What is most incredible about today’s SpecterPride launch was the depth and diversity of the group of people who assembled to support Senator Specter. There are people representing all parts of the LGBT community in every part of the State. Take a look at some of the community leaders who are standing up for a Senator that has stood up for us for so long:

-Rebeca Barragan (Philadelphia)
-Irene Benedetti, Democratic Committeeperson (Philadelphia)
-Melanie Bolden (Philadelphia)
-Victoria Brownworth, award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author (Philadelphia)
-Ryan Bunch, Music Educator (Philadelphia)
-John Campbell, Executive Director of Historic Harrisburg Association (Dauphin)
-Stephen Carlino, Co-owner of Tavern on Camac (Philadelphia)
-Lee Carson, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Donald Carter (Philadelphia)
-Andrew Chirls, Former Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association (Philadelphia)
-Peter Crimmins, Director of Philadelphia Investment Exchange (Philadelphia)
-Bill Curry, restaurateur and former Inquirer columnist (Philadelphia)
-Joe Day, National Development Director of College Democrats of America (Allegheny)
-Romulo Diaz, Former City Solicitor (Philadelphia)
-Danny Dunphy, City Council Staffer and Temple Democrat (Philadelphia)
-Dana Elmendorf, educator (Allegheny)
-Carl Engelke, President of Eagle Eye Solutions (Philadelphia)
-Larry Felzer, Attorney and former board chair of Gay & Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia
-Abbe Fletman, litigation and trial lawyer (Philadelphia)
-Bill Gehrman, LGBT community business leader (Philadelphia)
-Dolph Goldenburg, Former Executive Director of the William Way Center (Philadelphia)
-Jeffrey E. Goldman, Esq., Trial attorney and former co-chair of the Board of Directors of the William Way Center (Philadelphia)
-Brian Green, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Ed Hanlon (Philadelphia)
-Mike Hinson, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Marcus Iannozzi, Transgender Activist and Business Owner (Philadelphia)
-Gail Inderweis (Philadelphia)
-Carrie Jacobs, LGBT Youth Services Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Peter Karlovich, small business owner (Allegheny)
-Richard Keaveney, Chairman of Toppers Spa Salons (Philadelphia)
-Leon King, former commissioner of Philadelphia Prison System (Philadelphia)
-Malcolm Lazin, regional and national gay activist (Philadelphia)
-Richard Lee (Philadelphia)
-Peter Lein, Business Owner (Philadelphia)
-Jason Lewis, City Council Staffer (Philadelphia)
-Rick Lombardo, Democratic Committeeperson (Philadelphia)
-Micah Mahjoubian, Political Consultant (Philadelphia)
-Robert Metzger, Business Owner (Philadelphia)
-Christina Molieri, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Perry Monastero, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Howard Moseley, Community Activist (Philadelphia)
-Kathleen Murray, City Council Staffer (Philadelphia)
-Rick Naughton, Educator (Philadelphia)
-Soda Nobuhle, Activist (Philadelphia)
-Marlene Olshan, Youth Services Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Julian Perkins, Activist (Philadelphia)
-Fran Price, Executive Director of Philly Pride Presents (Philadelphia)
-Matt Ray, Business Owner (Philadelphia)
-Alex Reber, Vice Chair, Stonewall Democrats of the capital region (Dauphin)
-Allener (Sissy) Rogers (Delaware)
-Steve Rosen, Public Relations Executive (Philadelphia)
-Mark Seaman, Campaign Manager, Hayes for Council (Philadelphia)
-Mark Segal, Publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News (Philadelphia)
-Marty Sellers, Healthcare consultant (Philadelphia)
-Adrian Shanker, Lehigh Valley LGBT community leader (Lehigh)
-Nurit Shein, LGBT Health Advocate (Philadelphia)
-Jim Sheppard, Pennsylvania College Democrats President (Allegheny)
-Brian Sims, statewide LGBT advocate (Philadelphia)
-Tami Sortman (Philadelphia)
-Jeff Sotland, Commissioner of the City of Brotherly Love Softball League and Owner of Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar (Philadelphia)
-A. Dionne Stallworth, activist in the gender variant community (Philadelphia)
-Matt Teter, housing advocate (Philadelphia)
-David Topel, Board President Emeritus, The Attic Youth Center (Philadelphia)
-Evan Urbania, Business Owner (Philadelphia)
-Gary Van Horn, Business owner and gay community activist (Allegheny)
-Matthew Vlahos, Principal, Vlahos Public Relations (Philadelphia)
-Tom Waters, blogger and gay community activist (Allegheny)
-Tom Yargo, Realtor and gay community activist (Allegheny)
-Bruce Yelk (Philadelphia)
-Josh Young (Philadelphia)
-Lynn Zeitlin, Attorney and Former Executive Director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)

