As a gay American, I am profoundly shocked, exceedingly embarrassed and deeply humbled by this past weekend's Tea Party Convention. And this has nothing to do with what you think. I'm certain of this.
I am not shocked by the Tea Party movement's outrageous fundamentalist positions on social issues and relentless denial of the havoc George W. Bush wreaked on our economy, society and international reputation.
And I am not rocked by the obvious fascist undertones and overt bigotry of this movement.
I am however shocked by the lesson they are teaching gay America about our own gross incompetence and the complete and utter bankruptcy of the gay rights movement.
I am shocked by the electrifying fact that this very small in numbers and dollars Tea Party movement has accomplished more for their cause in a few short months than the gay rights movement has accomplished in over 40 years.
I am shocked that by taking to the streets in outrage, these people have planted their flag on the political landscape while gay America is still sending emails.
I am shocked that a bunch of seemingly inbred goons who wear stupidity and illiteracy like a badge of honor are actually changing America while Joe Solmonese of The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and his peers of Ivy League sophisticates are busy defending their six figure jobs and jockeying for opportunities to kiss Obama ass.
I am embarrassed by HRC, The Task Force, The Empire Pride Agenda, Lamba and the other dozens of professional gay rights advocacy organizations that have denounced and even suppressed displays of public outrage on the streets of our major cities in favor of White House parties and Democratic fundraisers while an emerging Tea Party movement rushes to the finish line fueled not by a coalescence of ideology but rather by anger and outrage from Americans who feel betrayed by their leaders in both our mainstream political parties.
Finally, I am shocked by the impact the Tea Party movement is having on the media, the White House, Congress, the DNC and The GOP when in fact their numbers are actually quite small.
This rock-the-nation Tea Party Convention that has commanded extraordinary attention was attended by a piddling 1,100 delegates who were technically and officially representing no one other than themselves.
Most nationally projectable polls require a random sampling of 1,2o0 Americans to be considered statistically significant; but this self-selected sampling of 1,100 Americans is having more impact on the course of American history and governance than any Zogby, Gallup or CNN Pollster could ever imagine.
Joe Solmonese and his Human Rights Campaign can deliver three times those numbers for a gala celebrity-studded black tie dinner at two or more times the going rate for this weekend's Tea Party convention tickets with no other result than smiling photos of Cynthia Nixon and Joe Solmonese on the society pages of The New York Times.
As broken record gay rights icon and legend Larry Kramer has been saying about our community and advocacy movement for almost two decades: Where's the outrage?
Well, Larry, the straights have taken our fashion trends, our music and our gayborhoods and now they've even taken our outrage.