Six gay speakers took the podium during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, but only one gay speaker — Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.)— has been confirmed to talk during this year’s convention in Denver. (File photo)
All eyes on Denver as Dems seek unity Record number of openly gay delegates to participate in convention
Tens
of
thousands
of
Democrats,
including
an
estimated
360
openly
gay
participants,
will
flock
to
Denver
next
week
for
the
2008
Democratic
National
Convention.
Convention
delegates
are
set
to
participate
in
caucuses
and
hear
speeches
from
party
leaders.
The
4,400
delegates,
including
about
277
gay
delegates
including
eight
from
Georgia,
are
expected
to
anoint
Barack
Obama
as
the
party’s
nominee
for
the
presidential
race,
but
only
after
Hillary
Clinton’s
name
is
placed
in
nomination.
On
Monday,
Michelle
Obama
will
be
the
headline
primetime
speaker.
U.S.
House
Speaker
Nancy
Pelosi
is
also
scheduled
to
talk.
A
tribute
to
ailing
Sen.
Edward
Kennedy
(D-Mass.),
a
lead
sponsor
for
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
and
hate
crimes
legislation
in
the
Senate,
also
is
planned
for
Monday.
On
Tuesday,
former
presidential
candidate
Sen.
Hillary
Clinton
(D-N.Y.)
will
be
the
headline
primetime
speaker.
Other
featured
speakers
are
Mass.
Gov.
Deval
Patrick
(D)
and
Kansas
Gov.
Kathleen
Sebelius
(D).
Former
Virginia
Gov.
Mark
Warner
(D),
who
is
running
for
the
open
U.S.
Senate
seat
in
Virginia,
will
give
the
convention’s
keynote
address.
Warner
spokesperson
Kevin
Hall
said
Warner
is
still
working
on
his
speech,
but
the
former
governor
intends
to
“talk
about
bringing
people
together
and
giving
individuals
and
communities
the
tools
they
need
to
compete
in
a
global
economy.”
On
Wednesday,
featured
speakers
will
include
former
President
Bill
Clinton,
Senate
Majority
Leader
Harry
Reid
(D),
New
Mexico
Gov.
Bill
Richardson
(D),
Sen.
Evan
Bayh
(D-Ind.)
and
Sen.
Joe
Biden
(D-Del.).
Obama’s
running
mate,
who
had
not
yet
been
announced
as
of
Blade
press
time,
is
also
slated
to
talk.
The
roll-call
vote
for
the
nomination
the
will
also
take
place
Wednesday.
Delegates
are
expected
to
nominate
Obama,
but
Hillary
Clinton’s
name
will
also
be
placed
in
nomination.
On
Thursday,
Obama
plans
to
give
his
acceptance
speech
at
Invesco
Field
at
Mile
High,
the
football
stadium
for
the
Denver
Broncos.
The
stadium
seats
about
76,000
people.
As
of
Wednesday,
the
number
of
gay
speakers
scheduled
to
talk
on
the
floor
is
fewer
than
the
number
of
gays
who
spoke
at
the
convention
in
2004.
The
2004
convention
in
Boston
featured
six
openly
gay
speakers,
but
only
one
gay
speaker
was
slated
to
talk
in
Denver
this
year
as
of
press
time
Aug.
20:
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.),
the
only
out
lesbian
in
Congress,
is
co-chair
of
Obama’s
gay
steering
and
policy
committee.
Baldwin,
who
plans
to
speak
Tuesday
night,
is
not
expected
to
focus
on
gay
issues
and
will
talk
instead
about
women
and
health
care.
She
is
scheduled
to
share
her
time
with
Rep.
Nydia
Velazquez
(D-N.Y.),
Rep.
Linda
Sanchez
(D-Calif.)
and
Del.
Eleanor
Holmes
Norton
(D-D.C.).
Baldwin
spokesperson
Jerilyn
Goodman
said
the
lawmaker
is
still
working
on
her
speech,
which
is
expected
to
focus
on
how
the
high
cost
of
health
care
is
detrimental
to
women,
and
could
not
say
whether
gay
issues
would
be
mentioned.
In
2004,
Baldwin
similarly
held
a
primetime
speaking
slot
and
talked
about
health
care
and
did
not
discuss
gay
issues,
although
she
did
say
health
care
coverage
should
include
“domestic
partners.”
The
other
gay
speakers
in
2004
were
U.S.
Rep.
Barney
Frank
(D-Mass.);
Cheryl
Jacques,
then-president
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign;
Andy
Tobias,
treasurer
of
the
Democratic
National
Committee;
Roberta
Achtenberg,
a
civil
rights
attorney
and
assistant
secretary
of
housing
for
President
Clinton;
and
Jim
Stork,
a
Florida
candidate
for
Congress
who
later
quit
his
race
because
of
a
heart
condition.
HRC
spokesperson
Trevor
Thomas
said
current
president
Joe
Solmonese
will
not
speak
at
the
convention
this
year.
Tobias
said
the
schedule
for
the
convention
had
not
yet
been
finalized
and
he
expects
more
gay
speakers
would
be
invited
to
talk.
“If
[it]
turns
out
there’s
only
one,
that
will
be
odd,
and
I
don’t
think
that’s
likely
to
happen,”
he
said.
For
the
2004
convention,
Tobias
said
he
didn’t
receive
notice
that
was
he
invited
to
speak
until
about
two
days
before
he
arrived
on
site.
“This
is
chaotic,
they’re
trying
to
figure
out
a
billion
things
with
55,000
people
coming,”
he
said.
“So
I
think
they
start
with
things
like
the
main
speakers,
and
Tammy
is
a
big
deal.”
A
major
component
of
the
convention
Wednesday
will
be
the
address
from
Obama’s
running
mate.
A
number
of
Democrats
are
said
to
be
on
Obama’s
short
list
for
the
position,
including
Virginia
Gov.
Tim
Kaine,
Bayh,
and
Biden.
Dan
Pinello,
a
gay
political
science
professor
at
the
City
University
of
New
York,
said
he
didn’t
think
it
was
unusual
for
Obama
to
wait
until
the
eve
of
the
convention
to
announce
his
running
mate
choice.
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