New York gay activists have been the beneficiaries of an extraordinary run of luck in the last year. It's inspiring some schadenfreude.
Schadenfreude, though, that's a big word, what's it mean, again?
Gary explains schadenfreude to Nikki in the Broadway hit show Avenue Q:
Gary: Right now you are down and out
And feelin' really crappy.
Nikki: I’ll say.
Gary: And when I see how sad you are,
It sorta makes me happy.
Nikki: Happy?
Gary: Sorry Nikki.
Human nature-
Nothing I can do.
It’s Schadenfreude
Making me feel glad that I’m not you.
Nikki: Now that’s not very nice Gary.
Gary: I didn’t say it was nice,
But everybody does it. [...]
Nikki: Oh. Schadenfreude, huh? What’s that? Some kind of Nazi word?
Gary: Yup. It’s German for ‘happiness at the misfortune of others’.
Nikki: ‘Happiness at the misfortune of others’
That is German!
Some background: The failure of the marriage equality bill in the New York Senate in 2009 broke a lot of hearts. The bill failed by 8 votes. And to add insult to injury, the Democratic caucus failed to deliver exactly 8 votes. Some of the very same Democratic Senators that benefited from the money, volunteers and votes of LGBT community and their organizations voted against it. The gay organizations strategized to help the Democratic party of New York--after time immemorial of being in the minority--to finally win majority control of the State Senate. And in 2008, they did. And then came the betrayal.
Where once there were 8 traitors among the Democratic ranks, now it may soon be winnowed down to merely two. More details at The Albany Project.
Hiriam Monserrate
Ready to Rumble in the Bronx, Senator Monserrate.
First there was Hiram Monserrate. After casting a vote preserving the option to marry to only a man and
his domestically-abused-coerced-into-silence-female-mate, a woman,
he is expelled from the Senate. Not for his vote, but for an altercation with his girlfriend that culminated in a felony assault charges. The girlfriend refused to cooperate with the prosecution and he escaped the felony conviction, but not the misdemeanor assault.
Monserrate was notorious for more than his home life, he was widely regarded as politically corrupt as well, and and recently faced a two-count Federal indictment. Like a bad penny, and keeps turning back up. After expulsion he made a play for a vacated Assembly seat, and was met with an unceremonious TKO in the primary by an alliance of gay activists and voters concerned with keeping corrupt politicians out for good.
Carl Kruger
The Empire State tongues wagged at the news another "traditional values" Democrat would be
turning himself into the US Attorney's office to face bribery charges. That would be Senator Carl Kruger. You can't sway his vote, but apparently you can buy it.
Surprising almost no one, it turned out his gay lover was also implicated. It was the worst kept secret in the Empire State. Though activists had sought mightily to "out" the closet-case homophobe, the mainstream press felt it was impolite to report this until the Federal authorities confirmed it for them.
Really, how could anyone have known? Isn't this how most straight middle-aged unmarried men enjoy spending their birthday? Entertained by flamboyantly gay reality TV stars hulu-hooping for their entertainment? (Reports are he thanked Leonard the Magnificent but was heard muttering "no homo" afterward.)
Senator Kruger admires the "talents" of Leonard the Magnificent at his last birthday party.
Senator Kruger's longtime companion also stands accused of being in cahoots in the money-laundering and bribery scheme. It's a pity the Senator can't rely on a justice system that recognizes same-sex spousal subpoena immunity. But, the political establishment seems hellbent on withholding that kind of equal protection under the law from gay people. If only someone could fix that for poor Senator Kruger.
Shirley Huntley
And then there's Shirley Huntley. After voting no, she faced a contentious primary battle, funded by LGBT community and their allies. Things got rather unpleasant and like Monserrate before her, she resorted to distributing homophobic flyers. She even made dubious claims of death threats she attributed to "the gays."
Huntley was quoted as saying about marriage equality: “If they gave me a million dollars, tax free, I just wouldn’t vote for it.” Apparently the Senator's price for betraying the public trust is considerably lower than a million bucks.
A Human Rights Campaign primary mailer targeting Senator Huntley,
and references the corruption the US Attorney office is currently investigating.
The US attorney's office is also now investigating if her commitment to "family values" extends to siphoning hundreds of thousands of valuable taxpayer dollars into the hands of her own family. Shirley has overseen the transfer of state money into a "charity" that was conveniently created shortly before her initial election to the Senate and just happens to be run by herself and her daughter.
The NY LGBT community tried mightily to remove regressive anti-equality politicians from office in 2010, and had some success. Nice to see the forces of criminal justice doing what the voters wouldn't, taking out the trash.
