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Woods Loses Congressional Race

Anthony Woods, the West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran who launched an historic campaign to become the first black openly gay man elected to Congress, loses his bid to represent California's 10th Congressional District. Woods received about 8% of the vote and finished fourth among Democratic candidates vying for the seat to represent the East Bay and Sacramento and replace the outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher, according to the California Secretary of State.

With about 26 percent of the total, Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi captured the Democratic nomination. Garamendi has a strong pro-gay record and recently announced his support of marriage equality on Twitter. Garamendi will face Republican attorney David Harmer and minor party opponents in the November 3 runoff election.

Woods, a 29-year-old native of the 10th District and Fairfield, California, energized progressives and the netroots. The West Point graduate earned the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal. Woods earned his master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was honorably discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy after coming out at Harvard.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch San Francisco's KGO-TV interview Woods on the day of the election. Woods loses the election but emerges as a hero. Congratulations for competing in a tough race against very well known opponents. And thanks for bringing visibility to black LGBTs.

Anthony Woods: "A Rare Candidate in A Unique Period in History"

Photo: WoodsforCongress Flickr

More news on Anthony Woods, who is running in the special election in California’s 10th Congressional District to replace the outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher. As the debate around "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and health care reform intensifies, in an op-ed in the Washington Blade, DC-based freelance writer and gay activist Jeff Marootian describes Woods as "a rare candidate running in a unique period in American history."

Woods is among a rising class of America’s next generation of leaders.  Educated at West Point and Harvard, he is a former captain in the U.S. Army who served tours of duty in Iraq and received the Bronze Star. In Iraq, he oversaw 81 men, all of whom returned home safe and sound. After returning from serving his country, he faced firsthand the discrimination of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and was honorably discharged for coming out. 

Truly there could be no better advocate in the fight for equality on the Hill on this and so many other important social issues. It is fitting that he would replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher, who introduced legislation to repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell." His military leadership would bring additional credibility to the Democratic Party on the issues of national defense, and a welcome young veteran’s perspective to the House Armed Services Committee if he were to replace Tauscher as a member. 

He is a rare candidate running in a unique period in American history. His election would be a tremendous step forward for California and for the country, and an assurance to further progress on the issues so significant to us all.

In related news: Earlier this week Woods participated in a debate among the 11 candidates hoping to replace Tauscher. KCBS Radio reports Anthony Woods took aim "at the more seasoned politicians in the field. 'It’s time to start sending a different generation of leaders to start solving those problems,' said Woods. 'Time and time again we keep sending career politicians to these seats, and then we’re disappointed when we realize that nothing changes.' "

The special primary election  is September 1. The latest polls are not so encouraging: SurveyUSA for KPIX-TV in San Francisco shows Lt. Gov. John Garamendi with a solid lead at 26% and Woods with 5%.

If you can, please donate to Anthony Woods' campaign or his ACTBlue page. Join Anthony Woods on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @Woods4Congress.

Anthony Woods Raises More Than $100K in Q1 of CA-10 Campaign

Fabulous news to report on Anthony Woods. In the first two months of his first campaign, the West Point graduate who earned the Bronze Star serving in Iraq and discharged under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has raised more than $100,000 for the recently scheduled Special Election in California’s 10th Congressional District.

Woods is running to replace the outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher in the East Bay. For the fundraising quarter that ended June 30th, the two tour Iraq War Veteran also recruited more than 800 donors, more than "more than twice the number of donors as Lt. Governor John Garamendi", according to numbers released by the Garamendi.

Key to Woods fundraising success: The Facebook and Twitter generation. Woods has organized more than 4,700 supporters on Facebook, described as "more than every other CD 10 candidate combined."

If you have never heard Anthony Woods speak, he is incredible. AFTER THE JUMP, Woods talks to AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay. If you can, please donate to Anthony Woods' campaign or his ACTBlue page. Join Anthony Woods on Facebook or follow him on Twitter (@Woods4Congress). Wouldn't it be great to have a member of Congress who is black, gay, a veteran and knew what it was like to grow up without health care?

Thanks LANE HUDSON (@TlaneHudson)

Anthony Woods in WaPo: Speaks Out Against DADT, Prop 8 Racism

The latest on Anthony Woods, the West Point graduate who earned the Bronze Star serving two tours in Iraq and was discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Woods is running in a special election to replace the outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher in CA-10 and is profiled in the Washington Post where he says DADT is the least of President Obama's problems.

Woods tells WaPo: "Of all the huge problems that he's confronting, I actually think this one is the easiest. Look, we're a country at war fighting in two different places and trying to combat terrorism all around the world. We need every able-bodied American who wants to serve their country to be allowed."

Woods also shared his frustration on the ongoing race-baiting in the aftermath of Proposition 8a—such as these comments earlier in a post on Lt. Dan Choi, also discharged under DADT. "It's going to be defeated in the future when we build a coalition of African Americans and Hispanics and folks from every swath of life in California. ... It's not at all helpful for the LGBT community, right or wrong, to scapegoat the African American community. That's the exact group of people who you need to speak to immediately and get them on board. What I hope I can do in the future is be a bridge for that. I'm a member of both of those communities and that's how we're going to be able to start speaking to each other in a language we both understand."

