Courage Campaign Not to Release Marriage Equality Research - Information Behind Project Could Help Mend Broken Trust

UPDATE: Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs responds to this post.

Thanks to reporter Rex Wockner, Steve Hildebrand, Obama's former Deputy Campaign Manager who worked with the Courage Campaign (CC) on their marriage equality research, has answered the question everyone's been asking - will the research that lead to the grassroots organization pulling out of the 2010 Prop 8 repeal effort be released?

Hildebrand answered in an email to Wockner:

Rightfully so, there is significant interest from reporters and bloggers about the research conducted for the Courage Campaign regarding same sex marriage and voter opinions in California. The high level of press interest should not dictate if this research is made public. What should dictate the public release of our research, is if it's in the best interest of winning same sex marriage rights. In my opinion -- and the opinion of the Courage Campaign -- we do not think it is in the best interest of the marriage equality movement to share strategic research with the media, as it would result in news stories that provide vital strategic information to our opponents.

Same sex marriage opponents have proven to do whatever it takes to prevent LGBT people from gaining equality. They have kept a tight lid on their strategy and tactics and it's proven successful. Our side needs to be just as smart and keep strategic data internal to our efforts.

From the time the California Courts ruled that same sex marriage should be allowed to the repeal put forth by the opposition, this has been a contentious battle. The Courage Campaign research is very instructive and will help lay a path to eventually gain marriage rights through a new vote of the people. We are preparing to share the research with LGBT groups in California and elsewhere.

Putting aside the drama surrounding CC's announcement (and seriously, were any of you that surprised? They have been hinting at it for some time), I have to agree that the core findings of this research should not be released to the public.

I mean, c'mon, many of us did pitch in on this research - do we want our dollars to go to waste by handing the information over to just anyone? I understand that many of you feel your trust has been betrayed because you believed CC was completely behind 2010, but that is a separate issue. The question at hand is what should be done with the research.

I've heard some say that no research was done at all, but I view that as simply a conspiracy theory cooked up in response to the confidentiality surrounding the research. Kind of like all the outlandish theories surrounding secret societies simply because they're secret.

I would ask of CC that they release some of the non-sensitive information, such as how much research was done? How extensive? Who did the analysis and how much of that was done? How much was spent and in what way? How much if any is left over? How big the sample base, what regions of California, etc?

However and whatever way you peel the onion, CC has lost some trust in the grassroots community, no matter whether you agree that trust should have been broken or not. Showing how much research was done and by whom, how much money was spent, how extensively and in what way, could be a first step in rebuilding that trust. (Another step could be to confidentially share their findings with other LGBT advocacy groups who may really need the information.) Otherwise, CC is well on its way to being ironically put in the same position as its old rival Equality California found themselves after Prop 8 - being angrily and distrustfully called to intense accountability with disbelief being the response to anything they say.

Calling our leaders into accountability should be standard practice anyway - but with trust and respect.

The California LGBT population is already suffering from a lack of trust in its leadership. Sure, progress has been made, but any more damage and our fight for equal rights in California may consume itself.

Image of Steve Hildebrand by Rex Wockner.

EVENT: Get Tickets to Hear Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand Speak on Marriage Equality and LGBT Rights

Openly gay Steve Hildebrand, who helped kick off and guide Obama's successful presidential campaign, will be in San Francisco this Monday, September 28 to speak about his experience with the president's administration and its approach to LGBT rights and the marriage equality movement in California.

Hildebrand, who supports returning to the ballot to repeal Prop 8 in 2010, is currently advising the Courage Campaign, steering the research they're conducting that will inform them on how to craft the best ballot language to restore marriage equality in California. Though Love Honor Cherish filed language today, if Courage Campaign comes up with language that tests better, they'll put their efforts behind it.

In an email sent out today through the Courage Campaign, Hildrebrand said:

When people talk about the reasons why Barack Obama won both the Democratic presidential nomination and the White House, the extensive, robust research conducted by our campaign is rarely mentioned. And yet, as I know from first-hand experience, it was the most well-researched campaign in the history of modern politics.

Research is boring. It's not as sexy as big speeches or TV ads. But research is what informs the language used in those speeches and commercials. And that is what we need to change hearts and minds.

Hear more by attending the forum. You can find tickets here.

Location: SF Club Office
Date: Monday, September 28
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: MEMBERS FREE, $15 non-members

Sandip Roy, host for New America Now on KALW 91.7 FM and NPR commentator, on NPR's will facilitate.

Sign up now!

Top Obama Adviser Losing Patience with White House; Press Secretary Gibbs Responds

Steve Hildebrand, the deputy campaign manager of Obama's successful campaign for president, told Politico that he is losing patience with the president and his administration over health care reform and LGBT rights.

