"The gay person closest to the President" (and former adviser) attacks Obama and Democrats

Introducing Steve Hildebrand, deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign, at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club’s Freedom Awards August 22 at the San Diego Art Institute in Balboa Park, San Diego Democratic Party chair Jess Durfee said he’d been described as “the Gay person Obama listens to and the Gay person closest to the President.” When Hildebrand actually took the podium, he snapped, “The problem is Obama isn’t listening enough” — setting the tone for a slashing attack on Obama and the Democratic officeholders in Congress for failing to advance progressive causes and letting Republicans and so-called “Blue Dog” Democrats set the agenda for the country.

“This is my President, this is our President,” Hildebrand said of Obama, the man he helped put in the White House. “I love him, I love Michelle, I want him to succeed, but all of us need to put pressure on him and Congress to do the right things. The American people put confidence in the Democrats because they though we could get things done, and if we fail, they’re not going to give it back.” He made it clear that he fears the Republicans will be able to return to power in 2010 and 2012 unless the Democrats put through a progressive agenda now — not only on Queer issues but on health care, the economy, global warming and the other issues Obama promised “change” on in 2008.

Hildebrand went after Obama, the “Blue Dogs” in the House and “moderate” Democrats in the Senate, and the party’s leaders in Congress — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid — in equal measure. “There are a lot of Blue Dogs in the House and moderate Democrats in the Senate who are standing in the way of getting things done,” Hildebrand said. “I gave up a lot to elect Democrats, and I expect them to give it up for me. I’m going to speak loudly. The Republicans don’t have power unless the moderates and the Blue Dogs give it to them — which is what they’re doing now.”

One thing Hildebrand said he plans to do personally is to move away from helping to elect specific candidates — which has been the focus of his political work for 22 years — and instead focus on building campaigns to put pressure on politicians from outside the electoral system. “We have to help elect good people to office, but we also have to push them from the outside,” he said. “I don’t want to have to listen to one more candidate talk about ‘reforming health care’ and not get it done. I’m tired of it.”

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