I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I'm seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator. If I'd been questioned, I would have concocted half truths. What a shame to have to lie at a celebration of pride. I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. I want to take a stand and say, "Me, too." -Jason Collins, NBA Center
Here's a Second Look at the Best Lines from Obama and Conan at the White House of the Night:
First Obama spoke -
1. 42sec “Rush Limbaugh warned you about this, second term baby.”
2. 2:34 “I’m not the strapping young Muslim Socialist I used to be.”
3. 4:30 ("I got 99 problems now Jay-z's one")“....That’s another rap reference.”
4. 7:30 (On the History Channel's absence) “...I guess they were embarrassed about the whole Obama is a devil thing—that’s never stopped Fox News from showing up.”
5. 12:00 “I proposed a toast—it died in committee.”
6. 12:30 “Why don’t you get drink with Mitch McConnell, they ask. Really? Why don’t you get a drink with Mitch McConnell.”
7. 15:10 (on presidential libraries) “…some suggest we put it in my birthplace but I rather keep it in the United States.”
Then Conan took the mic (and gavel).
1. 1:35 “The President is hard at work creating jobs…since first elected the number of popes elected has doubled.”
2. 4:30 “There’s a gavel here and I don’t know why” (proceeds to use gavel sporadically through out speech).
3. 4:35 “Everything you ate tonight was personally shot by Wayne LaPierre. Don't worry, it was during a home invasion.”
4. 7:50 “No offense, Mr. President... but as a late-night comedian, I was kind of pulling for the rich guy whose horse danced in the Olympics.”
5. 8:08 “I look forward to hosting this event in 18 years where my opening line will be: (proceeds to address the crowd in Espanol).
6. 9:36 “If the President laughs, everybody laughs. And if the Fox News table laughs, a little girl just fell off her bike.”
7. 12:00 “CNN has made some very odd moves, for example, they replaced the popular Larry King with one of the scheming footmen from Downton Abbey.”
8. 13:05 (on O’Reilly’s new book) “…it’ll be the first time in history Jesus’ death will be blamed on Obama Care.”
15:00*The Media's Nerd Prom - the groups in the High School Cafeteria.
9. 19:50 “What Kim Jong Un doesn’t understand… is we already have an unstable peninsula that will ultimately bring down America, it’s called Florida.”
10. 20:15 (on Obama) “…we all know that as a child he lived in Indonesia, studied at Muslim seminary, and occasionally ate dog. So clearly, from the beginning he was a kid who had his eye set on the US Presidency.”
Today, Democracy for America (DFA) is announcing its endorsement of Kathleen Murphy in the Delegate Race in the VA-34. Murphy is the third of DFA's five planned endorsements in its prestigious Purple to Blue Project in Virginia.
“Delegate Barbara Comstock is one of the most virulently anti-choice members of the VA House of Delegates and radically out of step with mainstream Virginia. Democracy for America is incredibly proud to support Kathleen Murphy and our 21,000 members in Virginia and 1 million members across the country look forward to providing her with the resources and boots on the ground to beat Comstock and bring common sense progressive values back to Richmond.” -- Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America.
DFA's Purple to Blue Project, launched last month, is a national, multi-year effort to win state House and Senate chambers across the country by making so-called “purple” state legislative seats decisively Democratic.
Democracy for America is also releasing polling in the three Purple to Blue races it has endorsed in thus far -- VA-86, VA-87 and the VA-34.
“As our polling shows, voters in our Purple to Blue targeted delegate districts are sick and tired of the tea party extremism they see coming out of Richmond and hungry for change. Given their strong, early fundraising numbers and these impressive polling results, we’re confident our Purple to Blue endorsed candidates have what it takes to tie Ken Cucinelli’s radical, right-wing agenda to their opponents and beat them decisively in November.” -- Nick Passanante, Purple to Blue Project Director, Democracy for America
See the polling memo from Public Policy Polling here.
Earlier this month, we partnered with DFA-Fairfield County, the Shoreline League of Democratic Women, Wesleyan University Democrats, the Connecticut Democratic Party to bring our nationally renowned Campaign Academy back to Middletown, CT!
During the weekend, DFA-Fairfield County interviewed elected officials, training participants and DFA staff. The interviews were being shot for a weekly public broadcasting segment and sponsored by Democracy for America -- Fairfield County. Check out what folks had to say about the training and politics in general.
You can find out more about our training program here.
Max Baucus has always been hated by us progressives, but it was his vote against background checks that was the final straw. See what Howard Dean predicted last week:
0:01 The Governor goes right for the juglar and makes a bold prediction
0:13 Howard Dean names who Max Bacaus' replacement is going to be.
0:36 He takes Joe to school on the electoral politics of Montana
Earlier today, Howard Dean has a slight humble brag on Morning Joe
0:04 "I called this a week ago"
0:13 Howard Dean gives the most accurate description of Max Baucus there is.
1:38 He tells us why an advocate for single payer healthcare can win in Montana.
