NEW YORK: Pro-Gay Democrat To Replace U.S. Rep. Chris "Craigslist" Lee

Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, who supports same-sex marriage and the repeal of DADT, last night won the special election to replace Rep. Chris Lee (R), who resigned earlier this year after being exposed for cruising Craigslist for women other than his wife. The election largely turned on the GOP's campaign to dismantle Medicare.

“Today, the Republican plan to end Medicare cost Republicans $3.4 million and a seat in Congress,” said Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “And this is only the first seat.” Even before voters went to the polls Tuesday, Republicans played down the significance of the race and particularly its relevance to the debate about Medicare’s future. “I know this town loves to take signals from individual races. I think the best signal you can take is the 63 seats that we picked up in November,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) told reporters Monday.

The GOP loser, Jane Corwin, had been supported by NOM.

Circumcision Ban Makes SF Ballot

Yesterday San Francisco election officials certified the petition campaign to place a city-wide ban on circumcision on the November ballot.

If the measure passes, circumcision would be prohibited among males under the age of 18. The practice would become a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to one year in jail. There would be no religious exemptions. The initiative appears to be the first of its kind in the country to actually make it to this stage, though a larger national debate over the health benefits of circumcision has been going on for many years. Banning circumcision would almost certainly prompt a flurry of legal challenges alleging violations of the First Amendment's guarantee of the freedom to exercise one's religious beliefs.

Approximately 80% of adult American men are circumcised. Worldwide, that number is only about 30%.

Fake Jane Corwin

New York Assemblywoman Jane Corwin is the GOP's pick to replace Rep. Chris "Craigslist" Lee, who resigned from Congress earlier this year after Gawker exposed his online search for women other than his wife. And somebody has had a bit of fun with a fake Corwin campaign site, which will give you a few laughs. The special election is May 24th.

(Tipped by JMG reader Brian)

BRITAIN: Fake Gay Election Leaflets Sent To Muslim Neighborhood

Voters in a Muslim neighborhood in Leicester, England have been sent election leaflets claiming to be from the Liberal Democrats in which the party pledges that it will "force schools to teach that homosexuality is normal." A spokesman for the Liberal Democrats says the leaflets are not from them.

The spokesman added: “Some of this leaflet is completely true and we are very proud of our record in championing gay rights. However, this a fake leaflet maliciously designed to incite hatred. It is disgusting attempt to provoke hate during the last days of a political campaign. It has no place in politics and it has no place in society.”

Earlier this year flyers appeared in London declaring that it was a "gay-free zone" and that people should "fear Allah." Those responsible for the flyers have not yet been identified, although one arrest was made last month. Some gay activists suspect that the fake Liberal Democrats leaflets are a similar attempt by Britain's neo-Nazis to sow discord between the Muslim and gay communities.

CANADA: Conservatives Win Majority

Canada's Conservative Party swept into the majority in yesterday's national elections.

Canadian voters have radically redrawn the country’s political landscape, handing the Conservative Party its long-sought majority in an election that decimated the Bloc Québécois and humbled the Liberals. For the first time in history, the New Democratic Party will form the Official Opposition after an extraordinary breakthrough that propelled the party to more than 100 seats. The extent of the transformation is startling. The Liberals now hold just four seats west of Guelph, Ont. The Conservatives, formerly shunned by Toronto voters, won nearly half of the seats in that city, twice as many as the Liberals. The Bloc Québécois, which defined Quebec federal politics for two decades, no longer qualifies for official party status. And Green Party Leader Elizabeth May won the party’s first seat, and the right to a place in the next election’s debates.

Unmarried And Unelectable

From a campaign mailer in Florida:

“Rose Ferlita has put her political ambition first and foremost, while her opponent is a dedicated family man with two children — Ferlita is an unmarried woman with a suspect commitment to family values,” it reads. Moreover, as Florida blog Saint Petersblog notes, “unmarried” is a “codeword” — “if you read between the lines is a subtle way of casting doubt on Ferlita’s sexual orientation.” Other mailers sent by Less Government Now going after men have focused on the candidates’ record or policy positions, not their personal lives, marital status, or sexual orientation.

Surprisingly, the victim in the above bullshit is the GOP candidate.

Rahm Emanuel Back On Ballot

This afternoon the Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Rahm Emanuel has met the residency requirements to run for mayor of Chicago.

The justices said Emanuel's opponents did not prove that he had given up residency when he served in the Obama administration in Washington. "Given the record before us, it is simply not possible to find clearly erroneous the (Chicago Board of Elections') determination that the objectors failed to prove that the candidate had abandoned his Chicago residence," the court ruled in a unanimous decision. "We therefore reverse the decision of the appellate court and affirm the decision of the circuit court, which confirmed the Board's decision."

Homocon blogger Kevin DuJan must be positively quivering with rage. Heh.

Rahm Emanuel Back On Ballot (For Now)

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear Rahm Emanuel's appeal of a lower court's ruling that he does not meet the eligibility requirements to be mayor of Chicago.

It will hear the case without oral arguments or new briefs, allowing for a faster ruling on the matter. The quick proceedings are necessary, with the race less than a month away and early voting set to begin next Monday. It was the second break in a matter of hours for Emanuel. The court ruled earlier Tuesday that no ballots may be printed without his name, at least not until the court has dealt with the appeal. "This Court is taking the case on the briefs filed by the parties in the appellate court," the court said. "No additional briefs will be filed in the Supreme Court. Oral argument will not be entertained."

Upon today's decision, all the end zone dancing from Twitter's wingnuts immediately ceased.