The Harris book had a remarkable passage that got not a huge amount of coverage
Her discussion of wanting Pete Buttigieg as her running mate but fearing that the combination of her and him would be too much for America is really remarkable. It is the epitome of a glass half full/ glass half empty moment. I was born in 1967, in an America in which sodomy was illegal in every state except IL. Those sodomy laws were upheld by the Supreme court in 1986. Openly gay professionals were rare. Openly gay entertainers were rare. Elton John was still in the closet.
It is breath taking that less than 60 years later, an openly gay man was seriously considered for a major party nomination for Vice President. He couldn't serve openly in the military until 2010, he could be fired from his job in many states until 2020. The fact is many talent gay men and lesbian women were unable to fully recognize those talents publicly for decades. It is simply amazing that Mayor Pete was so close to being on a national ticket. It is also sad that had he been straight he would have been on that ticket. And sadder still, that I fully understand why she behaved the way she did. She may well have been right.
My openly gay uncle would be 91 this year. He was out in the America of the McCarthy era. He died before I was born. I honestly wonder what he would be saying if he were alive today. He was, by all accounts, a truly brilliant man. He was also, by all accounts, deep in addiction and mentally ill. The latter traits are what eventually caught up with him.
It had to have been unimaginable that someday an openly gay man would be considered for a national ticket. Will I live to see a gay person on a major party ticket, I have no idea. Realistically given how my family lifespan is 2048 or maybe 2052 will be my last election at best. Harris' book tells me how achingly close we came to seeing it in 2024. It also tells us how far we came from it.
I will say the teacher, and gay straight alliance advisor in me, was so proud of Governor Walz. People like him and so many other allies helped us get to where Buttigieg was in the position he was in. A literal football coach using that privilege to shelter a minority was true allyship. He stayed that true ally during the entirety of his political career so far. I am by no means upset he was Harris' choice. But I will say, we came so close to seeing a queer person on a major party ticket. So close, yet so far.
In the final analysis, I don't know if the glass is half full or half empty. Sadly, those days seem so far away, thanks to how awful Trump's Presidency has been.
I guess I will let Whitney finish my post.
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