VIDEO: Ted Olson and David Boies Interview on Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow: "Gay Marriage Opponents Win Right to Hide."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

MUST SEE VIDEO: Rachel Maddow Interviews Maine's Catholic Pro-Marriage Equality Governor

In her interview with the amazing Gov. Baldacci, Rachel referred to the Daily Kos poll. I have to admit, I'm trying to keep up with Maine. So much happening there and I hadn't had a chance to post it.

So here it is. (Click on the images below to enlarge)


This poll is consistent with other polls showing the two sides of Question 1 in a dead heat. At this point in the game, it's about GETTING OUT THE VOTE (GOTV!) It's calling our support base, who tends to not vote when it's not a presidential race, and getting them to the polls.

You can help by calling marriage equality supporters and reminding them to vote, vote, VOTE!

A little more on Catholic Gov. Baldacci. I wrote earlier that we can't judge people of faith with one fell swoop. I got some heat for sticking up for some Catholic church members who chose to stay in the church and still support us. But I think Gov. Baldacci is proof that we can't lump people together and judge them, just as we in the LGBT population don't like being broadly judged ourselves.

Here's the governor calling out the Yes on 1 campaign and their scare tactics:



Get. Involved. You can save marriage in your pajamas by simply taking a twenty minute training session from home and then calling Mainers and reminding them to vote. You could be instrumental in a historically monumental victory. Be a part of it.

ACTION: TAKE A STAND, FOLKS!

1. If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
2. If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote!
3. If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
4. DONATE! You can do this no matter where you live.

VIDEO: Watch Rachel Maddow Interview Maine's NO on 1 Campaign Manager Jesse Connolly

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Get involved! Go to NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality!

NEWSFLASH: NO on 1 Campaign Manager on Rachel Maddow Show Tonight at 9pm EST!

NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign manager Jesse Connolly will appear on The Rachel Maddow Show at 9:10pm EST/6:10pm PST.

DON'T MISS IT!

Rachel Maddow: "Gay Marriage Is a 'Defense of Marriage Act.'"

Yesterday on her show, Rachel Maddow points out that after five years of marriage equality, Massachusetts' divorce rate has dropped to pre-1940 levels, retaining the lowest divorce rate in the nation.

"Voices of Honor" National Tour Launched by HRC and Servicemembers United Against DADT

The HRC and Servicemembers United have collaborated to form the "Voices of Honor" national tour against Don't Ask Don't Tell. Rep. Patrick Murphy, former West Point professor and Iraq War vet, announced the tour Wednesday as well as announcing that he will be the lead sponsor of legislation to repeal the discriminatory policy.



The tour, stopping in several cities including Philadelphia, PA and Orlando, FL, will feature former Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, the first U.S. soldier wounded in the Iraq war; Jarrod Chlapowski, a former U.S. Army Korean linguist who opted to not re-enlist because of DADT and is currently a public policy advocate at the Human Rights Campaign; Alex Nicholson, a U.S. Army veteran fluent in Arabic discharged under DADT and current executive director of Servicemembers United; Army Staff Sgt. Genevieve Chase, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Executive Director of American Women Veterans; and others. Many on the tour are straight in order to do outreach to straight soldiers.

Later in the evening, Rep. Patrick Murphy spoke to Rachel Maddow telling her that now is the time to repeal DADT.

VIDEO: O'Reilly Questions Rep. Barney Frank on DOMA Brief; Maddow on Gov. Sanford's Hypocrisy

VIDEO: Reactions to Obama Memo Signing; Rep. Frank Changes Mind and Supports DOMA Brief; ACTIONS You Can Take

Rep. Tammy Baldwin talks to Rachel Maddow while HRC's Joe Solmonese talk to Keith Olbermann about Obama's memorandum extending limited federal benefits to gay employees.



Oscar-winning screenwriter of "Milk" Dustin Lance Black and attorney and former Clinton adviser Richard Socarides talk to Anderson Cooper. Both believe the Obama Administration is behind the curve. Iowa has marriage, and Obama can barely give any benefits to his own employees.



