The Democratic Party establishment's behavior is being called called “shameful” in the handling of North Carolina Senate candidate Jim Neal's recent disclosure that he is gay.
The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Independent Weekly reports: “‘Shameful' is how Pam Spaulding, a Durham activist, puts it. Spaulding's blog, Pam's House Blend, is one of the most read gay-advocacy Web sites in the country. ‘The complete lack of institutional respect for Jim Neal's candidacy based on his orientation,' she says, ‘shows the two-faced nature of the Democratic party.' They want gay votes, she says. But they don't want gay candidates. Spaulding points specifically to the national Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and its chair, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who for unknown reasons wouldn't return Neal's phone calls. ‘The cause,' Neal said, ‘is that I'm not Washington's choice. I'm not Chuck Schumer's choice.'”
Jim Neal's Senate bid stirs Dems [independent weekly]
Jim Neal coverage [ pam's house blend]
Recently
Jim Neal, Challenger to Elizabeth Dole in NC, Says He is Gay [tr]
