Voters in Wisconsin sent openly gay
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin a strong message Tuesday night: We like
you, we really like you. And why not. The soft-spoken, articulate
Baldwin has been working hard for the voters of her district for ten
years.
Baldwin became the first openly gay
person elected to the House in 1998. (Massachusetts Representative
Barney Frank acknowledged he was gay while serving his second term.)
Baldwin is also the first female representative elected from
Wisconsin.
In 2009, Baldwin and Frank will be
joined by Colorado's Jared Polis, the first openly gay man to be
elected to the House.
Speaking to OUTTAKEonline.com CEO
Charlotte Robinson, Baldwin talks about President-elect Barack Obama,
her reactions to passage of anti-gay initiatives and, of course, her
new gay colleague Jared Polis.
Referring to the incoming
administration as “a time of extraordinary opportunity,” Baldwin
believes Obama to be solidly supportive of issues important to gays
and lesbians.
“We can begin to judge this
president-elect by the kind of campaign he has run and it has been an
extraordinarily inclusive and diverse campaign. And I expect that
that will be characteristic of the administration that he puts
together.”
Baldwin pegs the Matthew Shepard Hate
Crimes Act as the likely first
GLBT legislative effort of the new Congress. The bill has previously
passed both houses of Congress, but faced a threatened presidential
veto from George Bush. Obama, however, has pledged his support for
the bill.
Discussing Tuesday's gay marriage ban
amendment sweep in California, Arizona and Florida, Baldwin said the
results were “sad,” “distressing” and “unacceptable,” but
stressed that there is room for optimism in states such as New York
and New Jersey.
And while Baldwin praised Polis' big
win in Colorado – saying Polis will bring a new “energy” and
“perspective” to Congress – she lamented the loss of openly gay
Linda Ketner in South Carolina.
“Linda Ketner mounted a challenge to
what most people would agree is a well-entrenched Republican
incumbent,” Baldwin said. “She really made some history there
[running as an openly gay candidate in the deep south]. And while
she came up short, I'm very proud of her strong candidacy and think
she has helped create a path for others to follow. And that's
noteworthy in and of itself.”
Listen to the entire audio interview at
OUTTAKEOnline.com.