But the drama continues. The highest ranking gay U.S. representative, Barney Frank, has now down a 180 and actually comes out and supports the insulting DOMA brief issued by Obama and the DOJ. He claims his initial statement was made before he had actually read the brief. Oye.

“Now that I have read the brief, I believe that the administration made a conscientious and largely successful effort to avoid inappropriate rhetoric. There are some cases where I wish they had been more explicit in disavowing their view that certain arguments were correct, and to make it clear that they were talking not about their own views of these issues, but rather what was appropriate in a constitutional case with a rational basis standard – which is the one that now prevails in the federal courts, although I think it should be upgraded.”

“It was my position in that conversation with the reporter that the administration had no choice but to defend the constitutionality of the law. I think it is unwise for liberals like myself, who were consistently critical of President Bush’s refusal to abide by the law in cases where he disagreed with it to now object when President Obama refuses to follow the Bush example. It is the President’s job to try to change the law, but it is also his obligation to uphold and defend it when it has been enacted by appropriate processes. It would not be wise, in my judgment, for those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, or who sympathize with the fight for our rights, to argue for a precedent that says that executives who disagreed politically with the purpose of the law should have the option of refusing to defend it in a constitutional case.”

Read the full statement. With the Washington Blade promising to show up to Frank's LGBT DNC fundraiser, taping all who attend the boycotted event with their cameras, donors are dropping like flies. Tsk tsk, Frank. This statement isn't going to help.

John Avarois, an attorney who writes at America Blog, had a few choice words of reaction, saying, "Our senior most gay member of Congress actually said that had Obama argued in court that DOMA is unconstitutional, that would be akin to George Bush not going to court to, for example, get a warrant to spy on Americans. Get it? Defending gay people is like spying illegally. But comparing us to incest and pedophilia, using what I'm told was pretty much the original brief the Bush administration used against us years ago, is somehow a sign that we're better than the Republicans - by repeating their arguments in court."

John also wrote an amazing summary at Salon.com about what lead up to the LGBT population feeling betrayed by the Obama Administration, titled "President Obama betrays the gay community: We supported you. Time to live up to your promises."

In it, he writes:

The president would like us to believe that he's awfully busy being president, and if we only wait a little while longer, we'll get our rights. Of course, the president isn't too busy to stab the community in the back by continuing the military discharges, defending DOMA, and comparing us to pedophiles. (On Wednesday, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs was given a chance to repudiate the DOMA brief's language about incest and pedophilia and would not.)

When, Mr. President, will be a good time to set my people free? When will the leader of the free world get a breather, a presidential timeout as it were? (And I thought this was the administration that could walk and chew gum at the same time.) Are we really to believe that 2010, a congressional election year, will be any more timely than today? Or 2011, the beginning of the presidential primaries? Or 2012, with a congressional and presidential election? There is quite literally no time like the present.

Many others have chimed in, including the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.

ACTION: So what can we do to keep the pressure up on Congress and the Administration to give us our federal rights (other than sitting around and griping, which I admit, I'm good at)?

1. Tell the President and Congress to DUMP DOMA! Our allies at the People for the American Way have had this form up for awhile, but let's flood it now with messages to our leaders to take action against this discriminatory law. And a big thanks to our allies!
   
2. Hate Crimes against LGBT has skyrocketed. URGE Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Bill by signing Change.org's petition.
3. Contact Congress and demand ENDA be passed so the whole LGBT population can work without the fear of being fired from their jobs just because they're LGBT. Also, check out SharedAgenda.org to learn more.
4. Sign the Courage Campaign's Don't Ask Don't Tell petition to the president urging him to end this law that is far from supporting our national interest.
5. If you are interested in organizing federally, a big opportunity is coming in October with the National March for Equality, where grassroots representatives from all 436 congressional districts (who are chosen locally) will come together to network and strategize on how to organize not only to gain federal rights, but to pool resources for major local battles ahead, such as in Maine and California who have referendums on marriage equality coming up. Find out more at NationalEqualityMarch.com.
   

