well, the may newsletter i put together is about to come out and here's a preview regarding my intro piece:

"Gettin' Real"

The election for president is 6 months away (6 months!). I/You/We all want Bush out of this office that he never won and illegitimately legally stole from us in 2000. And the race is gonna be tight! I am completely optimistic we are gonna win, but there's some real work we gotta do to make it happen. And there's some real stuff we need to deal with, get beyond, and then move forward. We have to deal with the reality that Senator Kerry is not perfect. There, said it. He's not perfect. Are you perfect? Am I perfect? Was Clinton perfect? Is Senator Boxer perfect? No, no, no, and no. No one is, especially national politicians. As much as we want them to say and do everything exactly right from the get-go and to never waiver, well, bi-golly, they often do and often mess-up and often choose rhetoric we abhor and often make us mad.

And people, we gotta get real and understand that and move beyond it. Because as much as I/you/we want Senator Kerry to be perfect and to say everything perfectly and to be completely perfect on the marriage issue and the military issue and the Iraq issue and the whatever issue, he's simply not going to be perfect. He is what he is. And Bush is what he is. And we know how not even close to reality Bush is and how disastrous he is for our community and for the nation and for the entire world. So we gotta get real and recognize Senator Kerry isn't perfect and recognize that in the next 6 months he may say or do things that we might not be 100% happy with and after he's elected president (yes, I'm more than ready for that) he may say or do things that we might not be 100% happy with then too. It's not as if he's our Assemblyman Mark Leno (who is pretty much perfect, ain't he?)!

Senator Kerry has the extremely hard job of trying to woo middle-of-the-road, Middle America, mildly political Americans throughout the country in those 'swing states' every one is talking about. He is with us fundamentally, you and I both know that; and Bush is against us fundamentally, you and I both know that too. But he's got to win over those others. And as much as we sit around and fight over every single syllable and enunciation Senator Kerry gives over marriage or any other GLBT issue, the reality is that these swing voters don't really even care about these issues. So while we're in-fighting and in-bashing, Bush and the Repubs are not wasting time like we are and are out there motivating and influencing these voters with their rhetoric. And Middle America is wondering which candidate will win the "war on terror" or fix the economy or whatever. This is not to belittle our issues or concerns by a longshot, but to recognize reality, recognize we're dealing with a national campaign, that this campaign is incredibly close, that the campaign will be won and lost in these swing states, and that we can't let Bush happen for another 4 years.

So, let's get real. Senator Kerry has been with us from the beginning and is with us now. We have much to be proud of and happy with in regards to him. Why waste our time squabbling over a piece when the pie itself is so amazing on the whole. Just check out these two links: 1) Pride at the Polls; 2) Kerry's website. Could you have even imagined a presidential candidate even 2 years ago being this supportive of our community and our equal rights?! No, absolutely not. Most were for the Defense of Marriage Act; Kerry voted against it and spoke out against it! Most were for the ban in the military; Kerry voted against it and spoke out against it! Kerry was one of the original sponsors for our civil rights back in the 1980's! And, now, we're wasting time, letting the Repubs use this wedge issue amongst us as well as the rest of the country, and we're bashing Kerry for not being 100% perfect. Well, get real and focus people. Because we have a job to do and it's not just about getting Bush out of office. It's about reminding our friends and family and community about how far we've come and how much Senator Kerry has done for us over the years and how much he will do for us (himself or via appointments and legislation and the judiciary and the Supreme Court and the world) throughout his presidential career and beyond. I for one could not be more thrilled with who we have before us as our Democratic nominee for president and the opportunity we have to move our agenda forward nationally in whole new beautiful ways.

So let's get to work. There's a new GLBT committee forming here in the Bay Area to work on ways to help Kerry win California, raise money, and help swing those swing states, and everything else involved. Email me for details if you're interested in more on that (reese@reesesworld.com). There's also a local chapter for Senator Kerry's campaign which can be reached via http://www.kerrynorcal.com/ and they need our help. Imagine how many locals we can remind of the positives of Senator Kerry for our community. And imagine how many tourists we can help convert at Fisherman's Wharf!

There's much to do. But remember, in order to do it, we gotta get real.

Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P. (Editor)