6-06-08, 7:55 pm

Praising Sen. Hillary Clinton's long record of fighting for LGBT equality, Obama for America Deputy Campaign Manager Steve Hildebrand extended a warm welcome to LGBT supporters of the New York Senator on a conference call June 6.

Hildebrand described the primary as 'sometimes painful' but 'truly historic.' In terms of money raised and record numbers of volunteers, activists and voters brought into the process, both campaigns made this primary season a record-setting year that bodes well for the Democratic Party in the fall, he said.

To Clinton supporters, Hildebrand added, 'We know that each of you will take your time to join Barack in his venture moving forward whenever you are comfortable doing so.'

'We certainly recognize the pain that goes with some of this. Know that you have a welcome home here. Know that we need your help and that we want your help,' he added.

Clinton supporter Elizabeth Birch, former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, talked about the sadness of seeing Sen. Clinton lose the nomination process.

Despite being hardened by Washington after all these years, Birch said, 'on the night of June 3rd, I burst into tears. I was so upset. It was a painful moment.'

Though having come to admire Barack Obama, Birch described her response to Clinton's loss as the emotion one feels for the loss of a 'vanquished warrior.' She also felt deeply saddened that her young daughter would not get to see a woman become president at 'this early formative stage of her life.'

Birch closely identified with Clinton and saw her candidacy as a 'dream' for overcoming sexism and inequality. 'It's a heartbreak in Hillary losing,' she stated.

Birch added, however, that it is also just as important for her biracial children to see a 'very gifted, wise, strong, very powerful man like Barack Obama who is Black and who looks like them take a leadership role in this country.'

Birch expressed congratulations to Obama's supporters and pleaded for their patience in seeing Clinton's supporters in the LGBT community come over to his side. She predicted that it would happen within days.

'None of us will tolerate one more minute of the Bush administration, which is what McCain represents. There's too much at stake,' Birch added. She said that ultimately the LGBT community would be united behind Obama to 'win our country and, in many ways, our planet back.'

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese described the moment as 'transformative' and saw it as an 'opportunity to move forward in a unified way.'

Despite tremendous disappointment at Hillary Clinton's loss, 'it speaks to the real power of our community that we have such an ally with Senator Obama and that we can enthusiastically get behind his campaign,' Solmonese said.

'He has a vision for America that includes us. This is a man that looks out across America, across the landscape of what he has called that unlikely story that is America, and he sees us,' Solmonese said. 'He sees that we're a part of the fabric of America.'

Solmonese reminded the callers that Obama is not afraid to speak up for LGBT equality to audiences that are often viewed as unsympathetic. Obama has supported hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and identity as a protected category. He supports ending discrimination against LGBT workers and has supported more funding for HIV/AIDS research and care, Solmonese said.

'It is time for everyone in our community to show our power, as we did in 2006, come forward and work toward a common goal, because I'll tell you that the consequences could not be clearer to me,' he said.

John McCain, said Solmonese, worked extra special hard to block the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill, opposes the employment anti-discrimination bill, supports the 'don't ask, don't tell' military policy, and endorsed and made TV commercials in support of the ban on marriage equality ballot initiative that fortunately failed in 2006 in Arizona.

Solmonese expressed confidence that the LGBT community would come together behind Obama quickly.

In an article for Huffington Post in April, Solmonese described his organization's plans for the 2008 elections. Using Internet tools and traditional boots on the ground methods, the Human Rights Campaign is pledged to bring out 5 million LGBT voters this November, wrote Solmonese.

Obama for America LGBT constituency adviser Tobias Wolff added that he recognizes that Barack Obama must earn the trust and loyalty of Clinton's LGBT supporters and pledged to do so.

Obama 'knows the issues, and he knows us,' said Wolff. 'He feels these issues in his bones. The courage he has shown in giving our rights a platform in this campaign is an expression of his commitment.'

Hildebrand pledged a massive outreach to LGBT voters to educate them about Obama's record of advocacy for LGBT equality. He also described Obama's general election campaign as a 50 state strategy and not merely a battleground operation.

--Reach Joel Wendland at