National
Romney, Santorum show new strength in Iowa polls
Controversy surrounds Paul’s newsletters and endorsement from anti-gay pastor
[Editor’s Note: The Washington Blade will have this reporter in Des Moines, Iowa, next week monitoring activity on the ground prior to the caucuses as well as their results.]
Two GOP presidential contenders are experiencing new strength in the polls just days before the Iowa caucuses as new concerns emerge about another candidate’s anti-gay connections and past.
Recent polls show former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney slightly ahead of other candidates in Iowa — where on Jan. 3 the GOP will hold the nation’s first contest for who’ll win the Republican nomination — as former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has also risen to become a major candidate in the contest.
According to a NBC/Marist poll published Friday, Romney is virtually tied for support with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) among likely Republican caucus-goers in Iowa. The poll revealed that Romney has support from 23 percent of respondents while Paul has support from 21 percent.
MORE IN THE BLADE: ROMNEY EDGES SANTORUM TO WIN IOWA CAUCUS
Meanwhile, Santorum has risen to third place in Iowa while Gingrich has plummeted after enjoying a commanding lead. The former senator has support from 20 percent of respondents, followed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 14 percent and Gingrich at 13 percent.
Gingrich, who until recently was the front-runner in the polls, has fallen after his opponents have attacked for his decisions over the course of this more than 30-year-long political career.
Criticism have been based on his admitted martial infidelities and the $1.6 million he received in consulting fees he received from Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored secondary home mortgage company whose activities some say contributed to the financial crisis of 2008.
Dan Pinello, a gay political science professor at the City University of New York, accounted for Romney’s modest new lead as conservatives coming to terms with the stronger prospects of the former Massachusetts governor winning in the general election.
“A lot of conservatives are finally realizing that they don’t have a viable alternative to Romney, and some of them are just holding their nose and going with him as the best alternative to someone they dislike even more, and that’s Barack Obama,” Pinello said.
Pinello added Romney’s rise in Iowa also could be because a win for Paul — who has significantly less of a chance of winning the Republican nomination or the general election — would have the effect of diminish the caucuses’ importance in the presidential primaries.
“Iowa Republicans have had heard their leadership’s cry that they’ve got to maintain the salience of the Iowa caucus system for the long haul, and choosing someone like Ron Paul doesn’t achieve that,” Pinello said.
As for Santorum — who’s known for being a social conservative and holding anti-gay views — Pinello said the candidate’s new strength is the anti-Romney crowd “scraping the bottom of the barrel” now that Gingrich has become a more unpopular candidate.
“They’ve gone with everyone else, and all those others have never panned out for the long haul,” Pinello said. “And so, [Santorum] is what’s left; he’s the consolation prize it seems in a sense.”
Just last week, anti-gay leader Bob Vander Plaats, CEO of FAMiLY LEADER, threw his personal support behind Santorum in the election, so the candidate’s rise could be the result of that support. ABC News later reported that Vander Plaats solicited money for the endorsement, although the Santorum campaign denied that any agreement was made about money.
Pinello declined to make prediction on who’ll win the Iowa caucuses because of the rapid change of the candidates’ positions in the polls, but said the outcome probably won’t have much bearing on who’ll win the Republican nomination.
“Over the past 40 years, Iowa has only accurately predicted the GOP nominee twice in five contests where there was no incumbent president running on the Republican side,” Pinello said. “That’s not a very good track record.”
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses in 2008 with 35 percent of the vote while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) came in forth. The nomination went to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Pinello said the outcome of the Iowa caucuses would only make a difference the race to win the Republican presidential nomination if Romney emerged as the victor.
“If, in fact, Romney is in first place after everything is over next Tuesday, that would be, I think, significant because it would show that it doesn’t seem to be a really truly viable two-person race after the initial contest,” Pinello said.
Paul’s anti-gay ties under scrutiny
As the Republican candidates continue to rise and fall in the polls, Paul’s record has come under increasing scrutiny because of anti-gay ties and statements found in the newsletters he once published.
