Patching up the party - Terry McAuliffe tries to rescue the Democrats - Interview

Terry McAuliffe includes gays and lesbians in his plans to restore the Democratic Party

Terry McAuliffe has his work cut out for him. Shortly after George W. Bush was inaugurated, the Democratic National Committee named McAuliffe as its national chairman. Since then, the Democrats have appeared to be in disarray, with Bush gaining the upper hand in a series of early political battles. Moreover, McAuliffe faces a bleak political landscape. Republicans control not just the White House but also the House of Representatives, and the Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. McAuliffe talked with The Advocate about his strategy for the Democratic Party and about its stand on issues of importance to gay and lesbian voters.

Your only competition for the chairmanship was former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, a gay rights supporter. Gays and lesbians are less familiar with your record.

I was chairman of the Los Angeles convention in 2000, which I believe had the most open and diverse group of speakers in the party's history. I've worked to increase the number of gay and lesbian convention delegates to 212, up from 142 four years prior. I hope to increase that number substantially in 2004. I think the party's support for gays and lesbians is demonstrated by the huge numbers in which gay voters supported the Democratic ticket, up 4 [percentage points] from 1996, and the tremendous financial support we receive from the community. I have asked Andy Tobias to continue to serve as treasurer, and I'm working closely with [prominent gay activist] Jeff Soref.

How will President Bush's appointment of John Ashcroft as attorney general play into your strategy?

Frankly, Bush's stance will provide us with tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how much better we are on gay issues. It will energize the gay community. When he ran for president, he was able to hide from the issue or put up smoke screens. But once you are president, the devil is in the details. I noticed that even some gay Republicans, like [District of Columbia council member] David Catania, are already raising heck in the party.

On the other hand, Democrats held the White House for the past eight years and failed to pass a single piece of gay rights legislation. The perception persists among some gay people that their issues are a low priority within the party.

I don't agree. We submitted legislation over and over again, but Congress wouldn't pass it. This is why we need to energize the gay and lesbian community and other constituencies so we can win back the House and Senate in 2002. Only with a Democratic Congress can we get legislation that promotes tolerance.

Has gay rights become a crossover issue, both strengthening the base of the party and expanding its appeal into the suburbs?

I don't see it as a problem with Democratic candidates. The vast majority of Americans, gay and straight, don't think people should be discriminated against in the workplace. Most Americans support hate-crimes legislation with [coverage for crimes based on] sexual orientation in it. Most Americans don't want to see their gay neighbors, coworkers, and friends harassed or fired. In this regard, the Republican Party is out of step with the mainstream of America.

There is still tremendous anger among gay Democrats about the Florida vote count. How will you harness the anger politically before it dissipates?

As the media's recount is showing, Al Gore won Florida by thousands of votes [and thus the presidency]. I want to take that anger and disenfranchisement and turn it into a positive force in American politics for real election reform. Then we can have a fair election in which every vote counts.

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