How far will the Democrats go on gay rights?

A Republican co-sponsor of ENDA, Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., estimates that 20 of the 202 House Republicans would vote for ENDA, if it did not have transgender people included in it, while “practically none” would vote for it if transgender people were included.

The passage of ENDA, even if it led to a veto by Bush, would "set down a maker for a future president," Frank said.

Eventually the House will pass ENDA protection for transgender people, but not this year, Frank said.

The power of the GLBT lobby
“The Democratic leadership believes in nondiscrimination on account of sexual orientation,” said congressional scholar Prof. John Pitney, who teaches politics at Claremont McKenna College.

"It also recognizes the power of the GLBT constituency," he said. "The leading gay political organization, the Human Rights Campaign has half a million members nationwide. Its PAC gave more than a million dollars in 2006, 91 percent to Democratic candidates.”

ENDA, he said, “may hurt Democrats in socially conservative districts.”

But have the cases of former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who quit last year after his sexually provocative text messages to a male House page were published, and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, caught in a bathroom sex sting, eroded Republicans’ ability to use gay rights against Democrats?

“Though the Foley and Craig incidents may limit the GOP’s ability to highlight gay issues, conservative and religious activists will still criticize lawmakers who support such a measure,” said Pitney, who added that “congressional Democrats are testing the limits of how far they can go before triggering a backlash.”

“What we have to combat now is the fear of Democrats of being tied too closely to the GLBT community,” said Jeremy Bishop, Executive Director of Pride At Work, a GLBT advocacy group within the AFL-CIO.

He urged Democratic leaders to "not waffle because of fears of a backlash.” Bishop’s group supports including transgender people in ENDA.

Asked about the Democrats’ push for ENDA, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said he was surprised that “they’re so aggressively defining themselves.”

He said, “It is helpful to us that they’re defining the difference between the two parties.... On this issue and other issues, they’re helping create an understanding of what the two parties are for and I think at the end of the day that’s good for us.”

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