Donviti honest thought for the day
Look, I know that Obama said what he said about DOMA. I also know that he has been President for about 6 months now. He has had to deal with a few wars, a collapsing economy and a few other things I can’t seem to think of as if those two were enough. Now, we are working on Health Care or something I think is also pretty damn important.
So forgive me for saying this and I’m almost regretting typing it, but I’m sorry, but I’m sorta ok that he isn’t wasting his “political capital” on DOMA and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
He has 4 more years and quite honestly another session in Congress with this majority right? Is it at all possible that this will become another one of those issues that is strategically used to position the Party of No as the Party of Homophobes yet again?
So, I’m sorry, actually I’m not. I’m not saying get to the back of the bus, but I guess I am. I think I’m trying to say, I don’t think that because it isn’t happening now, you wont ever get your chance.
Here is the deal.
There are two political parties. One bends over backwards to kiss the asses of its base. It has gone to an absurd extreme in trying to keep it’s most vocal, radical and assholistic members happy. It does this because it knows that “branding” is important and being seen to “be standing for something” is what 5% of Americans that have no politcal ideology are looking for.
Then there is this other party that purports to be in favor of things that Americans want – like peace, treating people fairly and health care that is not a sorry joke. But that party treats its base like a bunch of no good douchbags and aids monkeys because it knows that the 5% of Americans that have no political ideology are looking for that.
DV has a point. It is awful to calculate this way, but every gay rights victory now will ultimately be used by Republicans to gain dollars and votes for the 2010 Congressional races.
The principled thing would be to say “So what, the civil rights are more important.”
But arguably that is how Bush won in 2004, over gay rights in Ohio.
Would you trade gay marriage in Ohio, to have had a Democrat in the White House in 2004-2008?
This weekend Obama gave a speech about Stonewall and he apparently said all the right things. I do think the DADT repeal will come this year or early next year, but I don’t think it’s fair to tell people to wait for the rights that are already supposed to be theirs.
I think the big problem came when the administration filed the brief supporting DOMA (again you could argue that they are respecting laws on the books) but the language in the brief was the exact same crap that Republicans always used. I think LGBT people and their supporters are ready to see some action and not just words. They feel like they’ve been used.
I would also argue that the pressure they’ve been applying is working. We could learn from them.
Prolly ’cause you don’t want to get married to the person you love any time soon.
Also, even if you’re planning to delay ending DOMA and DADT, you don’t have to write legal briefs that compare gay relationships it to incest and pedophilia as Obama did.
Maybe a real progressive can be elected in 2012.
I am in the ‘worked hard to get Obama elected, and support Obama in most of what he’s done thus far, but am disappointed thus far with his lack of progress on LGBT issues’ camp.
I understand the ‘political capital spending calculus’ arguments, however Obama has thus far demonstrated an uncanny ability to break most past molds of ‘how things are done in DC’, including political capital spending strategy.
Why is it that you expect President Obama to break his word on DoMA? He said, quite clearly, during the campaign that he favored civil union status of some sort, but did not favor same-sex marriage. Do you think that he was lying then?
I understand prioritizing your battles but it is easier for me since I already have all of the rights that gay people are fighting for.
That doesn’t mean though that Obama couldn’t make a mark on DADT — as in putting an administrative hold or suspension on current DADT actions — while waiting for the Congress to change the law. That doesn’t mean that the DOJ should use the worst of the wingnut talking points to try to defend DOMA. And I think that the fact that he hasn’t gone into slow roll mode on the Federal response to some of this stuff is the really upsetting thing.
I hear ya, and agree and it was the main reason I didn’t want to say it……. BUT, I still think we will see it get reversed and this guy knows what he’s doing.
6 months is the rub you know….I mean 6 months?
Yes, I know — 6 months. People expect much from Obama — much. But he also promised much. Instructing the system to slow roll responses on DADT and the rest wouldn’t take much.
But I’m not so hopeful that DOMA will be repealed — that has to happen in Congress and standing for civil rights for everybody is apparently pretty hard for them.
He also said clearly that he wanted to repeal DOMA. Repealing DOMA would not make gay marriage legal, but it would enable the federal government to allow states to define marriage for themselves. Thus, a gay marriage legally performed in Iowa would be legally recognized by the US gov’t. There are plenty of marriages I oppose that I legally recognize (Britney Spears has had several).