June 21, 2008

And another thing… Obama still thinks he’s more equal than I am. Only now he’s saying it out loud.

Where does Barack Obama get the audacity to reiterate how much he does NOT value my equality? Where does he get off reiterating that HIS marriage is superior to MINE?

Obama And One-Man, One-Woman Marriage

Sen. Obama reminded us this week that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, something LGBT people might have easily forgotten over the course of the primary. …

Politico.com broke a story Wednesday that two Muslim women wearing head scarves were prohibited from sitting behind Sen. Obama at a rally, so as to prevent any unintended photo ops. The campaign issued a statement and contacted the women to apologize, but the message was clear: Obama can’t afford to seem too outside of the mainstream.

That sentiment also surfaced earlier this week when during an interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper, Obama uttered the words so cunningly crafted by the Christian right: marriage is between a man and a woman.

More precisely, Sen. Obama said, “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” shortly after being asked if he opposed same-sex marriage, to which he responded, “Yes.” This positioning is not new for Sen. Obama. He has uttered those words plenty — during a debate with Alan Keyes in 2004, on the Senate floor in 2006, even in his 2007 Human Rights Campaign candidate questionnaire.

But if LGBT people across the country bristled at the one-man, one-woman construction, they can be forgiven. After scouring the web, drawing upon memory and scanning my notes, this reporter cannot remember the senator using those words during the entire primary season from January right through until Sen. Hillary Clinton conceded the race to Obama on June 7. In fact, I don’t believe he has used them in any one of the 20-some Democratic debates.

Why now? Welcome to the general election say the pundits. One Democratic strategist and TV pundit who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity said the language is intended to send a signal to swing state voters that Sen. Obama isn’t the crazy liberal they’ve been told he is. …

That’s what I’ve been saying all along: Obama is no liberal.

…but any number of gays and lesbians would like a little respect too — especially those same-sex couples who are already married in Massachusetts and California. If you cup your ears and listen closely you can almost hear them grumbling, “Btw, Sen. Obama, marriage is no longer simply between a man and a woman. At least, ours isn’t.”

Damn straight — so to speak. Whatever happened to your deep and abiding respect for “states’ rights,” Barry? Apparently, even separate-but-equal is too good for us queers now, eh?

Surely, the LGBT folks associated with the campaign are working feverishly behind the scenes to find a work-around for that phrase — one with the added benefit of being accurate. Only time will tell whether they prevail. …

AFAIC, there’s nothing worse than selling out your own rights. Well, I’ll leave that to the LGBTs collecting a paycheck from Obama to work against their own self-interest — and mine. My conscience is clear.

One good thing about this article: At least The Advocate finally seems to be coming out of its Obama-induced stupor.

Obama himself, however, remains comatose on the issue of equality.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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