The newsletters, which were published under various titles in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, describe AIDS as a disease wrought by gays for sexual misbehavior. The newsletters also contain many racially charged and anti-Semitic statements.
Among the gay-related content of the newsletters:
* If you heard a certain behavior of yours caused a deadly disease, wouldn’t you immediately cease and desist?
* Well, gays in San Francisco do not obey the dictates of good sense. They have stopped practicing “safe sex.”
* The rate of AIDS infection is on the increase again. From the gay point of view, the reasons seem quite sensible.
* They are not married, they have no children, and their lives on centered on new sexual partners.
* They enjoy the attention and pity that comes with being sick.
* Put it all together, and you’ve got another wave of AIDS infections, that you, dear taxpayer, will be asked to pay for.
In a radio interview Thursday with WHO Radio in Des Moines, Paul disavowed the content of the letters, saying he had limited input on the content of the letters beyond the economic pieces. The candidate said controversy over the letters hasn’t harmed his campaign.
“It wasn’t a reflection of my views at all…I think it was terrible,” Paul reportedly said. “It was tragic, and I had some responsibility for it, because the name went out in my letter. But I was not an editor. I (was) like a publisher.”
Christian Berle, deputy executive director of the National Log Cabin Republicans, said Paul’s distancing of himself from the newsletters was “appropriate” because the anti-gay statements contained within them are “outside of the mainstream.”
“When looking at Paul as a candidate it is important to look at his focus on small, limited government which positions himself with many LGBT Americans, who are looking to succeed without Washington, telling them what to do,” Berle said.
Berle noted Paul twice voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment and in favor of measures to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in accordance with libertarian views.
“That libertarian message is one that is resonating in Iowa and across the country,” Berle concluded.
Meanwhile, a recent Paul endorsement from Rev. Phillip Kayser, pastor of Dominion Covenant Church in Omaha, Neb., has also been controversial. The religious leader is known for holding anti-gay views and gone so far as to state the death penalty should be imposed upon gays for homosexual acts.
Kayser makes the case for imposing biblical law in a 2009 publication titled “Is the Death Penalty Just?” and contends that gays should be subject to the death penalty to deter their behavior.
“Difficulty in implementing Biblical law does not make non-Biblical penology just,” he says. “But as we have seen, while many homosexuals would be executed, the threat of capital punishment can be restorative. Biblical law would recognize as a matter of justice that even if this law could be enforced today, homosexuals could not be prosecuted for something that was done before.”
According to Talking Points Memo, Kayser confirmed by phone that he still favors instating biblical punishments for gays — although he doesn’t anticipate the punishment being put in place anytime soon.
The Paul campaign touted the endorsement in a statement, although the response to the pastor’s support has apparently been removed from Paul’s web site.
“We welcome Rev. Kayser’s endorsement and the enlightening statements he makes on how Ron Paul’s approach to government is consistent with Christian beliefs,” said Ron Paul 2012 Iowa Chairman Drew Ivers. “We’re thankful for the thoughtfulness with which he makes his endorsement and hope his endorsement and others like it make a strong top-three showing in the caucus more likely.”
Jerame Davis, interim executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, said the newsletters and endorsement demonstrate that Paul “has never been a friend to the LGBT community.
“He has a long history of close association with racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic language,” Davis said. “A new endorsement or yet another revelation doesn’t really change a whole lot.”
Florida
Gay Fla. Democrat Elijah Manley sees opportunity in Trump’s second term
State’s 20th Congressional District’s includes Broward, Palm Beach Counties
Just over two and a half miles from President Donald Trump’s primary residence lies one of Florida’s most reliably Democratic congressional districts. There, a 27-year-old progressive is mounting a campaign centered on resisting what he calls the Trump-Vance administration’s attacks on civil rights, immigrants, and LGBTQ Americans.