An impressive list indeed. Good luck to you on helping reelect OUR Senator! Guys like me will be ready to get to work on May 19th!

Anybody up for some strawberry shortcake.

Meanwhile, Sestak receives an endorsement from a depraved Congressman who fondles the genitals of unsuspecting young males. Stark contrast indeed.

What’s strange is that all of Specter’s gay friends that remember him from so long ago never supported him in the past. In fact, I’d bet that over 90% of these people backed Hoeffel over him in his last election. Gay people are just like blacks. They will back whoever the Democrat machine tells them to back. They have no independent opinions. This is probably why David Diano is such a huge Specter supporter now after opposing him for so many years. His local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Hermaphroditic community spokesperson told him to.

Just a suggestion: look into this so-called hero’s history a bit:

Arlen Specter, 2004:
When the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld same-sex marriage earlier this year, I stated that I believed marriage was a sacred institution between a man and a woman, as evidenced by my vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Arlen Specter 2006:
Mr. President, I have sought recognition to oppose S.J. Res. 1, known as the marriage amendment. I do believe marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. I believe the Congress of the United States has acted responsibly on the Defense of Marriage Act.

Arlen Specter, Sept. 2009 (letter to constituent):
I support traditional marriage as defined in DOMA, and although I appreciate the goal of the proposed amendment, I do not believe it is necessary to amend the Constitution at this time.
I believe this is an issue most appropriately addressed at the state level, and most states are working hard to protect marriage.

Arlen Specter, March 2010 (Huffington Post):
The time has come to repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)…

He will say anything, do anything to protect his job and his status in Washington. One party has been the champion of the LGBT community for the past 30 years and he has not been a member of it. He came running to it when the Republican party decided it wanted to go even further off the rightwing cliff.

Kudos to Specter for not wanting to play there anymore. But that doesn’t redeem him for his past.

Bruce, I believe Specter left the GOP because he was an idiot and supported the failed “stimulus” bill. When it became unpopular and he knew he couldn’t defeat Toomey, he bailed to save his skin. Since when is not supporting a failed $800 billion dollar slush fund for union members going off a rightwing cliff? We need more sane people in washington, not less. Specter hasn’t had a drop of sanity, or senility, in years.

Why is it Gays, Minorities, and Union parasites, hate America enough to continue voting Communist Democrap? Everything that is wrong with this country is the direct fault of the America Hating Democrapic Cult er Party.

Benedict Arlen Sphincter should be swinging from the end of a rope for treason.

Larry-
I hate to burst your bubble, but my support for Specter is due to my dislike of Sestak and Toomey. Toomey is and agent of radical right-wing social and economic theory and thus completely unacceptable.
Sestak is an untrustworthy, self-serving pr*ck who does not belong in public office. I’d support someone randomly chosen from the phonebook, before I’d support Sestak.

Specter, despite the various GOP votes he’s made in the past, has been a pretty decent guy when it’s come to civil rights (women, minorities, gays, etc.). This information about he protected gays in the 1960′s and 1970′s is very impressive.

