Saturday, September 25, 2010

"Battered Gay Voter Syndrome"

Since this past Tuesday disaster in the U.S. Senate there as been much debate about the way - at least in my view - the way the Democrats play LGBT voters again and again for votes and money, yet never seem to be able to deliver on promises. Now, even the Libertarian Party has weighed in and is urging LGBT Americans to break the "battered gay voter syndrome." The Libertarians point out that by constantly allowing themselves to be played for fools by the Democrats, LGBT voters are displaying traits akin to battered spouses who keep on returning to the abusing spouse no matter how bad the treatment they receive. Here are some highlights from a press release from the Libertarian Party on Thursday:
*
WASHINGTON - Like abused spouses who keep returning to their aggressors, gay voters keep handing their votes to the Democrats who abuse them. The Libertarian Party (LP) wants to break this self-destructive behavior and offers LGBT voters a better alternative.
*
LP Chairman Mark Hinkle said, "Exit polls indicate that Democrats get over 70% of LGBT votes in federal elections. Those voters must really love the Democrats' rhetoric, because they certainly aren't seeing any action.
*
"President Obama and the Democrats had almost a year of complete control of the federal government: the Presidency, the House, and a filibuster-proof 60 votes in the Senate. They could have repealed 'don't ask don't tell.' They could have gotten rid of the Defense of Marriage Act. But they didn't do either of those things. That's a complete and total betrayal of all the promises they made to gay and lesbian voters for years.
*
"After a carefully orchestrated failure in the Senate, the Democrats are now blaming Republicans for blocking the repeal of 'don't ask don't tell.'
*
Unlike the Democratic and Republican Parties, the Libertarian Party believes that gays and lesbians deserve equal treatment under the law.
*
Personally, I am over the lies and inaction. The question is this: are we willing to walk from the Democrats, allow them to suffer in the short term as a consequence, and perhaps end the cycle of abuse in the long term? Frankly, I am leaning towards NOT voting on November 2, 2010.

1 comment:

Stephen said...

In a winner-take-it-all electoral system, it's always the lesser of two evils, and abuse and opposition to equal rights are concentrated in Republican legislators. Withhold money, sure, but don't forget who the enemy is and that enemies are worse than fair-weather friends!