I'm a pretty liberal person. I have almost always voted in favor of the more liberal candidate, I give in too easily to "bleeding heart" issues, and let's face it- it's near impossible to not be a little liberal when you're a part of the gay community.
But here's the thing- I don't like Barack Obama. I KNOW I'm terrible, but hear me out on this one...
Everything you read about this man- every gay rights activist, every queer columnist, every fruity blogger, and all the sillies who listened when he said "yes we can" said, "Hell yeah, we can!" without even realizing that behind their backs, he said, "Oh wait, but you can't."
Barack Obama, from day one, was openly opposed to gay marriage. It was written on his website, he said so in interviews prior to his candidacy, and Joe Biden said it on the Vice Presidential debate on national television. Biden used that terrible, crowd appeasing (or at least trying to) cop-out of an escape route, and I paraphrase, "Senator Obama and I do not support same-sex marriage, but we do support civil unions."
Don't get me started on the specifics, like how this phrase is commonly used by people who have no problem denying people their civil rights, but do have a problem with those people not voting for them. And let's not forget the fact that marriage IS a civil union, it's just got a bigger, better package than the unions formally considered "civil" (but don't let the name fool you- gay rights activists are pushing for civil marriage, not religious... thanks religious-right for muddling that one up).
But let's talk for a moment about how this is affecting us today. Go on a gay blog. Any one, it doesn't matter. Perhaps you prefer one written by a fat, ugly, celebrity wannabe who likes to condemn celebrities for being fat and/or ugly. It's your choice. The point being that prior to, and now following Obama's declaration that he intends to put an end to "Don't ask, don't tell" people had assumed he was gonna say, "'yes we can' let the gays go to city hall!" And (surprise, surprise) they were shocked when he said, "I never said that, you can't go to city hall, and put the Tiffany's rings back on the shelf." Because what queen wants anything but Tiffany's?
These silly people get all worked up about how he "led [them] on" and he's "turned his back on [them]" and they don't even realize that they voted for this man without really knowing who he was or what he stood for. If you liked Obama for his health plan (what one was that, by the way?), fine, you have an excuse. Maybe his stimulus package (what one was that, by the way?) got your vote. But you CANNOT say that you voted for Barack Obama because of his stance on gay marriage unless you are opposed to it. Sorry Chad, you can't have your tiramisu and eat it too.
And now these people who made these vaaaaaaast assumptions have just learned the hard way that that silly rhyme about what assumptions do actually has some truth to it. I don't claim to know whether these people just didn't do their homework, or if they thought that the great leader who was bringing change could be persuaded. However, it doesn't seem to be the latter, as they feel he's backtracking on a promise. TRUST me folks, I looked into this long before he was winning nobel peace prizes (for what, did he win that, again?)- Barack Obama and Joe Biden have never claimed to support same-sex marriage. I guess this is just a lesson in reading the fine print. The trouble is, this fine print isn't about the mileage on your lease, it's about the civil rights your predecessors have been actively fighting for for over 30 years. READ people. Be informed.
And now, here we are. The great quick-change artist is promising to end "don't ask, don't tell". And why? Why is someone who is fundamentally opposed to the biggest, most important same-sex issue of this decade offering to repeal such a trivial (in comparison) establishment?
Don't get me wrong, I think DADT is beyond idiocy- it's a redneck he-man law that needs to come off the books. But why is Barack Obama doing it? He doesn't have plans to further support the needs of gay Americans. So why the hubbub, bub?
I'm thoroughly convinced that this is nothing more than an appeasement. Mr. Prez has been under a LOT of fire recently from gay activist groups that have been defaming him for his stance on gay marriage. So what is this? It's a plea bargain- "I'll give you the army if you give me some peace and quiet". In the words of the drunken Elaine Stritch during that infamous recording session, "WROOOOOOOOOOOONG."
Sorry, dude. That will not shut me up. It will not make me forget that you have promised to be a President who shows compassion and understanding; one who told the world that he would instigate change for all Americans, and is still playing the game of politics. Too afraid to extend those promises to everyone? Fine, be that way. But you're not gonna double-talk your way out of it on my watch.
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