An Openly Gay Lt. Governor? And He's a Republican!

by Michael Jones · 2009-11-23 06:57:00 UTC
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Richard TiseiThe Republican Party in Massachusetts is certainly a little different than the wing of the Republican Party that nationally celebrates banning gay marriage and worries that hate crimes laws are one of the signs of the end of days. An example? The GOP's candidate for governor in the Bay State, Charlie Baker, just picked an openly gay legislator to serve as his running mate.

Baker chose State Sen. Richard Tisei to be his running mate via Twitter, sending an announcement that certainly qualifies as breaking news, if not earthquake-inducing news. Sen. Tisei came out last week in an article in the Boston Globe.

"Want you to be the first to know: I’ve chosen State Senator Richard Tisei as my running mate. Excited about this team," Baker said in less than 140 characters. Twitter makes history again, this time by informing the masses that a Republican could be responsible for breaking a glass ceiling.

The 2010 Governor's election is shaping up to be a bit of a crazy contest in Massachusetts. Not only do you have Republican candidates who support a whole host of LGBT issues, including marriage equality, but you also have an incumbent Governor, Deval Patrick, who has been a tireless campaigner for LGBT issues. Patrick has a lesbian daughter as well. Couple all of this with two other well-known Massachusetts politicians running for the race, and 2010 is shaping up to be an exciting year for state politics.

But in terms of Baker's announcement, it's good news, provided the GOP doesn't Scozzafava the nominees. It's good to have more than one party reaching out to the LGBT population, and solidifies the premise that civil rights should know no political party.

Maybe whatever Massachusetts Republicans are drinking they can give to some of their national party leaders.

(Photo courtesy of the Massachusetts State Senate.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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