We have proven this past week that when we speak in unison, we are heard. When we close our wallets, politicians scramble. When we organize, we win.

Let's not stop now. We have a lot more to accomplish.

VIDEO: Howard Dean Discusses "Offensive" DOMA Brief With Maddow

Former governor and former DNC Chair Howard Dean discusses with Rachel Maddow what he calls the "offensive" DOMA brief submitted by Obama and the Department of Justice. "You cannot talk about gay Americans the way gay Americans are talked about in this brief." Dean added, "It wasn't a little too far. It was a lot too far."

VIDEO: Sen. Boxer, Rep. Pelosi and Gov. Schwarzenegger Believe Prop 8 to be Overturned

Sen. Barbara Boxer talks about the "nightmare" of yesterday's ruling on Prop 8 and predicts California will be in another contentious initiative battle to repeal it.



“If you read the California constitution, it basically says that everyone has equal rights and equal protection under the laws, so I don’t know why they (the Calif. supreme court) went this way,” said Boxer, a Democrat who has represented the state in the U.S. Senate since 1993. “But the fact is, they did it because of Prop 8, and we’re going to have to have another battle in California.”

I have an idea as to why the court ruled as it did. Because their jobs were threatened. And I'm not the only one who thinks what they did was contradictory.

U.S. House Speaker and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi also chimed in yesterday, calling the ruling "deeply disappointing."

"I have long fought for equality for all of California's families and will strongly support efforts to restore marriage equality in California, so it can join the ranks of states such as Iowa and Vermont,” said the California Democrat.

Maybe this will be a wake up call for her. Having stated earlier that repealing DOMA was not a priority, hopefully Pelosi has been reminded of the horrible effects of discrimination and inequality.

California Gov. Schwarzenegger talked to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show last night about Prop 8.



Thanks, Arnold. Would've been nice if you hadn't vetoed the marriage equality legislation that hit your desk. We could've avoided this whole damn mess. You're a pal!

Maddow: Decorated Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach Discharged Under DADT

Another costly discharge.

Pentagon states they believe they won't be asked anytime soon about ending Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Unreal.

Discharged Lt. Dan Choi Talks to Maddow, Scheduled to Appear at "Meet in the Middle"

U.S. Army First Lieutenant Dan Choi, the first Arabic linguist fired under Obama on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', who had originally announced he was gay on The Rachel Maddow Show a few months ago when he launched Knights Out, talked to Maddow on her show last night.

The appearance marked Choi’s first interview since receiving word this week of his discharge for announcing in March that he is gay.



Choi is scheduled to make an appearance at "Meet in the Middle", a large rally to take place in Fresno, CA the Saturday after the ruling on Prop 8.

UPDATE: Rachel Maddow Interviews Pro-LGBT CA Governor Candidate Gavin Newsom

UPDATE: The deputy director of communications for San Francisco mayor clarified today Newsom's comments made on the Rachel Maddow Show. ""Mayor Newsom meant to say that Prop. 8 wouldn't pass today," Brian Purchia told Advocate.com in an e-mail. "If you listen to any of his follow-up answers after the initial question on Rachel Maddow, there is no doubt that he meant to say it wouldn't pass."
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Gavin Newsom gives his first interview since announcing his run for governor of California with Rachel Maddow. In the interview, Newsom discusses the advances in Iowa on marriage equality but bemoans the flip-flopping of same-sex marriage, veto happy Schwarzenegger's. He believes if a vote was taken on Prop 8 today, there would be a better outcome.

Rachel Maddow On NOM Removing YouTube Videos

Rachel Maddow Reacts to NOM's 2M4M Campaign

Hysterical!



Poor NOM. Just having a REALLY bad week. Let's hope it turns into a very bad month? Year? ETERNITY.