shirtlifterbear (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shirtlifterbear) wrote2009-05-26 11:12 am
shirtlifterbear) wrote2009-05-26 11:12 am
Sigh.
The President has nominated the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court who is also a woman and represents a tremendous breakthrough, and on the same page on CNN I see that the California Supreme Court has upheld Prop 8 and removed the Civil Rights of Gay people.
Why do I feel like it's November 5th all over again?
Go to bed, awesome new thing has happened in America about fighting bigotry, wake up and Gay Civil Rights are taken away. DEJA VU!
The SOLE vote against bigotry? The only Democrat on the CA Court.
I'm not even angry, I'm just nauseous.
President Obama, you're on notice: You haven't mentioned the recent victories in Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, ONCE. Support the Gay Civil Rights struggle, stop Don't Ask Don't Tell, get rid of the Defense Of Marriage Act, or in 2012 I'm voting for a primary challenger. AGAIN.
Because right now?
I'm leaning towards calling you Bigot in Chief.
From Frank Rich in the New York Times: "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.’ ”
Why do I feel like it's November 5th all over again?
Go to bed, awesome new thing has happened in America about fighting bigotry, wake up and Gay Civil Rights are taken away. DEJA VU!
The SOLE vote against bigotry? The only Democrat on the CA Court.
I'm not even angry, I'm just nauseous.
President Obama, you're on notice: You haven't mentioned the recent victories in Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, ONCE. Support the Gay Civil Rights struggle, stop Don't Ask Don't Tell, get rid of the Defense Of Marriage Act, or in 2012 I'm voting for a primary challenger. AGAIN.
Because right now?
I'm leaning towards calling you Bigot in Chief.
From Frank Rich in the New York Times: "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.’ ”
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It's about equality, and he needs to speak up.
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It'd just be nice to see that second half in action.
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It's a question of theater, which is the most frustrating part of politics.
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That's a problem.
He promised us he'd end Don't Ask Don't Tell, and he's discharged soldiers under the policy.
He took us for granted.
And wants us to go away.
Talked a good game in the primaries, didn't he?
But notice it's HILLARY that's making orders to provide equal rights over at the State Department.
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I certainly am not.
I am, however, WARNING him that my support for him is officially predicated on his explicit support of MY CIVIL RIGHTS.
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Benign apathy from the President is not sufficient.
Re: what are you doing then?
I'm an elected Precinct Committee Officer, I was a state delegate to the convention this year, and yes, I've written letters, as well as managing the election campaign of an openly Lesbian state senate candidate. I organized a fundraiser that was co-sponsored by all of the LGBT elected officials in Washington State, including the two main sponsors of the Civil Union Equality bill that the Governor just signed.
Sorry, you're barking up the wrong tree.
I'm confident that I'm more active in Democratic party politics than anyone else on your list.
Re: I'm not barking up the wrong tree at all....
So fucking what?
Many, many of my LJ friends are not gay, and know almost NOTHING about our struggle.
My LJ posts about our Civil Rights do more to educate and inform than any preaching to the choir.
Re: I'm not barking up the wrong tree at all....
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Not a public mention.
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I expect him not to be AGAINST US.
He's fired soldiers under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
That makes him NOT MY ALLY.
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I also suspect they've got handlers and an army of analysts/advisors saying "you've got this huge amount of popularity here, don't jeopardize it by supporting the gays too hard, they're only a tiny fraction of voters." Politics is, after all, the art of selling your opinions for votes, and it is much harder to take a stand, or justify taking a stand, when you're on top of the world and have so much to lose, so far to fall. I could be mistaken but I recall Obama being more vocally in favor of same-sex marriage before his presidential run was significantly on the radar screen.
I'm never running for public office. It's a shackle, and the safe word is "I resign."
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He has done nothing to oppose gay marriage, and frankly that is more than enough to make progress with. I for one support the idea that the federal government is not allowed to respect the establishment of marriage any more than it is allowed to respect the establishment of religion. Otherwise you get a federal government telling you who you may or may not marry, something that Bush held as a carrot to keep his anti-gay supporters in his camp. Trust me, it is better this way, and will only continue to get better. Just relax, and let time take its course; it is on our side after all.
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There are two key problems: the first is that it's not like the gay vote can really jump ship where it matters, and the second is that any change on the federal level is a fucking quagmire. If Obama said "Let's get rid of DOMA", he would have to spend all his time doing THAT, and nothing on the economy or the two wars he's fighting. That plus a pretty extreme level of fatigue in some quarters means no forward motion. I'm not saying that makes it RIGHT. I'm just laying out the key problems; a lot of people (and some of them might surprise you) actually want these laws to go the hell away.
DADT is a case in point. EVERYBODY who has anything to do with the military hates this rule, homophobic or not. It's meant discharge of vital personnel, some hideous PR disasters, a LOT of legal lawsuits, and the military getting dragged into domestic social issues, which is decidedly NOT its forte. Your actual military professional cares about relationships insofar as how they might affect a soldier's battlefield decisions, and that applies gay or straight anyway.
The way to get change here? From Congress. They're the ones you want to work on.
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He can ORDER DADT to cease.
Now might be a good time.
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Then NOTHING.
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they're willing to be our best friends and promise us the world when they need our money & votes, but when push comes to shove, we get shoved to the back burner.
so i guess i'm an Independent now.
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I'm TIRED of being taken for granted because we can't go to the GOP.
Sigh.
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Blue Dogs will pick up GOP members, and the Liberals will get Greens!
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And even I feel sad.
I'm afraid you'll have to get ILLEGALLY married. Can I be your accomplice, even if from a distance?
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It has been around so much that no one remembers the source.
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I mean... we still have 3.5 years before we denounce Obama as not an ally for gay rights.
I do want my rights, no doubt. But lately I feel like I'd prefer it if Obama focused on the economy before he focuses on gay rights. I'd rather have a secure job and economy when I leave graduate school than the ability to marry.
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