October 26, 2007

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Duane Wells explains Why Barack Obama Can’t Have It Both Ways:

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At issue is the question of whether or not Mr. Obama will go forward with plans to have a gospel singer by the name of Donnie McClurkin, who has written about being an ‘ex-gay’ and openly condemned homosexuality, perform at a series of fundraising concerts scheduled to be held in South Carolina this weekend.

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It’s quite a predicament the Obama camp has gotten itself into. On the one hand you have a candidate sweeping through a very conservative Christian state with a “40 Days of Faith & Family” campaign that has the kind of marquee value destined to appeal to the state’s core voters. It seems like a smart enough move. On the other hand you have a campaign committing political suicide by allowing a character as controversial as McClurkin to slip into the well orchestrated-mix… a move that threatens to alienate a significant segment of the gay constituency.

Now if Obama backs down and cancels this McClurkin character’s appearance, he runs the risk of coming out too strongly in favor of gay and lesbian issues. That may not sit well with the very group of people for whom this forty day song and dance has been designed to appeal. Meanwhile, if he doesn’t back down, the Senator from Illinois will have shown himself to be as much a panhandler for the votes of Christian right as his Republican counterparts. Oh dear. What to do?

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Yes, there is a lot riding on this decision from Obama, because as far as I’m concerned, it could be like pulling a thread and watching an entire seam unravel. Gay and lesbian support is too important to Obama’s campaign. …

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More importantly for me though, this is a test of character.

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Either the Senator from Illinois respects and values human rights in general and the gay and lesbian community in particular or he just sees both as pawns to be played to his advantage in a political game where winner takes all.

How the Senator handles this situation is likely to indicate how he will handle similar trials in the future. Will he stand for what he says he believes in, or will he kowtow to the shifting interests of whatever constituency he happens to be addressing at the time? One way or another, by the end of this weekend, we will have our answer.