STAMPP CORBIN, one of President Obama’s LGBTQ advisors during the 2008 presidential elections, talks about the Commander-in-Chief’s influence as the nation’s “gay” president, the power of the LGBTQ vote and the chances of a Republican president in 2016.
Stampp Corbin is a nationally recognized political strategist who was the Co-Chair of the 2008 Obama National LGBT Leadership Council, and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Human Rights Campaign. He is currently the publisher of San Diego LGBT Weekly and LGBTweekly.com, as well as the former Chair of the Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission in San Diego.
JACKSON: The issue of LGBT equality is destined to be a hot topic in this presidential election with candidates divided roughly along party lines: Democrats basically supporting LGBT equality and Republicans not at all. How do you see this playing out at the polls?
CORBIN: You would think the answer to this question would be easy. It is not. In the last presidential election close to 20% of LGBT people voted for the Republican candidate. I expect that the same percentage will vote Republican in 2016. There is not enough space here to psychoanalyze what that is all about.
I would never vote for a candidate that was not in support of African American civil rights since I’m African American, but members of the LGBT community voting for candidates who do not support LGBT rights is too common. Sure there are instances when you have no choice, but when you do why would you vote someone who declares they want you to be a second class citizen?
In the end, I believe the 2016 Republican presidential candidate will lose. It is extremely difficult to win a national election when you have policies that do not resonate with the majority of women, Latinos, African Americans, young Americans or LGBT people. It comes down to demographics and basic math.
Q: It is widely acknowledged that the LGBT voters propelled Barack Obama to the presidency. Are LGBT voters increasingly becoming a force that political candidates can no longer ignore?
A: The LGBT community has not been ignored. Candidates nationally and locally have mined the coffers and brains of the LGBT community for many years. The change is now they are doing so in the open. Barack Obama was not afraid to court our vote but he understood the power of building a coalition that included LGBT Americans.
For decades our community was willing to be the candidate’s mistress; in the background, hidden. The LGBT community is no longer content to be in the shadows while making huge financial commitments and doing outstanding grassroots work on the ground. Our community will now take our rightful place at the table — all the while being open and honest about ourselves. The LGBT community will not be offering its support to candidates who do not voice full throated support of LGBT civil rights.
Q: President Obama will be remembered as the first “gay” president with his unprecedented support for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality. His views on these issues have evolved during his presidency. As one of his advisors during his race for the White House, what advice did you give him?
A: President Obama is a brilliant man and understood the issues facing the LGBT community. I was one of the first people in the campaign focused upon the LGBT community, so I helped develop the LGBT issues that would be addressed by the campaign. For example, I am the person that said our community would be referred to as the LGBT community, not the GLBT or “gay” community. It seems like a big “so what” now, but then it was a major change. I mean on a national political standpoint we went from “gay” to LGBT, skipping the GLBT moniker because of the Obama presidency.
I also placed the first presidential campaign ads in history in LGBT media. That was the beginning of publicly opening the door to courting the LGBT community’s vote. The ads were in Ohio and Texas. The president won Ohio and the LGBT community was a significant part of that win.
I also was helpful in shaping the responses to some missteps during the campaign like gospel singer Donnie McClurkin. McClurkin is an “ex-gay” and our community was outraged that candidate Obama would have a fundraiser featuring him. To assuage LGBT community outrage and fear, the campaign had an LGBT affirming reverend give the invocation at the event but even that was not enough for some in our community who said they would never vote for Obama. Of course, no one would ever admit that now because of the incredible things that President Obama has done for our community.
Q: What advice would you give the next president of the United States with regard to the LGBT community?
A: The LGBT equality page in history has turned because the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality is supported by the Constitution. The next president needs to focus upon ensuring that the message of equality sent by the Supreme Court is realized. I would tell the next president to support the addition of sexual orientation and gender expression into the Civil Rights Act.
I would also counsel the next president to remember that equality is not a destination, it is always a journey. Just look at what has happened in the African American community over the last two years. That dream of a post-racial America with the election of President Obama was just that, a dream. I hope that the next president realizes that she, oops I mean, they need to remain vigilant in the pursuit of equal civil rights for LGBT people across all aspects of American life including employment, housing, immigration and adoption rights, to name a few.
Q: If a Republican wins the White House in 2016, what are the chances that legislation could be enacted to define marriage as being between a man and a woman?
A: Highly unlikely. The response of corporate America to the Religious Freedom Act in Indiana this year, as well as a similar law in Arkansas, has put fear in moderate Republicans. If Walmart announces they do not support discrimination against LGBT Americans, I think we are beyond the possibility of a marriage amendment passing. Could it be brought to the floor for a vote? Maybe. Passed and enacted into law? No. That ship has passed.
Q: What would a Hillary Clinton win in 2016 mean for LGBT equality?
A: That’s hard to say. While Secretary Clinton has been a reasonable advocate for the LGBT community, she has not been a true leader in the sense she is clearly politically cautious. That is said with me being a supporter of Secretary Clinton. I believe she will continue to build upon the incredible advances made during the Obama administration, but the “big political win” with the LGBT community has already been accomplished; marriage equality. Secretary Clinton can advance other LGBT civil rights, but in the end, the LGBT civil rights legacy will always be Obama’s.
Since I am a political realist, I expect that a President Hillary Clinton will have a number of LGBT civil rights items on her agenda but I think there are very few things on which she can take a bold political stand; perhaps transgender rights. So I expect her to achieve some important gains but they will not be as transformative as those achieved during the Obama presidency.
Q: Tell us about San Diego LGBT Weekly. What motivated you to start a gay publication?
A: LGBT Weekly was a way to keep me connected to LGBT advocacy while living in San Diego. I wanted to ensure that more San Diegans were committed to achieving LGBT equality whether working on the ground or simply writing a check to one of our advocacy organizations.
The 2008 presidential election was the ultimate duality, the election of the first African American president and Proposition 8 winning. I was so surprised when 25,000 San Diegans demonstrated in the streets to protest the passing of Prop 8. In fact, I was dumbfounded. Where were all these people before the measure passed? They were not writing checks, they were not volunteering at the phone banks but they could get off their butts to protest after the fact. That and a series of other events led to my establishing San Diego LGBT Weekly.
Q: You have been a driving force behind the formation of NEPA, the National Equality Publishers Association. What is the purpose and mission of NEPA?
A: I am one of many who are the driving forces behind the National Equality Publishers Association. NEPA is an advocacy group for publishers serving the LGBT consumer across the nation. The organization’s mission is two-fold; to share best practices and to provide an entity that Fortune 500 companies and media buyers can use to engage publishers that have a distinct and unique relationship with the LGBT consumer in local markets.
There is going to be significantly increased interest in the LGBT consumer due to the recent marriage equality ruling and the increased acceptance of the LGBT community. At an educational session at our recent Las Vegas conference over 30 major advertisers attended to learn about the LGBT consumer and how to engage with them effectively.
Each publisher serving a local LGBT community has expert knowledge about their community. It is this unique relationship that NEPA harnesses to allow advertisers to effectively engage with the LGBT consumer.
Just like the journey that American industry has taken with respect to the Latino and African-American markets, NEPA expects to see a change in how many major companies reach the LGBT consumer. NEPA is poised to allow companies to take advantage of the new marketing landscape.
NEPA has already achieved significant success. In the coming months, the organization will be announcing significant relationships directly with advertisers and media buyers across the country.