I am frequently updating blog post as I continue to brainstorm and rant:

I have already heard a lot of white gays blame our loss on the black community in California. Shame on you for oversimplifying our movement down to race thus erasing the identities of queer people of color and all of the millions of non-white allies. This line of argument is divisive and lacks important historical, religous, and other analytical perspectives.

We need to ask questions of ourselves and the campaign we followed as they squandered our 17 point lead. Who defined the debate? Did we run a campaign that resonated emotionally? Should we have trusted Log Cabin Republican Patrick Geurrero and HRC to lead us? Did we launch our ads in reactionary defense or in offense? Was our messaging consistent? Did we work early on to build a diverse coalition and show religious and political leaders up front in center from various backgrounds and traditions? Did we have a presence even in conservative areas?

This election should teach us that if you do not frame the debate, have a consistent message, resonate emotionally with all possible allies, and have a presence statewide.

Obama did all of those things, and he won.

The sad truth is that the well-funded Yes on 8 campaign had visibility from the liberal strongholds of San Francisco to the conservative areas in the middle of California. Their messaging was strong and consistent. Their website was even better than ours (GASP!)! Most striking, we let them frame the argument before we had a chance, and so it looked like we were running on defensiveness the whole time. Unfair & Wrong doesn't cut it. Crying over your lover's deathbed and looking into the camera asking for compassion - pleading for your fellow citizens not to discriminate does. But of course the "focus groups" didn't see it that way....