So, don’t mistake my opposition to Sestak and Toomey as support for Specter. Specter knows the job, has the seniority and experience to get stuff done, and as a Dem he’s going to do a better job than he did a Rep. I’m convinced (and recent polling shows) that Specter has the better chance of beating Toomey. That’s enough for me to hang my hat on and find him “acceptable” over two guys that are unacceptable.

As for your bigoted and racist remark:
“Gay people are just like blacks.” I’d point out that blacks can marry other blacks, and that 40 years ago bans on inter-racial marriage were finally removed.

Bruce-
Sestak’s “past” is full of holes and story changes that don’t add up.

We know that Sestak pays his staff less than minimum wage, so his votes for minimum wager increases fall under: “He will say anything, do anything to protect his job and his status in Washington.” His “excuse” that the workers agreed to these wages and hours is the same excuse the GOP and anti-union businesses give when trying to eliminate minimum wage standards.

Having at least one female staffer leave because she was told she was “hired for her looks”, is another example of actions not matching the rhetoric.
How can Sestak be trusted to champion worker rights when his congressional office violates the most basic ones?

Jim-
The stimulus bill kept the economy from collapsing. It was unpopular in the GOP from the outset (as was ANY vote for Obama from the obstructionist party of “NO”). Specter base of moderate Republicans had switched to Dems in 2008 and the GOP base became more radicalized.

The stimulus bill as “union slush fund”? Do you realize that 1/3 of that was tax cuts/credits? Do your realize that money helped shore up state budgets to prevent layoffs and cuts in services? Do you realize that money is being used for overdue infrastructure improvements? Money has gone into energy research, unemployment benefits, job training, school modernization, etc.

BTW, you should check our own “senility” in your contradictory comparing of sanity and senility.

Once again, Pa. taxpayers/voters are left with three horrible choices in this race. I guess it comes down to who is the least of three evils. I find it funny on the issue of tolling I-80 Specter now says “it’s an issue for the state to decide.” That’s funny because it’s up to the Feds to decide if tolls can be placed on the interstate or not. Clearly he does not want to upset the folks in the northern part of the state, while at the same time does not want to upset the folks in SE Pa. including all the SEPTA officials. Sestak fails to vote on important issues, basic premise of his job, and Toomey is so far out of it as a right-wing zealot, we clearly are the losers having to decide between these three. We need a fresh face, someone not afraid to lead, someone who can CHANGE THE CULTURE. It is truly sad.

Bailey: Sestak’s past apparently includes links to degenerates like Massa, a sexual deviant who fondles the genitals of unsuspecting young males. Sestak’s past also includes his ignominious ouster from the U.S. Armed Forces, which was necessitated by his condescending, disdainful, scornful behavior. Sestak’s past also includes countless instances of campaign and congressional staffers abandoning him, unable to stomach his contemptuous, derisory treatment. Sestak’s past also includes enormous earmarks for avaricious defense contractors (his $800,00.00 earmark for Dragonfly Pictures, by way of illustration). Sestak’s past also includes an utterly unremarkable tenure as a U.S. Representative – a tenure distinguished only by its self-importance.

And Sestak’s present? Baseless accusations against the incumbent Democratic President of the United States – accusations he adamantly refuses to substantiate. Minimum wage payments to his long-suffering campaign staffers. And an ill-considered Senate bid that has made him the laughingstock of American politics.

That’s correct, Representative Sestak – you are a laughingstock. The butt of jokes. The object of scorn and ridicule among political observers. Future satires will be devoted entirely to you. Those who once respected you will now sneer and scoff at you. Rather than establish you as a force to be reckoned with in U.S. politics, your Senate bid has tarnished and blackened your reputation beyond all hope of reconstrcution. Have a nice day.

Arlen is old and out of touch. When a guy cannot chew his own food anymore, it’s probably time to retire. Also, a vote for Arlen is a vote for Nazi Piglosi. Democrats have gone mad with power and need to be stopped.

Hate Specter-
Not only are you derivative, but mentioning Nazi automatically loses whatever insane point you were trying to make.

“Workers United” represents zero hospitality workers in Philadelphia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9KfcIGh0D0

Go ask some hospitality workers.