Elijah Manley, an openly gay Democrat, sat down with the Washington Blade to discuss why he is running for Florida’s 20th Congressional District, why he believes this moment calls for a new generation of leadership, and what he hopes to accomplish if elected to Congress.
Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale’s historic Sistrunk neighborhood — the city’s oldest African American community — Manley was raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. His family experienced housing insecurity and, at one point, homelessness, experiences he says continue to shape both his politics and his policy priorities.
For Manley, those experiences are precisely what he believes Congress is missing.
“I think now the country is in need of somebody like me, with my story, my lived experience, the struggles I’ve been through in my life. We’re going through a really dark time in the country with the Trump administration coming for our civil rights and an economy that is not working for everybody. In a time where we have MAGA fascism, we need progressive leadership, and we need people who are really going to do the work of fighting back and resisting and obstructing Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ agenda in Congress.”
Manley said his campaign is also about ensuring people from marginalized communities — those without wealth, political connections, or institutional backing — have a voice in Congress.
“I think my story sets me aside from everyone else. I’m the only one in this race who has a story to tell voters that lines up with their lived experiences and their struggles. Growing up in poverty and experiencing homelessness was instrumental in developing my worldview and how I fight for people, and I think that’s something that’s absent on Capitol Hill.”
He argues that lived experience offers a perspective often missing on Capitol Hill.
“There are too many lawyers and people coming from professional and political backgrounds. Then you have somebody like me who is rooted in the story of this district. That’s what sets me apart from everyone else in this race.”
According to his campaign website, Manley’s interest in public service dates back to childhood. He cites the election of President Barack Obama as a defining moment that inspired him to pursue politics.
“He was inspired by Barack Obama’s historic election, igniting his passion for public service. He began writing to elected officials, speaking at school board and city council meetings, and advocating for issues affecting his community,” the website states. It goes on to describe his involvement in criminal justice and law magnet programs, Navy JROTC, and hundreds of hours of volunteer service while in high school.
As an openly gay candidate running during Trump’s second administration, Manley said Congress must take a far more aggressive approach to protecting LGBTQ Americans, particularly as Republican-led states continue passing restrictions targeting transgender people.
“I think we need to bring the hammer down on some of these states. I’m not one of these states’ rights people — Congress has the power to preempt laws that states pass through the Supremacy Clause. There’s never been a more important time in our history when we’re seeing fascism, we’re seeing an administration out of control, and we need Congress to act.”
His campaign has also drawn criticism from both Republicans and establishment Democrats for his positions on Gaza, immigration, and his call to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Manley said abolishing ICE does not mean eliminating immigration enforcement altogether.
“I’m not saying there should be no immigration laws. We want laws around immigration, but we want dignity. We don’t need a hypermilitarized, paramilitary group chasing people through the streets, terrorizing communities, churches, schools, and families.”
His personal experiences also inform his healthcare agenda.
“When we talk about healthcare, my experience growing up on Medicaid is seeing the failure of the government to expand Medicaid here in Florida, and now we’re seeing cuts from the Trump administration. I’m not just looking at statistics or numbers on paper — this is based on lived experience. I know how the people in this district are going to be hurt by these policies because I’ve lived it.”
California Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, who has generated early buzz as a potential 2028 presidential contender for his “progressive capitalist” approach to governing, has endorsed Manley’s campaign, giving the first-time congressional candidate one of his highest-profile endorsements.
Manley faces six other Democrats in the primary, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, along with four Republican candidates in the general election field. Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress ahead of a potential expulsion and is running again while facing federal criminal charges.
Despite running as the youngest candidate in the field, Manley said he hopes voters leave the race remembering one thing above all else.
“I want people to remember bold and authentic leadership. I want them to know I’m running because I’ve been through what people are going through right now — and it’s not that I’ve been through it, I’m actually still going through it. We need bold people who are going to fight for everybody and stand up for what’s right, and that’s what I hope voters see when they go to the polls.”
