In a post that will surely upset the "We must not be divisive!" crowd, Andrew Sullivan questions the continued value of the Human Rights Campaign, noting that not only is there almost no information about last weekend's protests on their site, but also: "In the two decades of serious struggle for marriage equality, the Human Rights Campaign has been mostly absent, and when present, often passive or reactive. Here's a simple statistic that might help shake us out of complacency: HRC claims to have spent $3.4 million on No On 8. The Mormon church was able to spend over $20 million, by appealing to its members. Why are non-gay Mormons more capable of organizing and fund-raising on a gay rights measure than the biggest national gay rights group?"
No on 8 campaign was in turmoil in last weeks
A week after California voters approved Proposition 8 and decreed they wanted to end same-sex marriage in the state, details are emerging of an opposition campaign that was in disarray.
Key staff members – including the campaign manager – were replaced in the final weeks as polls turned dramatically against the No side. Their replacements say they found an effort that was too timid, slow to react, without a radio campaign or a strategy to reach out to African Americans, a group that ultimately supported the measure by more than 2 to 1.
Gay marriage supporters are looking to the courts to overturn the decision. But if another political campaign is waged, said Dennis Mangers, co-chairman of the No on 8 Northern California Committee, "we'll have to do better."
No on 8 campaign manager Steve Smith was shoved aside three weeks before Election Day, after he was slow to counter TV ads in which the measure's supporters claimed that same-sex marriage would be promoted in schools if the measure failed.
Two Sacramento political consultants – Joe Rodota, a Republican, and Gale Kaufman, a Democrat – were brought in by the No campaign. Republican consultant Rick Claussen was asked for advice.
The campaign's public relations firm, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, was replaced by Sacramento-based Perry Communications Group.
"The campaign brought in pretty much who was available in Sacramento to really look at the message, ads – everything – to figure out what was going on," said Kassy Perry, the firm's president.
Perry said Smith remained with the campaign through the Nov. 4 election. But she never spoke to him and instead reported to Rodota, who brought her on board.
Smith, a former union political consultant and aide to Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, did not return calls made by The Bee in the final days of the campaign and this week.
Ali Bay, a spokeswoman for the No campaign, said campaign officials would not comment on the upheaval that occurred.
Perry said after taking over, the new team determined the campaign needed to clarify that a "yes" vote for Proposition 8 would end same-sex marriage. Many voters, she said, believed that by voting "yes," they were supporting same-sex marriage.
"If you look back at the early signage, it was all 'Equality For All' with a green check mark," she said. "When Rodota and his team came in, they turned it into a 'No' campaign with a big red check mark."
The Field Poll showed the measure trailing by 17 points in September before supporters began airing television ads that expanded their arguments beyond whether gay couples should be allowed to marry.
Warning that schools would incorporate same-sex marriage into lesson plans, supporters narrowed the deficit to five percentage points the week before the election.
After taking over, the No campaign's new team realized it had to forcefully rebut the Yes campaign's allegations. The old ad campaign was scrapped and a new one cast. Ads were run on radio for the first time, but by then the Yes campaign had been broadcasting radio ads for weeks.
Another $25 million was raised for ads in which state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and other school officials disputed that gay marriage would be promoted in classrooms if Proposition 8 passed.
"When we were brought on, (Yes on 8 campaign manager Frank) Schubert had an ad out there about indoctrinating children into gay marriage," Perry said. "It was out there for about three weeks, and there was no countering it."
Combined, the two sides roughly split the more than $73 million in contributions they raised. But opponents of the measure were not able to compete with the proponents' get-out-the vote effort, which was aided by 100,000 volunteers on Election Day.
A preliminary tally shows Proposition 8 won by 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. Exit polls indicate African Americans – spurred by Barack Obama's campaign for president – played a crucial role in the outcome.
But the No campaign made little effort to communicate with African Americans – even though blacks were among the staunchest supporters of the state's first gay marriage ban on the ballot, Proposition 22 in 2000, according to exit polls that year. Turning out in higher than normal numbers, 70 percent of black voters supported Proposition 8.
In the past week, second-guessing and finger-pointing have been rampant in the gay community and gay-oriented blogs.
The No campaign has been criticized for allowing the Yes on 8 campaign to dictate the debate, including allegations that children would be indoctrinated with homosexuality if the measure failed.
Michael Petrelis, a veteran AIDS activist in San Francisco, said the same charge was made in 1978 during the debate over the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gays from working in California's public schools.
"We've always had that deception, that canard, thrown at us," Petrelis said. "I don't think the No campaign confronted it forcefully."
Robin Tyler, a lesbian comic who created celebrity public service announcements with the slogan "Stop the Hate, No on 8" that were rejected, has called the campaign "timid."
