Barack the LGBT Vote

Wow, that last set of comments was a doozy, no? What fun! Let's deal with it one more time before we move on to a post about how my insurance company questioned my fidelity to my husband.

Comment from marta:

as the white lesbian mom of an african american boy, as a family that has put down roots in an african american neighborhood, as a couple who have spent most of our adult lives working with and for people and children living in poverty, as someone who believes the carnage in iraq is sinful -- i will repeat that for me, personally, it would be sheer lunacy to vote against obama on a single issue on which he actually has such a strong record. and on behalf of the individuals i love and the communities i care about who don't have the luxury of making this their single issue, i continue to be offended by single issue voting.

I repost because I think marta's words are valuable. I know her personally, and I can tell you that she is one of those rare folks who actually walk their talk.

Okay, next, from the Obama campaign:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After aggressive contests in all 50 states, the Democratic Primary has come to an end. If we are to elect Barack Obama president in November, as a community, it's important that we come together.

With the unified and enthusiastic support of LGBT Americans, our chance of success is much greater. That's why we need your help to take the next step in supporting Barack.

Tomorrow, Friday, June 6th, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, our campaign is hosting a national call for LGBT Americans who are interested in helping Barack.

On this call, we will give a status report of our campaign as a whole, discuss LGBT policy, provide suggestions for how you can be involved and answer questions and hear your concerns.

National LGBT Conference Call
Friday, June 6th, 2008
6:00 p.m. EDT

RSVP for the conference call:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

As a gay American, I couldn't be more proud to work for Barack Obama. I believe in my heart that he will be a great president with the best judgment to lead our nation. He is a friend and will fight for justice and equality, standing up for our individual rights.

The stakes in this election are very high. A nation led by Barack Obama will stand in stark contrast to that of his opponent.

Please forward this email to others who may be interested in joining the call. If the timing of the call does not work for you, we will schedule another one in the near future.

Join us on the call and learn more about our LGBT program:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

I hope you will get involved and join us on Friday.

Thanks,

Steve

Steve Hildebrand
Deputy Campaign Manager
Obama for America

P.S. -- We've pulled together a few resources for you to learn more about Barack and LGBT issues.

Learn more:

http://pride.barackobama.com/LGBTcall

Comments

[Chickenpig]

If Barack is all the things that Marta says he is, than he deserves ALL of our support, even those of us not in the LGBT community. Go Obama, GO!!!!

[Lisa]

I just have to take a moment and say how fricking excited and happy I am that the political climate is what it is right now! I live in California and work in a diverse workplace where it has been pure jubilation for the past week knowing that many of the people I work with will now be able to legally marry their life partners.

Legal gay marriage! Barack Obama the presidential nominee! I can't remember a time in my life that I have felt so excited about the prospects for our country! WOO HOO!

[Brooke]

Look, I don't trust any politician who has an "ex-gay" speak at a rally. That is the non negotiable. I mean, really, if I were a politician and had a speaker who was a black man who left his white wife because he really thinks that miscegenation is so terrible that it cannot be tolerated and works really hard to convince other interracial couples to divorce, would Obama think I was great because I didn't support actually outlawing interracial marriage?

I don't think he is evil or terrible on GLBT issues. I just don't think he gets it enough to not bargain us away in his quest to unite everyone.

Although, again, it doesn't actually matter who I vote for in the presidential race so I have the luxury (I guess) of voting for a great candidate not just the best we can hope for given the circumstances. I don't live in a swing state. I did, but that anti-same sex marriage bill they passed meant I was going to lose my health insurance, so we moved.

[marta]

i did a little research, and from what i can tell, the
"ex-gay" man was not a speaker at an obama rally, but a black minister and gospel singer who was asked to join a tour somewhere in the south as part of the obama campaign. he was not asked to be there in his capacity as an "ex-gay" -- the campaign didn't even know he was "ex-gay" when he was asked to sing. for what it's worth, an out gay minister was also part of the tour.

best,

marta

[Brooke]

(Not to totally steal your comments section, Jo)

Well, I don't want McCain to win, and I would certainly love to be wrong about Obama.

Part of my strong reaction to that is how sick I am of reading how those bitches just need to get in line now and vote Obama.

Had Jo actually said that, I would never have said anything, because why waste my breath, really?

I am just very disillusioned with the Democratic party, and I hate being told that it is somehow my fault for all the stupid right wing stuff that goes on because I don't want to settle for "not as bad as the other guy." Especially when that is not a very high bar. Also, being from (although no longer living in) Michigan, the Democratic party needs to seriously change before I think they will do any good for my interests since they can't even figure out how to fairly run a primary which is in their best interest.

And now back to the regularly scheduled blog: I am really interested to hear the insurance company story, that should be good. And by good, I mean, good story, thank God it didn't happen to me.

[Sarah]

I found this quote from a Yahoo! message board to be vaguely interesting:

"... Hitler did not lead with fear, he lead with promises, with nationalism, with powerful and beautiful oratory, and with almost no practical experience. He possessed a supreme self-confidence which people felt and believed in, and he had a vision that he articulated but was not required to explain the mechanics of. The horrible part came later. He did not lead with fear until later on in his administration - after his people figured out he was not a great bargain."

If you think about it, who does that really sound like? I'm not saying this as an opinion, really - just food for though. However, I totally think that any issues related to GLBT need to be private - I am a huge supporter of Gay rights and I put my money where my mouth is. But the truth is that not all gay people want the government in their business. I say it's no one's business who gets married and who is in a civil union/common law marriage, regardless of sexual orientation. Why does it have to be a political issue? Education of the public is more important than passing more unneeded laws.