Frank Rich: La Cage aux Democrats

[Bluebear]

I await the "Frank Rich is a hack" comments...

==

....Obama’s opposition to same-sex marriage is now giving cover to every hard-core opponent of gay rights, from the Miss USA contestant Carrie Prejean to the former Washington mayor Marion Barry, each of whom can claim with nominal justification to share the president’s views.

In reality, they don’t. Obama has long been, as he says, a fierce advocate for gay equality. The Windy City Times has reported that he initially endorsed legalizing same-sex marriage when running for the Illinois State Senate in 1996. The most common rationale for his current passivity is that his plate is too full. But the president has so far shown an impressive inclination both to multitask and to argue passionately for bedrock American principles when he wants to. Relegating fundamental constitutional rights to the bottom of the pile until some to-be-determined future seems like a shell game.

As Wolfson reminds us in his book “Why Marriage Matters,” Dr. King addressed such dawdling in 1963. “For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait,’ ” King wrote. “It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never.’ ”

The gay civil rights movement has fewer obstacles in its path than did Dr. King’s Herculean mission to overthrow the singular legacy of slavery. That makes it all the more shameful that it has fewer courageous allies in Washington than King did. If “American Idol” can sing out for change on Fox in prime time, it ill becomes Obama, of all presidents, to remain mute in the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/opinion/24rich.html?_r=3

[babylonsister]

1. How 'bout 'traitor' or 'enemy of the people'?

:D

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8429034&mesg_id=8429110

[Bluebear]

2. :)

[greeneyedboy]

3. k&r. The whole piece is spot-on and well worth reading.

I hope all these rumors about a big announcement on LGBT equal rights around the 40th anniversary of Stonewall are correct. My patience has been running thin since the South Carolina primary.

[FLAprogressive]

4. "The most common rationale for his current passivity is that his plate is too full."

You hear that here ad nauseum from the excuse-makers and bots.

[Juche]

5. What are they scared of

Are they scared of 'overreaching' and empowering the GOP?

[QC]

6. Perhaps they aren't scared, but just don't care much. n/t

[FLAprogressive]

7. They're afraid of doing what people elected them to do.

Dem pols think that they were elected because of how they work with Republicans.....not because of Dem ideals.