By: Ben Smith
President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign is
banking on gay donors to make up the cash it’s losing from other groups of
wealthy supporters who have been alienated and disappointed by elements of
Obama’s first term.
Pleased by an all-out White House push to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” gay
donors have surprised campaign officials with the extent of their support. And
the campaign’s new fundraising apparatus appears designed to capitalize on
their enthusiasm: Obama’s finance committee included one gay man in 2008; there
are 15 this year, a source said.
The Obama campaign finance director, Rufus
Gifford, was a top California gay fundraiser; the DNC finance chairman, Andrew
Tobias, is gay; and the White House social secretary – traditionally a key, if
unofficial, fundraising job – is also a gay man, Jeremy Bernard.
The spur for the gay community becoming an
anchor for Obama’s re-election fundraising is a series of policy shifts in
2010. After a year of rocky relations and suspicion from Obama’s gay supporters
that he wasn’t really committed to their issues, the last year saw a surge in
activity.
Along with the high-profile repeal of the
military ban, Obama’s Justice Department recently refused to defend the Defense
of Marriage Act. And the administration has taken smaller steps, like gay
partner hospital visits and hate crimes legislation, concrete and important
gestures that simply weren’t made during the Bush administration.
“It’s ironic – a year ago there was no
constituency more unhappy. There was a sea change,” said David Mixner, a
veteran New York gay activist, who said that White House actions during the
past year had swayed restive gay donors. “You not only will see a united
community that will contribute to Obama, but they will work their asses off.”
Professional gay men, with a personal stake in
politics and less likely to have children or college funds that would consume
their disposable income, have long been key to Democratic fundraising. A rarely-told
story of Howard Dean’s 2004 rise, for instance, was his early, blockbuster
fundraising from gay donors who appreciated his support for civil unions, then
a cutting-edge policy.