10508Gaskill

www.ambiente.us OCTOBER | OCTUBRE 2008

Change – Hurry Up and Arrive
By Stephen Gaskill

Change.

It’s time for a change.

We all need a change.

Can you spare some change?

It’s clear what the upcoming election is about. In case you missed it, it’s “change.” But what exactly are we
changing to?

Barack Obama is a big change – generationally, ethnically, attitudinally. His election would send a message
around the globe that the US has a new direction and a new outlook.

John McCain would be a change too, despite charges of being “McSame.” Just sweeping away the tired
Bush administration will be a breath of fresh air, regardless of who steps in to fill the ever-growing void in the
White House. But given the Karl Rove veneer his campaign has taken in its final month, his election might
be seen more as a hiccup than as real change.

Sarah Palin needs to change her attitude. Filling the traditional vice presidential candidate role of attack dog,
Palin has adopted a snarky tone that is both mocking and, increasingly, ugly. That may be because, at this
writing anyway, the McCain-Palin ticket has begun to call themselves the underdogs. But still, Democratic VP
candidate Joe Biden isn’t snarky. Didactic, perhaps, but not dismissive. (Oh, but that’s just Joe…)

So, when we wake up on November 5, we’ll have change of an undetermined sort.

One thing that never changes in Florida is the right wing’s attacks on the GLBT community. Thanks to pious
evangelical Republicans, who aren’t concerned that the 50 percent divorce rate is the real threat to marriage,
Florida voters have to contend with Amendment 2, the “marriage protection” amendment. Pitched as a “gay
marriage ban,” this dangerous initiative could eliminate domestic partnership registries in Broward, Dade
and Palm Beach Counties, as well as Tampa, Key West, and Gainesville, among other cities.

Should Amendment 2 pass, unmarried straight couples could find their rights and benefits taken away along
with those of Florida’s gays and lesbians. That’s a change people didn’t expect.

But there are some good changes happening for Florida’s GLBT community. Thanks to a forward-thinking
Florida judge, a Dade County gay couple can legally adopt the foster child they’ve raised for the last several
years. It’s not a repeal of Florida’s ban on adoption by gays (one of two in the nation, and the most
restrictive), but it’s a chip in the armor of this leftover chestnut from the Anita Bryant era.

And Florida’s County governments could see some positive changes for the GLBT community: Hillsborough
County Commission candidate Kevin Beckner is running a hard-charging campaign to become the first
openly-gay County Commissioner in the Bay Area. And the Keys could elect their first out lesbian, Heather
Carruthers, to the Monroe County Commission, as well as Henry Woods as the openly-gay Supervisor of
Elections.

Chances are, one way or another, change will arrive on a bright and sunny Florida morning on November 5 –
if we do our part to bring it about on November 4.

Change is good. Let’s hope so, anyway.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Gaskill is a senior communications strategist and political consultant with more
than 20 years of experience designing and implementing media outreach programs for
political candidates, government agencies, advocacy groups, major corporations,
trade associations and ad hoc coalitions.

Based in South Florida after a long career in Washington DC, Stephen is an independent
consultant with a variety of client interests, and has served as national spokesperson on
a wide range of issues and causes. He is a veteran of Democratic politics, and held
senior positions in the last four presidential campaigns

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