Kaine to head DNC, Obama stabs GLBT in the back again

[dbackjon]

Nothing like having someone that campaign on getting anti-gay amendments in your state constitution to head the party.



FUCK OFF, KAINE

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. You seem so surprised. Why?

Obama is very good at speaking honeyed words. Always -- ALWAYS -- these words are proven to be nothing more than out right lies.

We cannot trust Obama to offer any support of any kind for our issues. He seems to be going out of his way to denigrate our worth. I sincerely believe that any GLBT person who is still holding out hope that Obama will make a difference over the Republican administration is deluded.

[dbackjon]

2. Not really suprised. Just hammering home the point for those that still think Obama is on our side

[closeupready]

3. He is not. About the best that can be said is that he isn't McCain.

who would have been worse.

[LostinVA]

5. And the only good thing about Kaine is that he isn't Kilgore

[TechBear_Seattle]

6. Yup. Our choice came down to "active abuse" or "neglectful disregard"

I am f-sick of not having a choice for even "lukewarm support."

[The Brethren]

37. I think McCain would've been worse.

But I'm beginning to wonder if McSame would've had the nerve to invite Warren to his inauguration as Obama has? It doesn't change anything, but my thinking is Obama is working so hard to be chummy with fundies he might even out shine the repugs at it...especially his timing.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[closeupready]

4. And to paraphrase myself from another thread, we are on our own and so

I won't be defending Obama blindly as I was doing previously. He can do it himself or pay people to do it. I'm not going to anymore. And don't think for a minute I'll be giving him another red cent.

[RetiredTrotskyite]

7. As Has Been Noted Elsewhere In This Forum

Obama's disdain for LGBTQ people is palpable. My only comfort is that I didn't get registered in time to vote and so I didn't vote for this jerk.

[mitchtv]

24. Hey did I just get quoted by RT?

I am so flattered

[ronnykmarshall]

8. But it's just one song!

It's just a two minute prayer!

[Laughing Mirror]

9. Tim Kaine on gay rights

The Washington Post reports that Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is going to be appointed the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, replacing Howard Dean.

In 2005, when Kaine was running for governor, he was the only candidate to respond to questions from the Blade regarding gay rights. Though he has said he opposes gay marriage and civil unions, he doesn't believe the federal government should regulate marriage.

The Marshall-Newman Amendment, which defines marriage as solely between one man and one woman, passed in Virginia in 2006. Kaine voiced his opposition to the amendment prior to its passage and voted against it, but then signed the bill once it passed. His overall record on gay rights can be described as "mixed." He did sign a medical rights bill earlier this year.

http://washingtonblade.com/blog/index.cfm?blog_id=23284

[LostinVA]

11. He opposed it ONLY because of what it did to straight couples

Virginia is draconian towards its Gay citizens. It's why I moved from VA. You can't even have POA for one another. Get that? THE STATE VOIDS YOUR PRIVATE CONTRACTS.

Kaine isn't "mixed," he's anti gay rights, anti choice, anti labor, and antu stem cell. Yeah, a guy we want to be DNC head.

I voted for him, because Kilgore is an absolute NAZI.

[Laughing Mirror]

34. Yes, Virginia is for Lovers

so long as they're not gay.

Virginia has a long and sad history of hate. I'm glad you were able to escape.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

10. he doesnt even care to stab. he wants us to be invisible under the cloak

of solving problems

bah

[WVRICK13]

12. My What Short Memories We Have

A politician is a politician, nothing more. They all say what they think will get them elected and they have little concern for anything else. To be realistic you take what they say during a campaign and cut your expectations by at least 50% and you will have a reasonable guess about what they will do if elected. The question of whether Obama or McCain was the better choice is pretty obvious, Obama was the better choice. Will he fight hard for gay rights? Probably not. What would McCain have done, probably not much different than Obama but he could have left us with Sarah Palin who very well may have taken active steps to take away even more rights for those who are gay, non-christian or any other thing that was against her right wing church. Am I happy? Not really, but then I didn't expect much more than to be relatively better off with Obama. If we want a country that really supports equal rights for all then we should migrate somewhere that truly believes in equal rights and not just pays lip service to phrases like justice and liberty for all. Or we could move to one of the states who has equal protections and rights under the law. Imagine what this country would be like if all the gays left. I doubt it would be a better place to live.

I have lived long enough to know this country may not grant me equal rights during my lifetime. When I was younger I used to have hope we would live up to our own Constitution and PR campaigns that claim we are a country where ALL citizens are equal, now I realize these are just pretty lies told by rich white men to keep us in a state of blind patriotism. When conservative countries like Spain and Venezuela grant same sex marriages in opposition to their overwhelming Catholic citizen populations I can only assume they have more of a separation of church and state than the U.S. and that we are not really living in any sort of democracy based on freedoms or equality. We need to admit to ourselves that we do not live in a free country, nor are there equal rights for gays, the poor, the unconnected, females, ethnic minorities or any other sub-group. Equality is for the rich white men and is granted grudgingly to those who support them.

