Five years ago, back when the transgender rights movement in Illinois was in its infancy, I remember discussing political endorsements with some of my colleagues at It's Time Illinois. After a long and tedious debate, we finally concluded that we should publicly endorse only those candidates that we wanted to lose. You see, at that time we reasoned that an endorsement from a transgender organization would be seen not as an asset, but as a liability. A few months ago, I related that story to Jan Schakowsky. We were both recipients of awards at GenderPAC's first annual Congressional Gala in Washington DC. Jan was shocked when I told her that. She said, "Miranda, never sell yourself short! Anyone would be proud to have your endorsement, and would be honored to have you work on their campaign." We've come a long way since the dark days of the mid-90s, when a tranny wouldn't be caught dead in the light of day working for mainstream politics. Or maybe that's the only way a tranny would be caught. Nevertheless, I was quite surprised on that late spring day when I received a call from Lance Pressl. Lance is running for Congress in the 8th District, which is where I live. My district includes most of the Northwest suburbs of Cook County and western Lake County. Lance was looking for some help with his campaign against arch-conservative Phil Crane, who has occupied the seat in our district for 31 years. He wanted to meet with me and talk about ways we can help defeat Crane. Pressl is an impressive candidate. A fiscal conservative with a progressive social platform. |
He supports gay rights in employment and hate crime reform. And he supports many of the other issues that are important to me, including a woman's right to choose and sensible gun control. But the thing that impressed me the most was that he wasn't backing away from me because I am a transgender woman. And he wasn't courting my vote because I am a transgender woman. My gender didn't matter to him. What was important was that I represent a part of the political process, and part of the community that makes up his district. Regardless of the district you live in, regardless of how you identify, it is important for you to be a part of the political process. Politics play a vital role in the quality of your life. All of us are part of the political process, and together we can make the deciding difference in an election. Vote on November 7th! Since the day I met Lance Pressl, I've been following his campaign, and helping him out when I can by walking precincts, leafleting at train stations, and making phone calls. Last week I went to a League of Women Voter's Candidates Forum in Arlington Heights. This was one of the few times that Crane actually agreed to debate issues with Pressl. Crane is an unbelievable bag of wind. I have never seen an incumbent congressman bluster through questions the way that Phil Crane did at that forum. I had asked Crane and Pressl a question about the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would extend existing federal hate crimes laws to include gender, sexual orientation and disability. Crane acted like this was the first time he had ever heard the issue. He acted like he was totally unaware of the debate about hate crimes reform that has been going on in Congress for the past year. He was totally flustered, said he didn't understand the question, and asked to have it repeated. He claimed he was not familiar with the bill. Finally he said that, as a husband and father, he would support this bill. |
When it came Pressl's turn to answer the question, he said, "I am surprised that Congressman Crane doesn't understand the question since he voted against the bill just one month ago." The vote on a version of that bill came up September 13, and Crane did indeed vote against it. Pressl proceeded to state that he would support such a bill in a heartbeat, that hate crimes have no place in America, and that we all deserve the same protection under the law. Phil Crane lied to me that day! Two years ago, in 1998, I had asked him the same question at a town hall meeting in Barrington. He pled ignorance at that time as well. I stood there in that town hall meeting and explained to him exactly what the bill covered and how it was to be implemented. He asked his legislative assistant to make a note of the bill and to get back with me. A month later he wrote to me and told me that he had obtained copies of the bill in question as well as analytical material, that he had assigned it to his staff, and stated, "If [the hate crimes bill] comes to the Floor of the full House of Representatives for consideration, I can cast an informed vote on [that bill] and any amendments thereto." Crane certainly has a strange idea of "casting an informed vote" if he thinks he can vote "NO" and then simply deny any knowledge of the bill. Unfortunately, unless the bill has something to do with taxes or free trade, I don't think that Crane even bothers to inform himself about the issue. He just votes "NO." It really is time for a change in the 8th Congressional District. I am hoping voters will just say "NO" to Phil Crane, and "YES" to Lance Pressl, a man who really does care about making informed decisions about issues that affect our lives. |
Photo by Israel Wright, Copyright 2000, Lambda Publications,
Chicago