Posted on 09/06/2011 10:53:39 AM PDT by markomalley
Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) has made it official — she’s running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Herb Kohl (D) next year.
If she wins, Baldwin will make history as the the first openly gay member of the Senate. But how much will her sexuality factor into the race (if at all)?
Baldwin was first elected to represent Wisconsin’s 2nd district in 1998, becoming the first female House member from the Badger State. She was also the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress as a non-incumbent.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was the first congressman to voluntarily come out as gay — he did so in 1987, during his fourth term, in the Boston Globe. There are currently four gay members of Congress, all in the House.
“When I first ran for Congress in 1998, people counted me out,” she says in her Senate announcement video released this morning “But we worked hard, campaigned across south-central Wisconsin, and we won.”
In that announcement — via video and an e-mail to supporters — Baldwin made no mention of being gay. And, when asked about the impact on her campaign during a conference call with reporters, Baldwin said: “From day one, I have always been open about my sexual orientation. I think that that integrity is something that is important to voters. But frankly, this campaign isn’t going to be about me.”
Of course, that depends on who ultimately decides to run — and who Republicans decide to nominate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
James Buchanan (D-Penn.) served in the US Senate, but he wasn’t “openly gay.”
“There are currently four gay members of Congress...”
I’m guessing that their count may be missing several people.
Does the D stand for Democrat or Dyke?
John Kerry will be disappointed.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Tammy_Baldwin,_official_photo_portrait,_color.jpg/220px-Tammy_Baldwin,_official_photo_portrait,_color.jpg")
She is by all accounts one of the most liberal members of the House. So if she gets the Democrat nomination then it should be a clear choice in terms of ideals between her and the Republican, whoever that winds up being.
I wonder if her first order of business would be to change Wisconsin from the Badger State to the Beaver State.
She looks like Willem Dafoe
Some like to say that being a gay/lesbian candidate doesn’t matter, but since their sexual practices are basically married to their leftist politics and are inseparable in their identities, it really DOES matter
I thought Barbara Mikulski and HILLARY! were first...go figure.
Huh? LOL! My goodness, the stuff these morons say.
FYI, I know a few lesbians and several of them will get really pissed off if you call them "gay". Guys are gay, women are lesbians they tell me.
DOUBLE -FYI, some so-called lesbians can be a lot of fun under the right circumstances... *Wink - Wink - Nod - Nod*
"I resent that!"
“I wonder if her first order of business would be to change Wisconsin from the Badger State to the Beaver State.”
Or change the state snack from moose munch to rug munch
Probably not.
Didn’t obama serve in the Senate?
(just posin’ the question...)
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin wasn’t called the Dairy Queen for nothing
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