Does this mean we should stop fighting for equal rights? Absolutely not, but don't be deluded about the speed that change will occur.

[Jamastiene]

13. Not in the back. He's openly stabbing us in the front six ways to Sunday.

It's a damn smack down and we are on the receiving end. I'm SERIOUSLY waiting for him to announce that he has started concentration camps with our names written on them. At this point, I wouldn't put it past him.

[HillbillyBob]

48. The Kamps are already in place..

nt

[QC]

14. Some of us pegged Obama as a cynical, triangulating "centrist" a long time ago.

His recent transformation into Joe Lieberman is no surprise for those who were paying attention during The Great McClurkin Fiasco.

[Jamastiene]

15. Exactly.

We saw this coming.

[JohnnieGordon]

28. Right, I gave up on Obama with McClurkin

I used to hate Hillary's guts, but after McClurkin she became my second choice after Edwards. Too bad more people didn't see how centrist Mr. Post-Partisan has been all along.

[jmondine]

16. Um... Does the President-Elect choose the DNC Chairman?

How is this Obama's fault? Just askin'.

[MH1]

17. He doesn't.

[Luminous Animal]

18. Oh really?

"WASHINGTON – Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who last year helped deliver his state to the Democratic Party in a presidential election for the first time in more than 40 years, has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two party officials said."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090105/ap_on_el_ge/democrats_chairman

"Kaine said Obama made a strong push just before Christmas for him to take the job even though Kaine had ruled out a role in the Obama administration until he completed the last year of his four-year term as governor. Obama agreed to let Kaine serve in the DNC post part time for the first year, according to the governor."

http://news.aol.com/elections/article/kaine-to-take-over-as-dnc-chairman/292861?cid=3273

[MNBrewer]

19. And THAT would be how this is Obama's fault.

[Bluebear]

20. Yes.

[Luminous Animal]

22. Why does Kaine get selected when Dean had to be elected?

"The chairperson of the DNC (currently Howard Dean) is elected by vote of members of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is composed of the chairs and vice-chairs of each state Democratic Party Committee, two hundred members apportioned among the states based on population and generally elected either on the ballot by primary voters or by the State Democratic Party Committee, a number of elected officials serving in an ex-officio capacity, and a variety of representatives of major Democratic Party constituencies."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_National_Committee#DNC_National_Chairpersons


Is it precedent when with a Democratic president to choose the chair? Otherwise the chair is elected?

[MNBrewer]

23. Who was President in 2005?

Not a Democrat. Nobody to make the selection.

[Luminous Animal]

25. I just looked up the rules

and there is nothing about a president making a "selection"

"ARTICLE FIVE
National Chairperson
Section 1. The National Chairperson of the Democratic Party shall carry out the programs and policies
of the National Convention and the Democratic National Committee.
Section 2. The National Chairperson, the five Vice Chairpersons, the National Finance Chair, the
Treasurer, and the Secretary, shall be elected:
(a) at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee held after the succeeding presidential
election and prior to March 1 next, and,
(b) whenever a vacancy occurs. The National Chairperson shall be elected and may be
removed by a majority vote of the Democratic National Committee, and each term shall expire upon the
election for the following term.
Section 3. The National Chairperson shall preside over meetings of the Democratic National
Committee and of the Executive Committee. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the National
Chairperson, the designated Vice Chair as provided for in Article Two, Section 12(b) of the Bylaws, or the
next highest ranking officer of the National Committee present at the meeting shall preside.
Section 4. The National Chairperson shall serve full time and shall receive such compensation as may
be determined by agreement between the Chairperson and the Democratic National Committee. In the
conduct and management of the affairs and procedures of the Democratic National Committee, particularly
as they apply to the preparation and conduct of the Presidential nomination process, the Chairperson shall
exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns. The
Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National
Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating
process."

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/01/dnc_charter_and.php

(There is a link to download the rules.)

[MNBrewer]

26. In practice, however,

my impression is that the President essentially "picks" the person he wants to chair the party. His selection is ratified by vote.

[Luminous Animal]

27. That may be so.

Also, according to the by-laws he's not qualified. He is supposed to serve full-time.

[LostinVA]

29. I read in GDP several times yesterday that Obama didn't select Kaine

So, he did?