Mangers of the No on 8 committee said Smith was besieged with criticism when he appeared Monday at a meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento. Mangers said Smith was "forthright and not defensive" during his appearance before the gay rights group.
One of the problems that Smith cited, according to Mangers, was that much of the campaign's money was raised too late to counter the Yes campaign's early ad blitz.
The morning after the election, Jeff Flint, a consultant for the Yes on 8 campaign, declared: "We did better with the late deciders, and we ran a better campaign."
Key staff members – including the campaign manager – were replaced in the final weeks as polls turned dramatically against the No side. Their replacements say they found an effort that was too timid, slow to react, without a radio campaign or a strategy to reach out to African Americans, a group that ultimately supported the measure by more than 2 to 1.Gay marriage supporters are looking to the courts to overturn the decision. But if another political campaign is waged, said Dennis Mangers, co-chairman of the No on 8 Northern California Committee, "we'll have to do better."
No on 8 campaign manager Steve Smith was shoved aside three weeks before Election Day, after he was slow to counter TV ads in which the measure's supporters claimed that same-sex marriage would be promoted in schools if the measure failed.
Two Sacramento political consultants – Joe Rodota, a Republican, and Gale Kaufman, a Democrat – were brought in by the No campaign. Republican consultant Rick Claussen was asked for advice.
The campaign's public relations firm, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, was replaced by Sacramento-based Perry Communications Group.
"The campaign brought in pretty much who was available in Sacramento to really look at the message, ads – everything – to figure out what was going on," said Kassy Perry, the firm's president.
Perry said Smith remained with the campaign through the Nov. 4 election. But she never spoke to him and instead reported to Rodota, who brought her on board.
Smith, a former union political consultant and aide to Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, did not return calls made by The Bee in the final days of the campaign and this week.
Ali Bay, a spokeswoman for the No campaign, said campaign officials would not comment on the upheaval that occurred.
Perry said after taking over, the new team determined the campaign needed to clarify that a "yes" vote for Proposition 8 would end same-sex marriage. Many voters, she said, believed that by voting "yes," they were supporting same-sex marriage.
"If you look back at the early signage, it was all 'Equality For All' with a green check mark," she said. "When Rodota and his team came in, they turned it into a 'No' campaign with a big red check mark."
The Field Poll showed the measure trailing by 17 points in September before supporters began airing television ads that expanded their arguments beyond whether gay couples should be allowed to marry.
Warning that schools would incorporate same-sex marriage into lesson plans, supporters narrowed the deficit to five percentage points the week before the election.
After taking over, the No campaign's new team realized it had to forcefully rebut the Yes campaign's allegations. The old ad campaign was scrapped and a new one cast. Ads were run on radio for the first time, but by then the Yes campaign had been broadcasting radio ads for weeks.
Another $25 million was raised for ads in which state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and other school officials disputed that gay marriage would be promoted in classrooms if Proposition 8 passed.
"When we were brought on, (Yes on 8 campaign manager Frank) Schubert had an ad out there about indoctrinating children into gay marriage," Perry said. "It was out there for about three weeks, and there was no countering it."
Combined, the two sides roughly split the more than $73 million in contributions they raised. But opponents of the measure were not able to compete with the proponents' get-out-the vote effort, which was aided by 100,000 volunteers on Election Day.
A preliminary tally shows Proposition 8 won by 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. Exit polls indicate African Americans – spurred by Barack Obama's campaign for president – played a crucial role in the outcome.
But the No campaign made little effort to communicate with African Americans – even though blacks were among the staunchest supporters of the state's first gay marriage ban on the ballot, Proposition 22 in 2000, according to exit polls that year. Turning out in higher than normal numbers, 70 percent of black voters supported Proposition 8.
In the past week, second-guessing and finger-pointing have been rampant in the gay community and gay-oriented blogs.
The No campaign has been criticized for allowing the Yes on 8 campaign to dictate the debate, including allegations that children would be indoctrinated with homosexuality if the measure failed.
Michael Petrelis, a veteran AIDS activist in San Francisco, said the same charge was made in 1978 during the debate over the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gays from working in California's public schools.
"We've always had that deception, that canard, thrown at us," Petrelis said. "I don't think the No campaign confronted it forcefully."
Robin Tyler, a lesbian comic who created celebrity public service announcements with the slogan "Stop the Hate, No on 8" that were rejected, has called the campaign "timid."
Mangers of the No on 8 committee said Smith was besieged with criticism when he appeared Monday at a meeting of the Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento. Mangers said Smith was "forthright and not defensive" during his appearance before the gay rights group.
One of the problems that Smith cited, according to Mangers, was that much of the campaign's money was raised too late to counter the Yes campaign's early ad blitz.
The morning after the election, Jeff Flint, a consultant for the Yes on 8 campaign, declared: "We did better with the late deciders, and we ran a better campaign."
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