Philadelphia's Liberty City Democratic Club, one of
three Pennsylvania chapters of the National Stonewall
Democrats, has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.
Stonewall's Steel City Democratic Club in
Pittsburgh had previously endorsed Clinton while the Capital
Region Club in Harrisburg has not voted on the matter.
Though Clinton
clinched the endorsement with more than two thirds of
the vote, the Sunday night meeting was not without
contention. Both cochairs of Liberty City are Obama
supporters, and according to Clinton supporter
Jonathan Oriole, who attended the meeting, discussion ensued
about postponing the vote or potentially not endorsing a
candidate at all.
"If we
chose not to endorse in this race, we might as well not
endorse in any race," said Oriole, adding,
"I spoke about this being our job."
One Liberty City
cochair, who asked not to be identified for this story,
said the club was pleased to make an endorsement based on
the wishes of the membership.
In a prepared
statement from her campaign, Clinton said, "I am
honored to receive the support of the Liberty
Democratic Club. LGBT Americans have been a part of
this campaign from the start and I look forward to working
with members of the Liberty Democratic Club to ensure that
their voices are heard in this important Pennsylvania
primary."
Clinton must log
a decisive win in the Keystone State's April 22
primary in order to build a case for why she should be
the Democratic nominee. Obama has more pledged
delegates (those allotted by state votes) and
currently leads in the popular vote. Pundits generally agree
that she will need a solid string of wins in other
states that have yet to vote, plus an upset in at
least one state where Obama is expected to win, such
as North Carolina or Oregon. Because it is mathematically
impossible for either candidate to secure the
nomination through pledged delegates alone, both
candidates are directing their message at the 300-plus
superdelegates who remain uncommitted and hold the key
to the nomination.
LGBT activists in
Pennsylvania have a number of competing interests in
the Democratic race. While two of the three Stonewall
chapters have endorsed Clinton, Obama's
national LGBT policy chair, Tobias Wolff, is based in
Philadelphia, and the state's highest-ranking LGBT
official, Stephen Glassman, also supports Obama.
Oriole, who has
volunteered for Clinton in New Hampshire, Texas, New
York, New Jersey, and Delaware, said the situation in
Pennsylvania is uncharted territory for him. Prior to
the Clinton campaign having paid staffers in the
state, he said people had already begun taking initiative
in terms of organizing.
"I've never been in this kind of campaign
before. I've always been involved in top-down
campaigns," said Oriole. "The challenge for
both us and the campaign is how do we encourage people
to continue to take initiative while not overlapping
or stepping on each other toes." (Kerry
Eleveld, The Advocate)