[QC]

30. DIANE FEINSTEIN CHOSE HIM!1!!!1!!

[LostinVA]

31. Damn, I forgot

[Bluebear]

21. Shut up, Tim Kaine is only going to sing ONE SONG. nt

[bluedawg12]

32. Yeah, it's called: Somewhere over the rainbow - you'll find gay rights.

[QC]

33. Is that before or after the mere two-minute prayer? n/t

[Prophet 451]

35. Ahhhh, crap

I was willing to put up with Warren. I can't stand the man but since it was an entirely powerless two minutes of platitudes, I could live with it. This is different. This is... annoying, to put it mildly. Granted, an Obama administration will still be better for gay people than the outright abuse of a Palin administration but I was hoping for a little more than benign neglect.

[newtothegame]

36. Hey, at least he looks idfferent, I mean, that was the important thing right?

[MNBrewer]

39. So, a straight person walked into the DU GLBT Forum and said

"Right now, with all that's gone wrong in our country, gay marriage is pretty far down on the list of my priorities, but that's just me."

What a HOOT.

[Creideiki]

40. Yup. Something that should take negligible time and resources

but finally let everyone in the country know that all citizens are created equal is waaaaay too much to expect.

Personally, with all that's gone wrong in the country for gay people, (*pick your own pet issue*) is pretty far down on the list of my priorities, but that's just me.

[donco6]

41. Love how they stroll in and fob off remarks like that.

:eyes:

[LostinVA]

42. Look at your thread

[mitchtv]

45. yup I caught that, but the thread was locked

I did mention it in another thread today. I was distressed as this poster claims to be "progressive" absolutely infuriating. The OP was a newbie and called BO out the same as many here have (flame bait)http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=221&topic_id=112930&mesg_id=113084

[sui generis]

50. did we show the idiot the way out?

because right now with all that's gone wrong in the country, what's "wrong" with the country doesn't affect me at all. 93 percent employment, 49 percent of the U.S. pays off their credit cards every month, we still buy groceries, cars, tvs, software, and services. So mortgage values are correcting - my houses and cars were purchased well within my means and are paid off and I get a hurkin' huge bonus every year on top of everything else, not to mention the fact that my household is dual income in recession proof corporate roles.

Economic problems are at the very bottom of my list of priorities. I'm too cantankerous and way the fuck too mean to be pressed into service successfully, so a draft wouldn't affect me, and I fully and openly intend to cheat the government out of taxes, inheritance, and any other way I can do so safely since the government wants to cheat me out of the protections of marriage and equal citizenship.

So what did they think was important again? The price of gas? 7% unemployment / 93% employment? The woah in eyerack? Tax cuts for the middle class? I'll bet you same-gender marriage will never be anywhere but the bottom of that person's list.

[Deep13]

43. As long as the DNC promotes irrational, religion-based discrimination...

...they will not get one dime from me. And I am not splitting hairs here. I mean any arm of the national party. DCCC, DSCC or whatever.

The country despirately needs to move away from irrationality and towards compassion and just genuine fact-based policy. Irrationality is at the root of most of our problems. We must not try to win by being more like the enemy because we will all lose if we do that.

Obviously, any rational policy would necessarily be gay-friendly.

[MNBrewer]

44. But, God's in the mix

PEO said so.

"For me as a Christian, it is a sacred union. God's in the mix," he said.

Obama added that he does support same-sex civil unions, saying, "I can afford those civil rights to others even if I don't have ... that view."

[Deep13]

46. And therein lies the problem. nt

[Two Americas]

47. "God's in the mix"

That is an interesting comment that I didn't notice before.

One of the most dramatic shifts in public opinion over the last four years is on that very subject. A majority of the public now thinks that God should definitely not be "in the mix."



The argument we are hearing goes like this - we need to "include" the religious right, because "whether we like it or not," there are a lot of people with these "beliefs," and Obama needs to be the president of "all the people," and he needs to get as much support as he can so that he can do all of that good stuff that he is going to be doing. This is described as pragmatism or being practical and realistic. That is the argument defending God being in the mix - it is smart politics, because the public wants God in the mix.

But the public does not want God in the mix, and the people are moving dramatically in the other direction - with one exception. Increasing numbers of liberals now say they want God in the mix, and now support faith based initiatives.

Why would liberals be moving in the direction of the religious right in opposition to the general public? There is one obvious answer to that question that didn't occur to be until just now. Obama's words and actions are driving his supporters to the right, even as the public is moving the opposite direction.

[sui generis]

49. shoots self in foot

we're not giving money to the DNC as long as Kaine is heading it up.

Obama, take note: if a gay man were president and appointing KKK members left and right as a nod towards "unity" you would be out there burning pink triangles on our lawns.

I'm no longer disappointed, as I have lowered my expectations, and closed my wallet.