I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it's doing right now . . . I’m not going to just sit by the curb and let these folks [Democratic leadership] get away with a lack of performance for the American people . . . I want change just as much as a majority of Americans do, and I’m one of the many Americans who are losing patience.

Hildebrand also said that Obama "needs to be more bold in his leadership."

Hildebrand's statements shows signs of cracking in the polished veneer of the Obama Administration. Hildebrand is the most senior ranking member of Obama's political team to criticize the Administration and its lack of movement on promises made to the American people, and more specifically the LGBT population, during the presidential campaign.

Though he had already begun to part ways with Obama's team during the 2008 campaign, Hildebrand said that he has already stated his opinion to the White House, saying his comments are nothing to new to them.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs agreed in that this was nothing new.

“We all know and love Steve Hildebrand,” Gibbs said during a press brief, adding that “Steve’s frustration is the frustration of people not only in this town, but a lot of people outside of this town, and that is Washington’s inability to address its big problems and get something done.”



Hildebrand, who is openly gay, said in a August speech in San Diego, "The government still doesn’t treat Gay people equally. Should I continue doing what I’m doing, or should I be a strong voice from the outside?"

It appears Hildebrand will be that outside voice, deciding not to work for candidates but issue campaigns instead.

Recently, Hildebrand appeared at a Los Angeles meeting discussing next steps on bringing marriage equality back to California. He voiced his strong support for a 2010 ballot campaign.

Reporter Rex Wockner had an amazing in-depth interview with Steve Hildebrand in July about Obama in which he urges the LGBT population to not let the president off the hook.

Courage Campaign Membership Surpasses 2010 Fundraising Goal; Steve Hildebrand Issues Call to Support Maine

In an email sent out today, Courage Campaign's founder Rick Jacobs announces that he's "shocked and amazed" that the organizations membership raised $77,905 in just 24 hours. Yesterday, an email was sent out, reminding the membership that they had less than 60 hours to raise $41,967 to meet the $100,000 goal with an August 13 deadline.

The membership beat its deadline by two days, raising a total of $135,998 that the organization "will immediately invest in research, polling and focus groups to repeal Prop 8."

"Of course, we can't do this alone," Jacobs writes. "That's why we also challenged our friends in the marriage equality movement to raise an additional $100,000 to place the most effective initiative possible on the 2010 ballot. With confidence that the shared costs of this research will be paid for, we are pushing ahead to file a ballot measure."

In the same email, Steve Hildebrand, who was Obama's Deputy National Campaign Manager, expresses support for a 2010 ballot initiative, but also reminds the membership that Maine is "ground zero in the fight for marriage equality."

But before we can take this pivotal battle for marriage equality to the ballot in California in 2010, we have to win in Maine in 2009.

Yes, Maine. Right now, our friends at the pro-equality "No on 1" campaign in Maine are working around the clock to defeat a referendum on the November ballot that would strip LGBT couples of marriage rights just granted by Maine's state legislature and governor.

Sound familiar? Well, it gets worse. Guess who is running the anti-equality "Stand for Marriage Maine" campaign? Frank Schubert and Schubert Flint Public Affairs, the same front group for the religious right that ran the Proposition 8 campaign to strip LGBT couples of their marriage rights in California.

Maine is now ground zero in the fight for marriage equality -- and the first statewide battle for civil marriage rights since Prop 8 passed. That's why I need Courage Campaign members to dig deep right now and donate $25, $50, $100 or more on ActBlue to our friends at the "No on 1" campaign in Maine.

Emboldened by their victory in California, the religious right is now moving on Maine -- and building an early fundraising advantage. The same right-wing groups who funded Frank Schubert's fear-mongering TV ads in California are now the largest donors to his "Stand for Marriage Maine" campaign:

• National Organization for Marriage - $160,000
• Knights of Columbus - $50,000
• Focus on the Family - $31,000

Clearly, what happens in Maine will have serious consequences for the fight in California.

Whether or not you support going back to the ballot in 2010 here in California, Maine doesn't have a choice on timing. They must defend their right to marry this November, 2009! And they can use all the help they can get.

You can either donate or visit the NO on 1 campaign's website to see how you can get involved. There are plenty of ways to help, no matter where you live.

Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager to Attend Sunday's "Next Steps Summit"; Tentative Agenda Released

"We are not Frankenstein, lurching toward the finish line no matter what," Jordan Krueger of Equality Network and of the Next Steps Summit logistics team told Unite the Fight.

The Coalition for 2010 (formerly known as the Coalition of the Willing) will be hosting a Next Steps Summit August 9 in South Los Angeles, where they hope action items will be confirmed in order to move the California LGBT population forward in getting an initiative on the ballot to end Prop 8's rule.