But is it really just dumb luck? Or are we NOT surprised that politicians who are indifferent to the continued discrimination of their constituents--discrimination they have the power to correct--are also indifferent to violence, theft, corruption and flagrant betrayal of the trust voters placed on them?
Now, all we need is the Good and Pious Reverend and Senator Rueben Diaz to get caught with a transvestite hooker (you know it's coming) and our day will be made.
But, Does The Fall Of These Foes Add Up To Marriage Equality?
It's foolish to even try and predict if Kruger and Huntley still will be around for a marriage equality vote, anticipated possibly in June. Stories like this can easily blow-over or blow-up (although a close examination Kruger's situation indicates it's not a question of
if he leaves, but
when). If they remain for the vote, will they, perhaps, be more persuadable that the time is right to stick close to their party friends, rather than undermine them?
Of course, there's no guarantee even if they are gone and replaced by vote time, their replacements will be marriage equality supporters. Although, in my opinion, the Democratic Party would be wise to consider continued failure to deliver marriage equality will only assure the party will face ugly, expensive, divisive primary fights in the 2012 cycle as they did in 2010. These resources could be better spent in a unified effort to defeat Republicans in the General.
The bigger picture of the promise of marriage equality in Empire State in 2011 is a little mixed. The election cycle of 2010 saw a net gain of probably two, maybe three votes in the Democratic Senate caucus, but overall, a loss of Democratic seats, and majority control returned to the Republicans again.
But GOP Senate Leader Dean Skelos has expressed several times he will allow the marriage equality bill to come to a vote, and the Republican caucus is free to vote their conscience, as was the case in 2009.
Even if the Democratic caucus can find unity there's no way around having to pick up Republican votes. This is not unheard of in State Senates and even New York's own House Assembly delivered five Republican marriage equality votes in 2009. (So, GOProud? Log Cabiners? Time to deliver! Paging former Republican National Committee Chairman, and current New Yorker, Ken Mehlman! Report to Albany! STAT! Counselor Ted Olson? Care to pipe in with a conservative argument for equality under the law?)
This just in! Activists have what appears to be a very smart plan! From City Hall News: Bloomberg To Be Asked To Lobby Senate Republicans On Gay Equality
Marriage equality advocates are weighing a new strategy to target specific Senate Republicans, which will involve lobbying efforts by major campaign donors, celebrities and a certain billionaire mayor, according to a source closely involved with the planning.
Michael Bloomberg, who favors marriage equality, has promised advocates to do anything in his power to help push the issue. And those close to the planning say they plan on asking Bloomberg to appeal directly to fence-sitting Senate Republicans, whom he has donated more than $650,000 during this past election cycle, and over $1 million since 2007.
Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said he thought Bloomberg’s lobbying could help move the issue forward.
“If the mayor, who has been supportive of equality for all of his career, wants to do this then he should,” Sheinkopf said. “He who has the gold makes the rules, and in this case he has the gold and maybe he can make some new rules.”
Candidate Cuomo in New York City's
Gay Pride March, June 2010.
A recurrent theme I'm hearing from a variety of insiders is the quality of Governor Andrew Cuomo's leadership is likely to be a key, deciding factor. Candidate Cuomo promised to make marriage equality
"a priority" for his administration. If he is willing to really go to the mat, twist arms, horse-trade, and spend real political capital toward the goal then New York may reclaim
a proud place of progressive leadership in the country in 2011.
But, if Governor Cuomo is hands off, or expends more effort for the cameras than the actual chambers of the legislature, or the phones? If he's not a tough negotiator, and allows the crew in Albany to conduct business as usual? Well, then the prognosis is probably grim.
What If You're Not The Governor Or Mayor?
Not everyone has the Senators' and Assembly Representatives' numbers on speed-dial, or any real power to strong-arm them. But you can join Marriage Equality New York, Empire State Pride Agenda and others in Albany for LGBT Equality and Justice Day on May 9. The agenda includes outreach and education to Senators and Assembly members on behalf of marriage equality and GENDA, a bill extending legal discrimination protection to gender identity and expression (which shamefully, New York does not have).
The grassroots has already shown real engagement. On February 8, Marriage Equality New York organized their biggest action to date. Over 300 participated from all corners of the state, visiting 60 of the state's 62 Senate offices and countless Assembly members and staff.
Marriage equality will arrive in New York state only if the call for it, from all quarters is just too broad and too loud to be ignored. I leave you with fortunate son of New York, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.