Last night was the end of the fundraising quarter for congressional candidates. There's going to be considerable focus on Woods' numbers, so, if you can, please donate to Anthony Woods' campaign or his ACTBlue page.

If you have never heard Anthony Woods speak, he is incredible. AFTER THE JUMP, Woods talks to AMERICAblog's Joe Sudbay. If you can, please donate to Anthony Woods' campaign.

 

Harry Reid: No Sponsors to End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Senate Majority "Leader" Harry Reid has "no" plans to introduce a bill to repeal the military's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the Senate because there are no sponsors, reports The Advocate. Reid says, for now, the president can end DADT "administratively" which flatly contradicts what has been said by the White House.

"'I haven't identified any sponsors,' he said. 'My hope is that it can be done administratively.' A Democratic aide later clarified that Reid was speaking about the possibility of using an executive order to suspend discharges or perhaps halting enforcement of the policy by changing departmental regulations within the Department of Defense. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has continually said in recent months that President Barack Obama believes the only 'durable solution' to repealing the military's gay ban would be to do so through legislative action."

Last week, the New York Times editorial page joined the growing chorus calling on President Barack Obama to sign an executive order suspending the military's gay ban, urging him to "see if there is indeed any action he could take on his own."

Reid adds that he wants the House to take action on the bill filed in March. That bill, sponsored by California's outgoing Rep. Ellen Tauscher, has 144 bipartisan sponsors.

The White House says Congress should move on DADT. The Senate says they can't find any sponsors but the White House can do something now... It's like watching Abbott and Costello playing "Who's on first?" Polls show up to 70 percent of Americans support ending DADT. But if Harry Reid can't find one co-sponsor in the Senate and Obama refuses to take (temporary) action by signing an executive order, it's probably safe to assume that ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is not a priority of either Harry Reid or the President.

Reid: No Sponsors for DADT [Advocate]

Gay Iraqi Vet and Congressional Candidate Anthony Woods on CNN

More news on Anthony Woods, the West Point graduate who earned the Bronze Star serving in Iraq and was discharged under  "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Woods is running in a special election to replace the outgoing Representative Ellen Tauscher. In addition to a new profile at Advocate.com, CNN's Campbell Brpwn interviewed the congressional candidate to discuss the military's failed "Don't Ask" policy.

Woods tells CNN: "I was extremely frustrated with the idea of lying about who I was. I thought it was very important for people who disagree with the policy to take a stand and say they were not going to lie anymore. I knew it was going to cost me my career. I knew it would cost me the opportunity to teach at West Point. ... Ultimately I think it was the right decision to do to get rid of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. It hurts our country and is not good for our country."

AFTER THE JUMP, via Mad Professah, watch Anthony Woods on CNN. Donate to Anthony Woods' campaign here.

Daily Beast: "Anthony Woods Life Reads Like a 'West Wing' Script"

Anthony Woods' star is rising. Benjamin Sarlin at The Daily Beast talks to the black, openly gay congressional candidate and writes a glowing profile. Sarlin says the highly decorated Iraqi War veteran and West Point graduate has "the" biography of this election cycle. "In 2004, it was Barack Obama; in 2006, it was Vietnam vet Jim Webb. Anthony Woods' biography—he’s a gay, black Iraq vet with a Harvard degree—reads like a West Wing script Aaron Sorkin threw into the wastebasket for being too over the top"

Woods’ résumé seems perfectly tuned to attract national attention. One of his top issues is repealing the military’s “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy, an issue that seems to be gathering steam as liberals try to hold President Obama to his campaign pledge. Woods has already received an endorsement from Dan Choi, a fellow West Point graduate whose recent discharge for being gay made him a rallying point for activists, and popular blogger Andrew Sullivan recently took note of his campaign as well.

For Woods, the issue is deeply personal. He was forced to leave a promising Army career after he came out in 2008. He received an honorable discharge under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell rules. “I knew getting into it that if I took a stand, it would be a costly decision and it certainly has become one,” Woods said in an interview with The Daily Beast. "But people have to take a stand for what's right. There's a reason this policy is on the front burner now... We're a country fighting two wars, having trouble recruiting, yet we want to turn away some of our most talented, most well-trained soldiers?"

Woods said that he “agonized” over the decision to come out for several months while he was studying for his master's in public policy at Harvard. In addition to his military career, his choice ended up costing him his military scholarship as well as several friends. "As I grew more comfortable with who I was, the less comfortable I was with lying about it," Woods said. "It was a real struggle because I absolutely love the military. I still do today. I would gladly serve, I would love to teach at West Point, I had no problem deploying again."

