Kerry Eleveld: What Will Obama Tell The Gays Under The Shadow Of Lady Liberty?

[Bluebear]

Look, everyone knows this is a political calculation. President Obama was for marriage equality as a state senator in 1996 before he was against it as an aspiring presidential candidate in 2004 (the evolution of his positions are traced here). But as he heads into the 2012 election cycle, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for him to have it both ways on same-sex marriage – to carry the magic mantle of hope and change, to appeal to the better angels of our nature, while literally falling behind the trend lines on supporting something as fundamentally American as the expression of our liberty.

Here’s just a few notes on the shift in dynamics since the ‘08 election: Obama doesn’t have the cover of two competing Democratic candidates who also hold the same position of not supporting marriage equality; when he took office, only one state had legalized marriage and now five have plus the District of Columbia; a federal judge has ruled the crux of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and Obama himself has concurred; another federal judge ruled a California ballot measure stripping marital rights from gays unconstitutional; five major consecutive polls, including Gallup, have now found that a majority of Americans support the right of same-sex couples to marry; “don’t ask, don’t tell” has been repealed (but not lifted yet) and although GOP lawmakers are still waging the battles of yesteryear in Congress, the rest of America barely batted an eye.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, all this adds up to one thing: Drama. But more importantly, it’s about people’s lives, who they are to the core of their being, the fact that their heart pounds just as truly as everyone else’s. It’s about a longing for leadership that adds up to something more than a cold political calculation for the next election cycle.

But if calculate we must, let’s face it, the next election – like every election – will be about the economy, not marriage equality. So why not come full circle and stake your claim on the right side of history, Mr. President?

http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201106210015l

[pnwmom]

1. Obama was instrumental in the repeal of DADT,

holding strategy meetings with key members of Congress. He has also ordered the Justice Department to stop defending DOMA.

I think his actions speak more loudly than any words could -- and they surpass anything accomplished by any previous President.

[justiceischeap]

3. "they surpass anything accomplished by any previous President"

No doubt Obama HAS done more than any other President but only because no other President has done a damn thing. And he also told the DOJ to DEFEND DOMA before he told them not to.

There's a valid reason why the LGBT*.* community is holding his "feet to the fire" as he's requested that we do. We have to PUSH him to do the things he's done/doing. Our POV is that we shouldn't have to hold anyone's feet to the fire to gain equality.

[markpkessinger]

4. Uh, that's a pretty low bar, don't you think?

"They surpass anything accomplished by any previous President" isn't saying a whole hell of a lot.

[pnwmom]

6. So you don't think it matters if a Republican replaces him in 2012?

Since the bar has been set so low?

[markpkessinger]

11. I didn't say that...

I was responding to the implication that the LGBT community somehow owes Obama its allegiance merely because he has been marginally better than his predecessors on the issue of LGBT rights.

[pnwmom]

12. Marginally better than Bush? Or any of the Rethugs?

It's a Republican he'll be running against, not Clinton, Gore, Dean, or anyone other Democrat.

[tekisui]

7. None of that excuses him not doing the right thing now.

[Name removed]

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[customerserviceguy]

2. It depends on who he draws as an opponent

If it's a fundie like Michelle Bachmann, then I think he goes into 2008 mode on gay rights. If it's Mitt Romney, then I think he has the latitude to go a little farther. Is that a political computation? Yes, but it's clear that President Obama likes to make these sorts of calculations when dealing with this issue, rather than go 100% with what he knows must be right.

[madrchsod]

5. we`ll see if he measures up to truman and lbj...

[gratuitous]

8. Hang on just a little while longer for the fierce advocate

He can't afford to risk the votes of all those people who'd cut off their right hand before they'd vote for him.

[xchrom]

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