"Perge modo et qua te ducit via dirige gressum," said Venus to Aeneas.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
An honorable man.
And then there is our President who is hiding behind courageous men like Gronstal in the fight for gay rights. Obama thinks it's smart strategy to use double-speak when talking about marriage equality, thinking that once gay marriage is the law of the land he can jump on the bandwagon just as it crosses the finish line and welcome us all to the front of the bus. I am still convinced that in his heart President Obama is pro gay marriage rights. He thinks he is being an astute politician by letting other men like Gronstal do the road-paving dirty work. Obama does not want the taint. I think this is a mistake that he will ultimately regret. Men coming home from battle remember who was, or was not, in the trenches with them.
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I, too, suspect that Obama favors marriage rights for gays, but I do think it's politically astute for him not to lead on the issue. Especially right now, when he has a lot of more immediate concerns. I know that to a lot of us marriage rights are very pressing, but more people are being hurt by rising unemployment rates than are being hurt by denial of marriage rights.
Also, "battle"? And "trenches"? Are there guns involved? I am very wary of war rhetoric. It sounds too much like the so-called war on Christianity that I'm always hearing about but never actually seeing.
One more just dropped into our laps--this morning, Vermont makes four. This time it was a legislature--the people's representatives--not "activist judges" who did it. The right wing's reaction should be interesting.
Well, TED, I can hear the bombs bursting in air, and I can see the rockets' red glare, but then, I'm a bellicose synesthete.
I'm actually less convinced of Obama's commitment to gay issues in general. The recent delay on "Don't Ask Don't Tell" has me wondering exactly where our equal rights sit on his list of priorities.
We are not on his current list of priorities. His current dance card is full due to a) the economic meltdown, b) A war we are engaged in, and another that is ramping up in Afghanistan, c) The threat of rogue nations like Iran and North Korea, d) the not so subtle threats by Israel to attack Iran if we do not disable their nuclear program. While I am disappointed that my interests are not being addressed at the moment by our President, I do think he has some other priorities that trump ours at the moment. An encouraging word, an underling hinting at the end of Don't Ask Don't Tell would certainly lift my spirits a bit. I will give him some slack as he tries to deal with some seemingly insurmountable issues he inherited. He has not even hit the 6 month mark yet.
I have to say I am not at all convinced of President Obama's commitment to any issue concerning gays.
Lyndon Johnson, who would have gone down as one of our greatest presidents had it not been for his blindness concerning Viet Nam, was committed to civil rights. He signed civil rights legislation in, not because it was popular, he lost the Dixiecrats, but because it was the right thing to do.
I don't think we will see any such action from our president. He is far too focused on getting reelected in 2012. This is a civil rights issue but I think as a country we are far less concerned about equal protection under the law than we were as a country in the pre-Reagan era.
I really think that Obama is like Clinton, just 16 years later Obama has been running for President most of his life. I think he would have said anything to get elected. You have to be aware of his administrations support o the Bush Wiretap program. We still don’t know a lot about him and his positions.. Everyone paints on him, what they want to see. Obama is well aware that he is at the zenith of his popularity.. I think that you have to look at how he handles “Don’t ask, don’t tell” to see what his position will be on gay marriage. He could have simply signed an executive order, or he could have announced a blue ribbon panel. He has not. I am rather concerned about his naming Kal Penn to a senior position in the Whitehouse. I hope I am wrong, but I fear his only interest is to get reelected. I think he looks at everything in that light. Agree with father Tony, he is going to let someone else do the heavy lifting, and come in at the end like the Lone Ranger to take credit. But, only if he thinks that helps him to be reelected
I think many that are considered allies assume that we are passive and will wait. I do not believe what Gronstal is saying should be celebrated for substance but i do admire him for speaking in defense of equality and therefore find his words significant. It's a no brainer. We have to have our message be that this is what is expected of all public servants. There should be no disussion or debate regarding the topic of equality.
I didn't get to watch this until this morning.
Almost cried. That takes a lot to happen.
ps. the word verification thingy is "clocken", whatever that means.
I hold steadfast that our President supports equality for Gay people. I think that less than 3 months is not enough time for him to move on most measures...
but I am disappointed that Don't Ask, Dont Tell has not been dealt with. He is Commander in Chief & could change the policy today.
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