Rolling Stone article evaluates the No on Prop 8 campaign

The criticism of the No on 8 campaign continues in an article in the December 11th issue of Rolling Stone out today. Written by Tim Dickinson and titled "Same-Sex Setback", it comes with the tag - "Don't blame Mormons or black voters - the Californian activists who tried to stop Prop 8 ran a lousy campaign."

Ouch.

It was a difficult read for me to get through since it's a painful reminder of how we could've easily won, but the leadership of the campaign dropped the ball with their naivete.

Some damaging quotes:

"'This was political malpractice,' says a Democratic consultant who operates at the highest level of California politics. 'They fucked this up, and it was painful to watch. They shouldn't be allowed to pawn this off on the Mormons or anyone else. They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and now hundreds of thousands of gay couples are going to pay the price.'"

"The No on Prop 8 campaign, meanwhile, was oblivious to the formidable field operation that the other side was mounting. Worse, its executive committee refused to include leaders of top gay and lesbian grass-roots organizations, which deprived them of an army of willing foot soldiers."

I don't know about you, but the thought of even giving my money to the same leadership to run a 2010 ballot initiative to reverse Prop 8 seems ridiculous. As a community, we need to take a moment and decide who we want to take the reigns and lead us to victory. We don't have much time. We better figure it out. And NOW.

UPDATE: The Advocate.com has posted a response from the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center's Jim Key, Chief Public Affairs Officer, to their own article criticizing the campaign. I think it's only fair that I post it to show the other side. You can read it here.