Washington, DC -
Today, the Stonewall Democrats released the following statement on the
announcement of the intention of Senator Arlen Specter (PA) to join the
Democratic Party:
"Stonewall Democrats welcomes Senator Arlen Specter to the Democratic
Party. As evidenced by his statement, a key factor in Senator
Specter's decision to leave the Republican Party was change in
political attitudes of Pennsylvanians - a change ushered in with the
help of Stonewall Democrats in Pennsylvania and chapters such as the
Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Capital Region Stonewall Democrats and
the Liberty City Democratic Club.
Stonewall
Democrats across the country now have a role to help shape and hold
accountable Senator Specter on pro-equality legislation before the U.S.
Senate. These legislative efforts include fully-inclusive employment
non-discrimination legislation, employee free choice, fully-inclusive
hate crimes legislation, family and relationship recognition for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, healthcare reform
that reflects the needs of LGBT people, immigration equality, and other
pieces of legislation to bring full equality under the law for all
Americans.
Being a Democrat is about more
than selecting a political affiliation or having to get through a
primary election to win public office. Being a Democrat means upholding
the basic American ideals that all people should be treated fairly,
every one of us should have an equal opportunity to succeed, and that
government has the power help people help themselves.
We hope the reexamination of Senator Specter's political affiliation
will serve as a wake-up call to the Republican Party. The wedge issues
that many Republicans have used in the past are not the politics of the
future."
- Jon Hoadley, Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats
Today, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announced his intentions
to leave the Republican Party in order to become a Democrat. A
five-term Senator, Specter cited the rightward lurch of the Republican
Party over recent years that have made it out of touch with mainstream
concerns. In part, the statement released from Senator Specter reads:
"Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the
Republican Party has moved far to the right. Last year, more than
200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to
become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with
Democrats than Republicans."
In 2005, Stonewall Democrats worked with local advocates to launch
Liberty PA, a statewide campaign to build support for Democratic
candidates across the state. The program, headed by local Stonewall
Democrats chapters, lead to the defeat of incumbent Republican Senator
Rick Santorum and the election of Democratic Senator Bob Casey along
with new Democratic members of the United States House of
Representatives.
Stonewall Democrats was
the first national grassroots organization to put staff on the ground
and dedicate financial resources during the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign
in Pennsylvania.With more than 120 local chapters the Stonewall
Democrats is the national organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender (LGBT) and allied Democrats. Stonewall Democrats works to
elect pro-equality Democrats to public office and improve the
Democratic Party on issues important to pro-equality Americans.
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