
be
out
and
visible,
and
that’s
why
HRC
is
out
mobilizing
the
community.”
Activists
also
are
using
other
methods
to
draw
attention
to
gay
issues.
Taylor
said
his
volunteers
frequently
reference
“palm
cards”
with
prepared
questions
that
quiz
the
candidates
on
gay
issues
such
as
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
and
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell.”
“That’s
something
that’s
very
personal
to
me,”
he
said,
“because
I
was
going
to
make
a
career
out
of
the
military.”
Taylor,
who
was
discharged
from
an
intelligence
analyst
position
in
May
2005
after
serving
more
than
five
years
in
the
armed
forces,
said
he’s
encouraging
his
volunteers
to
broach
specific
questions
rather
than
broad
issues.
He
said
the
approach
is
working.
One
question
to
Democratic
Sen.
Barack
Obama
regarding
pensions
for
officers
expelled
under
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
drew
attention
to
the
issue
and
made
the
candidate
consider
a
different
aspect
of
the
debate.
“This
is
a
huge
undertaking,”
Taylor
said.
“But
it’s
a
worthwhile
one
and
a
rewarding
one.”
Gibson,
a
35-year-old
lesbian
who’s
long
been
involved
in
New
Hampshire
politics,
said
she’s
eager
to
tackle
the
primary
campaign’s
remaining
weeks.
“I
actually
think
the
little
time
remaining
is
a
benefit,
in
that
more
people
are
paying
attention
now,”
she
said.
“It’s
actually
the
most
exciting
time.”
But
it
also
is
a
challenging
time.
Gibson
and
Taylor
said
the
demands
on
their
schedules
—
and
those
of
their
volunteers
—
are
substantial.
Calendars
are
packed
as
campaigns
and
activists
alike
push
for
publicity.
It
doesn’t
help,
the
activists
said,
that
many
Republican
candidates
are
not
interested
in
discussing
gay
issues.
Polls
in
Iowa
and
New
Hampshire
show
former
Massachusetts
Gov.
Mitt
Romney
leading
the
Republican
presidential
field.
One
expert
has
predicted
that
‘whoever
wins
the
New
Hampshire
primary
will
be
the
nominee.’
(Photo
by
Jim
ColeAP) |
|
“You
hope
they’re
receptive,”
Taylor
said,
“but
you
know
what
their
views
are,
so
you
can’t
really
have
high
expectations
for
them
to
be
receptive
to
a
progressive
institution
such
as
ours.”
Nonetheless,
they
said,
efforts
to
engage
the
Republican
candidates
are
continuing.
“I
...
