Is Lady Gaga a Politician? (oh how I wish...)

As many people know, yesterday was the March for Equality in Washington D.C. promoting equality for gays. The mall was full of people with rainbow flags and posters, very reminiscent of Martin Luther King's civil rights movement, only representing a different minority. The crowd was charged and passionate, and as is the norm at these kinds of functions, important people make speeches. The only thing a little strange about this rally is that instead of having, say, the president of the Human Rights Campaign speak, Lady GaGa was there to save the day instead.

Before I continue, let me make clear how huge of a fan of Lady GaGa I am. I love her, and she's just enough of a freak in those gold body suits to keep me begging for more, and obviously I whole-heartedly support this cause, but I don't know that I view her as an influential political entity. She got up and used a lot of big words to say something very simple: that she supports gay rights. Her sentiments were wonderful and touching, but I think the highlight of her speech, which was both borderline offensive stereotyping and outright hilarious, was when she said, "...and you know I love Judy Garland", as if every gay man's insatiable love for Dorothy Gale was enough to win equal marriage rights...if only it were that simple.

It's just interesting to me who we are looking to as our leaders in every arena. The pop idols that are so popular in the media are seeping into the political realm, but I don't see Nancy Pelosi coming out with a pop album any time soon, so clearly it does not go both ways (unlike many in attendance). Maybe it was good that GaGa spoke at this rally. She's not stupid, and she knows that she has a large following among the gay population. In fact, she got her start singing in gay clubs in Manhattan, so she has always had the gay vote. I just never saw it getting her all the way to Washington.