Woods is running in a special election in California's 10th Congressional District where he grew up. The seat is being vacated later by Rep. Ellen Tauscher who has resigned to become the Obama Administration's Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

If elected, Woods would become the first openly black gay person elected to Congress, and, only the second gay man who was elected to Congress while fully out of the closet. The first was Colorado's Rep. Jared Polis.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch Anthony Woods' campaign video. Donate to Anthony Woods' campaign here.

Gay Iraqi Veteran Anthony Woods Runs for U.S. House in California

During the same week the Pentagon discharges a decorated Arabic linguist under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Obama Administration sends mixed signals on the future of the failed policy, another openly gay and highly decorated Iraqi War veteran is running for Congress and brings a unique perspective to the debate on gays in the military.

Twenty-eight-year-old West Point graduate Anthony Woods led two combat units in Iraq and received a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government before being discharged for being coming out as gay. Woods is running in a special election in California's 10th Congressional District where he grew up. Daily Kos calls Woods "a rising young progressive star", and, if elected, he would become the first black openly gay representative in Congress. The Washington Blade:

Woods said his personal belief system prompted him to disclose that he is gay to his commanding officer last summer, during his sixth year in the military and shortly after he completed his studies at the Kennedy School under an Army educational program. The disclosure triggered an investigation by the Army that led to his honorable discharge last December.

The discharge came nearly four years after Woods completed his first tour of duty in Iraq as a second lieutenant in charge of a 17-member combat unit from 2004 to 2005 for which he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal. He led a 64-soldier combat unit on his second tour in Iraq from 2005 to 2006. The Army awarded him a Bronze Star for his service on that tour.

“I loved my career in the military and I was really looking forward to continuing that career,” Woods said. “But my time at Harvard provided me an opportunity to recognize and to fully come to terms with who I was. I started to realize that it is not at all worth going back to a life of lies and being dishonest to my commanders, to my soldiers, to my peers. It was something I was no longer willing to do and something I don’t think other members of the LGBT community who serve in the military should do.”

The seat for California’s 10th will become vacant later this month when Rep. Ellen Tauscher  resigns to become the Obama Administration's Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. The East Bay district has a solid Democratic majority and Tauscher has been one of the strongest supporter of LGBT rights in Congress. Tauscher has been the leader on repealing the military's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

The special election is slated for September or October. Woods is a considered a strong candidate and is his military knowledge is key in CA-10 where military veterans are a significant number of residents. The district includes Travis Air Force Base.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch Anthony Woods' campaign video.

Tauscher Introduces Bill to Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

New legislation to repeal "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces, was introduced this afternoon in the House of Representatives.

The latest bill was filed by Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher, a California Democrat. Tauscher is the lead sponsor of the MIlitary Readiness Enhancement Act, which repeals the ban and replaces it with new provisions that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Armed Forces. Last year, the MREA had at least 144 bipartisan cosponsors.

In seeking cosponsors while reintroducing the bill, Ms. Tauscher said: "With fifteen years of social progress and the recent sea of change we have witnessed in the national political landscape, I am further encouraged that now is definitely the time to act." She also contended that the costs of the policy were too great, for those who were let go from the service over the years and also in terms of the nation’s recruiting needs.

[President] Obama said during that campaign that he favored repealing the law, and allowing gays to serve openly in the military. But since then, aides have said it would be several months before any announcements were made, and a decision would follow a studied assessment of the policy.

Given the priorities of the budget and the economy, many experts believe it is "unlikely" the "Don’t Ask" legislation will be taken up anytime soon. It is also likely the Obama Administration has learned from the mistakes of the Clinton Administration. In 1993, the Clinton White House tackled the thorny issue of gays in the military less than 100 days into its presidency. After polarizing debate, DADT became the flawed compromise. 

Since DADT was enacted more than 12,000 servicemembers have been dismissed because of their sexuality  According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which advocates for gays in the military, an average of two service members are dismissed under the law every day. At least 26 nations, including staunch war on terror allies such as Israel and Britain, allow gays to serve openly and none reporting morale or recruitment problems.” A Zogby poll of U.S. soldiers finds 73 percent "are personally comfortable in the presence of gays and lesbians.”

Some Background ...
Obama Conference Call on "Don't Ask" [R20]
Obama Talks to "The Advocate" [R20]
Gays in Military Do Not Undermine "Cohesiveness" [R20]
Court of Appeals Upholds "Don't Ask" [R20]
Joint Chiefs Nominee: Congress Can Reconsider "Don't Ask" [R20]
Romney Defends Pace's Anti-Gay Remarks [R20]
Joint Chiefs Chairman Criticizes Gays [R20]
Former Joint Chiefs Chairman: End DADT [R20]
Former Defense Secretary: End DADT [R20]
Colin Powell on Guantanamo [R20]
Joint Chiefs Chairman Regrets Criticizing Gays [R20]
General Says Bush Worst Thing to Happen [R20]
Former Defense Secretary: End DADT [R20]
Former Joint Chiefs Chair: End DADT [R20]
Most Soldiers Support Gays [R20]
Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Hearings? [R20]
News: DADT, Maryland Hearings [R20]
News: Don't Ask, Don't Tell [R20]