Many blogs and media outlets have written about Barack Obama, a/k/a the Liar-in Chief - and his first time ever meeting with representatives of the LGBT and progressive blogosphere. Hence I will not regurgitate the coverage - the full transcript of the meeting is here - other than to look at one remark made by the Liar-in-Chief:*
Let me go to the larger issue, though, Joe, about disillusionment and disappointment. . . . I'll be honest with you, I don't think that the disillusionment is justified.
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As readers well know, under Obama's watch to date DADT has NOT been repealed, ENDA has NOT been enacted, DOMA has not been repealed and legally married same sex couples do NOT receive equal recognition of their marital status. Other than the Hate Crimes Act enacted a year ago, NOTHING has been accomplished. And Obama thinks that disillusionment with his regime is not justified. WTF is required to make the man think we have reason to be disillusioned? A reinstitution of the sodomy laws nationwide or what? Pam Spaulding summed up Obama's statement with these words:
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Unpack that statement; it's very loaded. What is going on there? Is he: Clueless? Callous? On point? Depending on which of those you select, the one clear thing is there's a gulf of understanding going on between this WH and a generous slice of the LGBT community.
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What's equally telling are the comments left on Pam's post. Of the 86 comments as of this moment, they are uniformily angry if not out right furious with the Liar-in-Chief. Here are two telling comments:
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Not disillusionment..revulsion, Mr. President. Barack Obama has continued to instruct his Department of Justice to argue in Federal Court to KEEP discrimination the law of the land, even after the most vicious and hateful acts of Congress have been declared to be unconstitutional. The gay and lesbian population of this country is far more than disillusioned, Mr. President. We are mortified and sickened by your shameless homophobia and your dishonesty.
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He's standing in the way of progress. The problem, for me, is not what Obama hasn't done, but what he has done; specifically, defending DOMA and DADT, and worst of all, staying and appealing the DADT injunction. If he had just let it be, time would have destroyed DADT--The longer gays and lesbians served openly with no consequences, the more it would have become a non-issue, and the harder it would have been for a future administration to revive DADT. Keeping it alive only perpetuates the right-wing myth that horrible consequences could befall our nation if open gays and lesbians are allowed to serve. It also sends a message to America that we're flawed and shouldn't be allowed to mingle with with the perfect straights, that we might somehow contaminate their purity.
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Equally informative is the number of comments that take HRC to task for its failure to represent the LGBT community. Instead, HRC seems more interested in providing political cover to the White House. Indeed, here's a sample of a couple comments on HRC:
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We will never be free until HRC ceases to exist.
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[W]e would be better off if HRC collapsed tomorrow. But Obama would have betrayed us even if they'd never existed. They didn't CAUSE that betrayal, they only let him pat himself on the back more as he did it.
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Personally, I continue to hope that Obama will have a primary challenge in the run up to 2012. I will definitely vote for his opponent. As for HRC, I seriously question whether or not its leadership wants actual progress. That's right, I think HRC is part of the problem regardless of their whining and claims that they are advocates for the LGBT community. Why do I say this? Because if DADT is repealed, ENDA is enacted, DOMA is repealed and equality is roughly achieved at the national level, there will be no need for HRC. And God forbid, then Joe Solmonese would lose his cushy six figure income and might not be able to afford to be among Washington, D.C.'s "best dressed."
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He's standing in the way of progress. The problem, for me, is not what Obama hasn't done, but what he has done; specifically, defending DOMA and DADT, and worst of all, staying and appealing the DADT injunction. If he had just let it be, time would have destroyed DADT--The longer gays and lesbians served openly with no consequences, the more it would have become a non-issue, and the harder it would have been for a future administration to revive DADT. Keeping it alive only perpetuates the right-wing myth that horrible consequences could befall our nation if open gays and lesbians are allowed to serve. It also sends a message to America that we're flawed and shouldn't be allowed to mingle with with the perfect straights, that we might somehow contaminate their purity.
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Equally informative is the number of comments that take HRC to task for its failure to represent the LGBT community. Instead, HRC seems more interested in providing political cover to the White House. Indeed, here's a sample of a couple comments on HRC:
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We will never be free until HRC ceases to exist.
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[W]e would be better off if HRC collapsed tomorrow. But Obama would have betrayed us even if they'd never existed. They didn't CAUSE that betrayal, they only let him pat himself on the back more as he did it.
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Personally, I continue to hope that Obama will have a primary challenge in the run up to 2012. I will definitely vote for his opponent. As for HRC, I seriously question whether or not its leadership wants actual progress. That's right, I think HRC is part of the problem regardless of their whining and claims that they are advocates for the LGBT community. Why do I say this? Because if DADT is repealed, ENDA is enacted, DOMA is repealed and equality is roughly achieved at the national level, there will be no need for HRC. And God forbid, then Joe Solmonese would lose his cushy six figure income and might not be able to afford to be among Washington, D.C.'s "best dressed."
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