Gay Democrats dance to different tunes | Guardian

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Gay Democrats dance to different tunes

Matthew Wells reports from Phoenix, Arizona, on how Democratic candidates are wooing the pink vote

Monday February 2, 2004


Seth Levine leads his troupe of Democrat-voting gay
country dancers. Photograph: Matthew Wells

Seth Levine has been calling square dances for gay and lesbian enthusiasts in this desert city for 15 years now.

It's late on Sunday afternoon in the Lawson Hall of the Augustana Lutheran Church, and - hand in pocket - he is on the mike, intoning the moves for the dancers to follow.

There is cake and soda to keep the 30 or 40 members going through their laid-back practice session. But while they lock hands and spin in time to "Love Lifted Me", they have some rather more violent emotions simmering when it comes to politics.

"I hate Bush more than I have hated any politician ever. It makes me physically sick to see him on television," said 39-year-old Linda Fitzgerald, one of the three lesbian co-founders of Arizona Gays 4 Dean, a Yahoo! Groups discussion forum.

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