Florida
Former Fla. gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum arrested on drug charges
Democrat narrowly lost to DeSantis in 2018, later came out as bisexual
Andrew Gillum, the former Democratic nominee for governor of Florida and former mayor of Tallahassee, was arrested on drug possession charges in Alabama last week.
Police in Daphne, Ala., said they pulled Gillum over for erratic driving and found marijuana and methamphetamine in his vehicle. He was charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance, according to the Daphne Police Department. Jail records show he was arrested on July 2 and released on July 3, the Associated Press reports.
Gillum, the first Black nominee of a major political party for governor in Florida, lost the 2018 election to current Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in a highly contentious race.
Once considered a rising star in national politics, Gillum served in Tallahassee’s local government, first as a city commissioner and then as mayor of Florida’s capital from 2014- 2018.
The Daphne Police Department said officers stopped Gillum’s vehicle around 10:45 p.m. and initiated a probable cause search after one officer noticed a glass pipe on the center console.
During the search, officers found several rolled marijuana cigarettes and three packages containing a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, police said.
The day after his arrest he was charged with possession of dangerous drugs, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of marijuana.
In 2020, Gillum was involved in a similar incident when he was found in a Miami Beach, Fla., hotel room with a man identified as an escort who had apparently overdosed on drugs. Police also found three bags of suspected crystal methamphetamine in the room. The man survived, and no one was ever charged with a crime.
Later that year, Gillum came out as bisexual during an appearance on “The Tamron Hall Show,” where he discussed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and his decision to seek treatment following the 2020 incident.
In the same interview he shed light onto this, saying his substance use was a byproduct of the emotional struggles he experienced after losing the 2018 gubernatorial race to DeSantis.
This is not the first time Gillum has faced legal scrutiny.
During his 2014 mayoral campaign, he faced allegations of misconduct after hiring private equity investor Adam Corey as his campaign treasurer, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest. However, the FBI ultimately concluded there was no conflict of interest.
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia murder suspect remains at large
Two killed, one injured in attacks motivated by victims’ sexual orientation
Police seek the public’s support in finding a suspect wanted in connection with three Philadelphia shootings, including two murders, who may have targeted his victims because they were gay. All three shootings took place near Hunting Park Recreation Center between May 29 and June 26.
The suspect is 21-year-old Jahylin Melchur, who has not been located by police and is not in police custody as of July 7. Police seek the public’s support in tracking down the suspect, whose image was captured on surveillance cameras. Previous reporting underlined that Melchur should be considered armed and dangerous.
Each of the victims was found partially clothed between 10 and 11 p.m.
On May 29, a 55-year-old in Juniata Park was found two miles from the rec center. The victim, who survived the encounter with critical injuries, said a man approached him and announced his intention to rob him, before shooting him in the elbow and torso.
Martin Higgins, 45, was pronounced dead on the bleachers of the rec center’s baseball field on June 20, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Sharef Holman, 29, was found near the basketball courts on June 26, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Temple University Hospital but died shortly thereafter.
Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore declined to answer the Philadelphia Inquirer’s question regarding whether the victims may have met Melchur on a dating app, citing the ongoing investigation. Sources told the Philadelphia Inquirer that investigators are exploring this possibility
Although robbery may be at least part of the motive in the first shooting, other movies are unclear.
NBC10 reported that law enforcement sources told the station all three victims were targeted because they were gay, but the Philadelphia Police Department did not confirm this.
The Philadelphia Police Department replied to PGN’s questions with an email stating, “This remains a very active investigation, and investigators are looking at all aspects of the case, including underlying motivations for committing these crimes.
“At this point, we can confirm that Melchur is wanted for two homicides by shooting and one non-fatal shooting, all of which occurred in the Hunting Park area.
“The investigation has not established that the victims were specifically targeted because of their sexual orientation.”
The Philadelphia Police Department is urging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or submit an anonymous tip by calling the PPD Tip Line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
(This story is republished with permission of the Philadelphia Gay News.)
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