Should Clinton Speak?

David Mixner has posted about this impending protest in San Diego (I've merged and edited a couple of his posts for brevity here):

Towleroad is reporting this morning that President Bill Clinton will cross a massive picket line on Sunday, February 15, at the Manchester Hotel in San Diego in order to make a speech for money. The owner of the hotel was a strong supporter of Proposition 8 and has bad union practices.

In a powerful new coalition, UNITE (the unions) and the LGBT community have been picketing the hotel and urging a boycott. Not since the days of the Coors boycott in the late 1970's has there been such a powerful labor and LGBT alliance.

With the placement of an across-the-top banner on the the pressure for the President to cancel his speech for money grew enormously this week. On the site, there was an appeal to the former president urging him not to cross the picket lines, signed by such LGBT leaders as Cleve Jones, founder of the AIDS quilt; Rich Jacobs, Chair of the Courage Campaign; and Fred Karger, Chair of Californians Against Hate.

A protest will be held Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Manchester Hotel in San Diego. The websites of Californians Against Hate and the Courage Campaign have details.

The San Diego Union-Tribune has more details on the story, and the response of Clinton's spokesman; also, a copy of the appeal letter here.

What do you think, guys? Should Clinton speak regardless of the controversy? How important is this boycott to our struggle for equal rights? What would you do?

Change has come to America

. . . . as shown by this statement on the employment application page at the Obama-Biden transition team's new web site, Change.gov:

The Obama-Biden Transition Project does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law.

(Honk to Pam's House Blend)

It's worth noting here that Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087, which prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce. However, under Bush, the Office of Special Counsel in the Justice Department refused to enforce this policy, and even purged some gay staffers.