Hey there is another Condidate in the Race by the name of Joe Vod Varka so here is your Chance to send the Party and Arlen and Sestak a huge message Vote for Joe Vod Varke he is not owned or controlled by anyone he got on the Ballot only with the Help of his family Send a Message to the democrat Power Brokers that we are Mad as Hell and we are not going to take their crap anymore http://www.joevodvarka.com/ There has never ever been a Better time to Kick the Democratic Party in the …………………

David Diano, shouldn’t you be flirting with teenage girls on Facebook? You’re pathetic.

Hate Specter-
The anonymous guy (or gal) who calls Nance Pelosi Nazi Piglosi is calling me pathetic.

Golly gee whiz, I’m totally devastated by your whithering attack.

CNN contributor and former White House official David Gergen denounced Representative Massa’s conduct on the air earlier this week. One prominent Democratic Party rep characterized Massa as a “trainwreck.” But Representative Sestak has yet to comment on his longtime friend’s debauched, depraved, deviant behavior. Does Sestak condone Massa’s fondling the genitals of unsuspecting young males? Does Sestak welcome further endorsements from freaks and degenerates? Sestak’s continued silence is not going unnoticed.

HateSpecter: Is Representative Sestak paying you minimum wage also? Must be exceedingly difficult to cope. You have my sympathies.

There is a lot of hate here. Shouldn’t we realize that the public is sick and tired of hearing a bunch of insiders bitch and moan and spew negativity towards one another? It’s time to work hand-in-hand for what’s best for America and the Keystone State. I’m glad one candidate… Specter… gets this!

Cant we all just get along

Congrats to Joe Vodvarka for getting on the ballot. Who will his protest-vote campaign hurt more–Specter or Sestak?

Joe the Springmaker-
My guess is that it will hurt Sestak. VodVarka has the same first name, which will confuse people that decide to “Vote for Joe”.
Also, it has to split the “anti-Specter” vote and get some of the anti-incumbent vote.

I would tend to agree with Dave. It’ll be interesting if there’s a campaign finance report between now and Primary day to see where any money coming into VodVarka’s campaign comes from.

I truly think that gays like outing each other. Why else would “Micah” publish the by-name list?

There’s something kind of spiteful about it.

Reminds me of “Perez Hilton” and his angry, vengeful and remorseless attempts to invade people’s private lives by outing them It’s as if gays feel personally offended by others maintaining some level of discretion about their sexual orientation, and a sense of entitlement and moral prerogative in outing them.

I realize that these folks – most if not all – are already out of the closet, but the by name list still has a “just in case anyone here isn’t openly gay, I’m going to make sure they are now” feel to it.

Let me repeat that last one – I realize that most if not all of the people in the list are already out of the closet. The list has a “just in case anyone doesn’t know, here are the names…” feel to it.

Nasty.

Barry,

Every person on the SpecterPride Steering Committee is out of the closet, and are each well known LGBT leaders in their own right. They have all agreed to publically endorse the Senator and to allow their names to be published as supporters of the Senator. You can see each of their name’s listed on our website at http://www.specterpride.com. Nobody was outed in this process. Each person on that list is a proud member of the LGBT community who is standing up for Senator Specter because he has stood up for us over the past 30+ years.

“…He has stood up for us over the past 30+ years.”

Except for Reagan, Bush I, Bush II, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and DOMA. Those issues aside, I’m sure he was there for you.

Actually, this Democrat voted for Republican Specter in the last election after much soul searching. Hoeffel was a loser out of the box and I didn’t want to lose Specter’s voice, most importantly, on funding research for Parkinson’s, cancer, Alzheimer’s and a plethora of other problems that can be cured. Have I liked every vote Specter ever made? Hell no. Did I vote for Lynn Yeakel after his treatment of Anita Hill, yup. In totality, for this election, for this year, Specter is the guy. I liken Sestak to John Edwards. He sounds really good, he looks really good, but when he walks away you’re left with the feeling that he oozes smarm.