LGBT issues not hot topic with Bernie and Hillary in Philly

Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both campaigned Wednesday in Philadelphia ahead of the state’s April 26 primary, but neither spent much time on LGBT issues, instead preferring to delineate the differences between their progressivism.

The former secretary of state told several hundred union members gathered for the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO convention at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel that she and Sanders have many of the same goals.

“We agree that wages are too low and inequality is too high,” Clinton said toward the middle of her half-hour speech. “But Sen. Sanders and I have some real differences about how we would go about achieving our goals as president. Like a lot of people, I am concerned that some of his ideas just won’t work because the numbers don’t add up. Others won’t even pass Congress or they rely on Republican governors suddenly having a conversion experience and becoming progressives. In a number of important areas, he doesn’t have a plan at all.”

At Sanders’ evening rally at the Liacouras Center at Temple University, he slammed Clinton for super PAC contributions to her campaign, voting in favor of the Iraq War and supporting trade deals that don’t benefit American workers. The Vermont senator will also speak Thursday at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO convention.

“This campaign is gaining momentum because we are listening to the American people, not wealthy campaign contributors,” Sanders said. “Today we have a corrupt campaign-finance system, which is undermining American democracy.”

He said he does have plans to achieve his campaign promises, noting he would “impose a tax on Wall Street speculation” to cover the cost of making colleges tuition-free. He went on to touch on marriage equality in his hour-long address as a nod to how radical change can happen.

“If we were here, say, eight years ago,” Sanders said, “and somebody jumped up and said, ‘You know, Bernie, I think that gay marriage will be legal in all 50 states in this country,’ the person next to him or her would’ve said, ‘No, you’re crazy. That can’t happen.’ But what happened is for decades — and this is how change always happens — the gay community and their straight allies stood up. What they said is that in America, people should have the right to love whoever they want.”

Sanders is a cosponsor of the Equality Act, which would add federal protections against discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Clinton did not mention LGBT workers in her speech that was themed to appeal to union members. She praised Gov. Tom Wolf’s executive order that raises the minimum wage to $10.15 an hour for employees under the state’s jurisdiction, and devoted a large portion of time to decrying China for illegally flooding American markets with artificially cheap steel and other goods. She said she planned to appoint a chief trade prosecutor, triple the number of trade-enforcement officers and build an early warning system to intervene before trade violations occur.  

Clinton has previously stumped specifically for LGBT rights, saying at a town hall in the fall in New Hampshire that she would make it her “highest priority” to pass the Equality Act. She is overwhelmingly the preferred candidate among LGBT groups. The Human Rights Campaign has endorsed Clinton. Locally, Equality Pennsylvania and the Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club have also endorsed her.

Before Clinton took the stage at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO convention, the union members voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to support the Pennsylvania Fairness Act, which would add state-level protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. AFL-CIO leaders said it would be good for business to protect all workers and draw skilled people to Pennsylvania.

Clinton and Sanders also addressed Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner.

Sanders fired off several puns on Trump’s name, saying, “Coming together always trumps dividing us up,” and “At the end of the day, love trumps hatred.”

Clinton appeared to channel Trump’s slogan, “Make America great again,” when she said, “Make America what it ought to be.”

In fact, she pulled the quote from the final speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. before he was assassinated. King said, “Let us move in these powerful days, these days of challenge, to make America what it ought to be.”

“That is still our mission,” Clinton said. “I believe with all my heart we indeed can make America what it ought to be if we do it together. If we reach for love and kindness and respect instead of bluster and bigotry, if we lift each other up instead of tearing each other down, if we stay true to the promise of America, there is no challenge we can’t meet and no barrier we can’t break.”  

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