On Saturday it was confirmed that Obama's national deputy campaign manager, openly gay Steve Hildrebrand, will appear and inform the process at the summit. Hildebrand's extensive knowledge and key role in the largest and most successful grassroots campaign in our nation's history, will add an element of expertise not easily ignored by either side of the 2010 or 2012 debate. The number of attendees on both sides of the issue are likely to increase, especially given Hildebrand's appearance and that this summit's focus will be action points and "deliverables."

However, many in the community are still concerned about the coalition's focus on 2010 and how that may skew the summit. "We want everyone there. We need to hear their concerns," Jordan responded. "There's only so much we can do if they're not willing to attend."

I asked about the agenda since many are still not clear on what will happen at the summit. Jordan gave me a tentative agenda that he says was 90% confirmed. A final agenda will be released early this week.

AGENDA

Morning: Key notes and panel discussion, including Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy national campaign manager. Q&A session. (This will last about an hour and fifteen minutes. I don't have time breakdowns for the rest.)

Breakout Sessions (Subject to change, and this does not reflect all sessions but just a few.)

• Signature gathering
• Ballot language
• Fund-raising
• Outreach and Relationship Building
• Messaging
  

Attendees can call out ad hoc sessions if need comes up. Groups will come back and report on decisions and next steps to all.

WORKING LUNCH

Second breakout for sessions, but these will be different from first break out.

Report back again with decisions and next steps.

Closing

Happy Hour

After going over the agenda with Jordan, I raised concerns about certain topics being discussed and next steps decided upon in break out sessions, such as the ballot language and messaging, which requires lots of expertise and knowledge of the political campaign process, assets many in the community lack, including yours truly.

"It's our desire to have experts in the break out groups, but they will not facilitate," Jordan said. "Let's all come to a consensus together instead of having the experts say this is how it should be."

When it comes to ballot language, objections have been raised. If the language isn't legally solid, it can open the door to many lawsuits from the opposition trying to undo any initiative that we work really hard to pass.

At the Leadership Summit in San Bernardino, it was requested that all cameras be turned off and that the press either leave or consider the conversation "off the record" when the topic of ballot language came up. That's how sensitive and essential ballot language can be. Give the opposition any hints on what you come up with and you give them immediate ammunition to undo your work. On top of that, the specifics of whether or not to include the issue of school curriculum in regards to marriage equality is a gray area for many in the community.

"Everyone is in agreement that there has to be testing" of ballot language, Jordan said. "There is an understanding of significant cost to testing and that will be brought up for discussion at the summit. We understand it is critical to going back to the ballot."

According to the organizers, tickets are going fast, and it will be interesting to see who shows given that the Next Steps Summit has been viewed as vital yet possibly premature given that the community has not come to a consensus on timing.

Even Torie Osborne, who in May came out strong for 2010 at a Courage Campaign's Camp Courage, told reporter Karen Ocamb she's changed her mind.

“As time ticks by, it seems less likely that we will go to the ballot in 2010 and I'm fine with that,” Osborn wrote in an email to Karen Ocamb for a Frontiers in L.A. article. “The vision and movement that is built is as important as when we win, as the state's challenges require us to all step up in new and powerful ways. If ‘Spawn of Prop187’ [a previous anti-immigrant initiative] qualifies in 2010, that can become our unified battle, and we will all need to join together and lay in place the organizing networks that can lead us to victory in future years on marriage equality.”

However, Courage Campaign's Rick Jacobs has reiterated his support for 2010. “Our members are ready to do the hard work needed to win.”

Equality California's Geoff Korrs announced at the Equality Awards Dinner on Saturday night that the organization will come to a decision on next steps this week after its board meeting Sunday, a statement that Marc Solomon, EQCA's Marriage Director confirmed with Unite the Fight at the event. Many believe though the organization should listen to its members, who were polled with a majority supporting 2010. There's also been talk that EQCA's board is divided on the issue.

The Coalition for 2010 has shifted its tone since the day of the San Bernardino summit. They express a desire for all to be involved, even those who don't agree with them on timing. Their focus is to get the work started, and get it done as soon and as efficiently as possible.

In an email sent out to its members Sunday, Love Honor Cherish, the grassroots group who has strongly supported 2010 since Prop 8's passing, wrote, "Everyone dedicated to working for marriage equality is invited, particularly those who have expressed reservations about a 2010 campaign. These concerns are legitimate and important, and any planning for a future campaign must take them into account to ensure our chances of winning."

"We want people to be there to give input on benchmarks," Jordan told Unite the Fight, saying that those who support 2012 will bring vital input to the process. "This is not a sit and listen summit."

"There is an awareness," he added. "If 2010 turns out not to be possible, then based on benchmarks set on August 9th, we will consider how to proceed."

If those in support for 2012 want input on those benchmarks, then I highly recommend you attend.

Get information and tickets.

(Note: Unite the Fight, along with the organizers, is looking into streaming this event if possible based upon technical capabilities as well as sensitive information discussed at the summit.)

Image: By BlueCinema