HRC: Prom Queen, Not Valedictorian

This post was submitted by Chase Maggiano. He blogs at truthisthenewblog.

In many ways, the end of 2008 feels like the final weeks of high school. For the past four years we have been “taught” by people we hate, like Dick Cheney and George Bush, and we’ve befriended a few “cool teachers” along the way, like Rachel Maddow and Stephen Colbert. We are truly sad to say goodbye to some of our friends in Washington, while others can’t be forgotten soon enough. There are also a select few that everyone will remember forever: the prom queen, the valedictorian, and that hottie who sat next to us in AP Journalism. I’ve got a long list of hottie nominations from the past four years, a very short list of valedictorians, and one glaring nomination for prom queen.

This year’s prom queen threw the best parties, had the coolest clothes, and knew everyone’s name. She acted friendly to your face but threw you under the bus the minute you left the room. And if you thought you were her best friend, she’d turn on you in a heartbeat. I’m talking about the Human Rights Campaign.

Every year, HRC writes an annual report - a yearbook of sorts to let you know what they’ve accomplished with your money, hoping you will give again next year. Take a look and you’ll see lots of smiling faces, articles about how they’re helping the transgender population (really?), advocating for equality in healthcare, and sponsoring nationwide concert tours to encourage people to vote. You will also see a lot of numbers and dollar signs at the end of the report where the yearly finances are outlined. Pay close attention to this section, and get out your calculator. What you’ll see that HRC’s 2008 Program Services spend of $28.5 million was nearly identical to that of 2007. Go back one more year, and you’ll see the 2007 Program Services spend increased more than $3 million from 2006. Basically, HRC increased its programs and services spend in 2007, but not 2008.

Wait what? Like, for serious? During the most popular election year ever, when anti-gay initiatives were on ballots in four states, and one of them received huge media attention and could very likely have federal implications, HRC has been able to not spend more money than ever before? I’m like, totally confused. Does HRC only work on, like, the big Washington issues or something?

That’s what they claim – to focus on Federal issues. But if you read the annual report, HRC is advertising its support of strictly state issues on seven out of seventeen pages in its annual report, hoping that this will sway you to give money next year. It’s worth asking, is HRC spending on these issues with the same gusto it is fundraising on these issues? Let’s take a look.
In Florida, HRC contributed $120,000 to Florida Red & Blue (backers of the SayNo2 campaign). In Arizona, HRC contributed $50,000 to Arizona Together for media production and air time. In Arkansas, HRC provided half of the funding necessary for the Arkansas Families First campaign to hire a campaign manager (estimate $20,000, unconfirmed by HRC). In California, the prom queen spent a whopping $3.5 million on the No on 8 Campaign (less than a quarter of what the other side spent). In total, less than $4 million was spent to protect the GLBT community in this election. Go back to that annual report and you’ll see that HRC actually spent more money on its own salaries and parties this year (they call it “Management and General” expenses) than they did on anti-gay ballot measures. Let me say that again. During the highest voter turnout election ever, HRC spent more money on salaries and parties than they did protecting the rights of its members by fighting anti-gay ballot initiatives. To be precise, HRC spent 30% of the revenue it generated in 2008 on non-mission items (salaries, operating expenses, management, fundraising, etc.). Even worse, this is roughly the same percentage as 2007 and 2006. So in three years, HRC has not been any more efficient with my friends’ donations…yet my friends are still giving!?

There are people who say, “HRC isn’t the best option, but it’s all we’ve got.” To those people, I say look in the mirror! You could also look here. Several weeks ago I marched through Washington in a protest against the passage of Prop 8. Dozens of similar marches took place at the same time throughout the country, and HRC had nothing to do with it. It was us - an organized group of ordinary people posting messages on facebook, sending Evites to our friends and family, and calling our congresspersons. The 2008 election made it clear that top-heavy organizations like HRC are no longer driving forces in the civil rights movement. So do we still need HRC? No. Not as it currently exists.

We’re about to have both a President and legislature sympathetic to GLBT issues, and if HRC wants to re-establish itself as any kind of player in the fight for GLBT rights, then it must start getting results. Stop buying cute dresses and fancy dinners. Stop gushing over the pretty people who actually hate us. Start putting us first…all of us. I challenge HRC to start spending responsibly by reducing its operating expenses to 25%. Start supporting the people that support us, not just the people that look poised to win a seat in Washington. Most drastically, I challenge HRC to listen to its constituents. Please, don’t talk to Washington for us. Let us talk through you. I was a member of HRC for several years, attended many HRC sponsored events, and not once did the organization ask what was important to me. I, like many, got tired of being ignored. The prom queen might have thrown some good parties in high school, but I hope she’s still not wearing that sad crown for the next four years.