The Gist

Human Rights Campaign's Sleazy Poll Manipulation


HRC has been accused of mismanaging its relationship with Democrats in Congress, losing control of the politics surrounding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as well as going back on it's word regarding ENDA and trans-inclusion. Less than two months after HRC executive director Joe Solmonese said HRC would not support a bill that didn't included protections for transgender people his group backed and pushed a trans-free ENDA.

Now add another low point: skewing polls to back up HRC's bad decisions and dishonest dealings. At the height of the debacle in October over dropping transgender protections in ENDA, a poll suddenly materialized, commissioned by HRC, that magically backed up their new position and their turnaround. Contrary to a previous poll of gays, lesbians and bisexuals (which showed widespread support for trans-inclusion in ENDA), this poll showed that a huge majority -- 68% -- supported dropping trans-inclusion.

Now, the Washington Blade exposes the bias built into the poll, quoting experts who describe the poll as troubling, nonsensical and not worthy of publication. It becomes clear that HRC was purposely trying to manipulate the results.

Meanwhile, a new poll by researchers at Hunter College in New York (ironically, funded by HRC) undertaken to gauge gay support for the presidential candidates (a majority of gays, lesbians and bisexuals support Hillary Clinton according to the poll) shows that 60% of LGBs believe it was wrong to drop transgender protections from the bill.

I can't wait to see those commentators who pushed the HRC poll as some sort of "proof" that gays were ready to drop the Ts -- not that the majority should be determining the rights of the minority anyway -- now focusing on this new polling and the suspicious problems with the HRC poll from last month. I'm not holding my breath.