As politicos across the country dust off their gloves in preparation for another election season, the GLBT community needs to realize we have outgrown the featherweight class.

From New York City to San Diego, GLBT leaders are weighing in on which races are most important to expend precious monetary resources on, and gauging how best to wield our community’s increasingly well-organized and influential voting power. But the debate, which has raged on for over 30 years and can safely be called “age-old” at this point, rears it ugly head once more: When and where, if at all, is it prudent to negotiate our civil rights for the greatest political gain?

Empire State Pride Agenda director Alan Van Capelle grabbed headlines last week when he refused to lend his name to or raise money for a March 10 fund-raiser for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Van Capelle called Clinton a “complete disappointment” because she opposes same-sex marriage and supports the Defense of Marriage Act, and argued that raising money for her campaign hurts our community, because it sends the message that politicians can take our money and our votes without having to carry our cause.

The truth is he’s right. Supporting Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 left a bitter taste in the mouths of many GLBTs, because Kerry, like Clinton, opted during his campaign to support civil unions instead of same-sex marriage. Clinton should take a cue from New York’s Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a candidate for governor who has already gone on record saying he will support legislation legalizing same-sex marriage if elected, and recognize that the socio-political landscape has changed since Kerry’s miserable attempt to capture the middle.

Still, same-sex marriage has served as a vote-garnering wedge issue in conservatives’ campaigns across the nation, making it obvious why someone like Clinton is reluctant to come out in support of same-sex marriage if she’s grooming herself for the 2008 presidential race. Here is where politicking may outweigh the all-or-nothing approach, and compromising may be prudent.

Van Capelle still has a valid point: Our community has enough political clout now to make politicians sweat. No thanks to the AIDS epidemic and the pathetic support our government has lent to it over the years, our community knows how to organize itself into a fund-raising machine, and Van Capelle’s argument is that our dollars and our votes pack enough punch now that we can up the ante.

The same issue came up here in San Diego last Thursday, when a San Diego Democratic Club member earned a roomful of applause for suggesting the club refrain from endorsing Congressmember Susan Davis until she backs the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR 1059), a House bill seeking to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and allow gay, lesbian and bisexual service members to serve openly.

Not everyone agrees with the tactic of withholding money and endorsements to make generally supportive politicians bend further in our favor. Politicking requires us to shelve idealism and work with what we’ve got, negotiating how best to expend our resources for maximum gain.

But who says politicians like Davis and Clinton won’t bend? Historically, our community hasn’t waited long enough to find out if they would. In a twisted mirror image of political conservatism, we attempt to preserve what little rights and respect we’ve gained over the years (the status quo) and side with the lesser evil, accepting the first offer they bring to the table without question.

The impact of our fund-raising and political power cannot and should not be underestimated, both within and outside of our community. As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, we have seen an exponential leap in our ability to influence the political process since the new millennium, and we need to wield this power to our greatest advantage – not to the advantage of the politicians we support.

City Attorney Mike Aguirre, state Assemblymember Lori Saldaña and state Senator Christine Kehoe openly supported same-sex marriage throughout their most recent political campaigns and won. The California Legislature became the first state in the nation to pass a resolution urging Congress to enact HR 1059 – in fact, Kehoe authored the resolution, and Saldaña was one of the first legislators to sign on in support of it.

Davis and Clinton misunderstand what the voting public wants: legislators who fight for our rights and go for the knockout, not wear themselves out dodging blows and playing defense. Who’s ever won the title belt that way?