Kevin Spacey's Gift to Anti-Gay Extremists and Hate Merchants

Despicable Kevin Spacey and gay hater extraordinaire, Scott Lively

For the more than two decades that I have monitored self-labeled Christian "family values" organizations - e.g., Family Research Council, American Family Association, Focus on the Family, etc. - one thing has been consistent: deliberate, vicious lies about LGBT individuals.  Seemingly, no lie is too foul or too extreme.  Indeed, one gay activist friend compiled a comparison between Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda and the anti-gay propaganda of these groups and in many instances, the word "gay" had merely substituted for "Jew."  One of the perennial favorites of these anti-gay extremists is to disseminate the myth that all gays are would be child molesters and/or pedophiles.  The fact that most pedophiles are HETEROSEXUAL males, simply doesn't matter to these falsely sanctimonious "godly folks."  Now, with the accusations against Kevin Spacey, who disingenuously chose to "come out" to distract attention from the sexual misconduct story, has given the Christofascists a gift that has left them near orgasmic.  A piece in Queerty looks at Spacey's gift to the liars and hate merchants (NOTE: Scott Lively cited in the piece has a long list of anti-gay lies and false "research"):

We knew it was only a matter of time before conservative wingnuts began using the news of Kevin Spacey’s coming out to fuel the age-old “all gay men are pedophiles” myth. In a new blog post for World Net Daily titled “Will Spacey scandal expose ‘gay’ male obsession with young teens?”, Scott Lively says the Spacey scandal is just the tip of the iceberg of a larger gay pederasty scandal that has been going on since the beginning of time.

Lively writes that gay men have historically been attracted to younger men and boys, all the way back to the days of ancient Sparta. . . . . And now, thanks to Spacey, “the American public has … been allowed a glimpse of the pederast underworld.” . . . . Lively then goes on to offer a laundry list of totally random and unrelated gay men who he believes have links to pederasty, including activists Karl Heinrich Ulrichs and Harry Hay, NAMBLA founder David Thorstad, HRC founder Terry Bean, Seattle mayor Sam Adams, even Hitler’s second-in-command Ernst Roehm, among others.

Lively also claims the Stonewall riots had nothing to do with LGBTQ rights but were instead sparked by the arrest of “a 14-year-old boy transvestite prostitute” whose clientele were older gay men."

Lively finishes his op-ed by saying he believes Hollywood liberals will do their best to sweep the Spacey scandal under the rug.  “There is no higher priority on the political left than protecting the ‘gay’ movement from the link to pederasty,” he writes. 

For the record, I have zero sympathy for Spacey and believes the destruction of his career is well deserved.  My only sympathy is for others who worked in the shows and movies that will suffer because of Spacey's utterly disgusting behavior.   That Spacey willing threw the gay community under the bus in his self-centered effort to distract the media storm is inexcusable. 

LGBT Americans Still Have Reason to Fear Trump and the GOP

Trump and leading anti-gay Christofascists

While Donald Trump punted on attacking LGBT rights in his recently released "religious freedom" executive order, LGBT Americans should not let down their guard or assume that we are out of the woods.  Anti-LGBT laws continue to be signed by Republican governors in GOP controlled states. Here in Virginia, a Democrat governor has protected LGBT Virginians from the worst extremes of the Republican dominated Virginia General Assembly, but we have elections in November when things could change dramatically for the worse if the Republicans win the governor's mansion.  And at the national level, the Christofascists and their political whores in Congress continue to demand special rights to discriminate against LGBT citizens.  A column in Huffington Post looks at the continuing threats.  Here are excerpts:

Some social conservatives are expressing anger about Donald Trump’s “religious liberty” executive order because, unlike what was feared by LGBT activists because of an earlier leaked draft, there’s nothing in the order giving exemptions to business owners or government workers who are opposed to marriage equality or LGBTQ rights in general.

Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation slammed the order as “woefully inadequate.” David French at National Review called it “worse than useless.” Brian Brown of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage said it “falls far short of what is needed to protect people of faith from governmental persecution.”  And Bryan Fischer, the bombastic, fire-breathing radio host for the American Family Association, is furious that the order doesn’t allow bakers, florists and adoption agencies to discriminate, and he’s blaming Ivanka Trump for it.

This has led some LGBTQ people, namely gay Republicans, to continue to believe Donald Trump ― in spite of the promises he made to anti-LGBTQ supporters ―  is a different kind of Republican.

Don’t be fooled.

There’s a long history of Republican presidents stringing along the hungry base of the Christian right and not giving them a big prize before they are needed again. The classic example is George W. Bush, who equally disappointed some anti-LGBTQ activists in his first few years, but then bowed to their demands and promoted a federal marriage amendment just before the 2004 election to energize them to get out and vote in what was expected to be a close election after dissatisfaction with the Iraq War and Bush’s dismal approval numbers.

As I pointed out last week, Trump needs the Christian right for re-election and to keep Congress controlled by the GOP more than even Bush did. . . . . And Trump’s approval numbers are lower than Bush’s were at any point in his first term, even at his low in the election year of 2004 (48% in the Gallup Poll).

Mike Pence, who represents the religious right wing in the White House, is perhaps the shrewdest player among the various players. A former House member and former governor of Indiana, he is the only one close to Trump who has any legislative and executive political experience. Certainly as governor, Pence learned the hard way that pushing too fast on “religious liberty” issues can backfire.

Pence appears to be playing the long game, consolidating his power base. As head of the transition team, he’s brought in quite a few anti-LGBTQ figures and placed them in the cabinet and throughout the government, even if an occasional one ― like the recent Army Secretary nominee, Tom Green, who withdrew his nomination ― gets too above the radar and is thwarted.

Right now, just almost four months into the Trump regime, the social conservative establishment is playing nice, retaining its access. But the grumblings from the base and the grass roots were unmistakable last week.

It’s unlikely Trump will be able to get the religious right grass roots energized for his re-election ― something he needs desperately ― without doing something major to inhibit LGBTQ rights. We’ve of course already seen the administration rescind guidance to schools regarding transgender students, effectively block the executive order President Obama signed banning discrimination against LGBTQ people among federal contractors, install bigots in important posts and much more. 

But to the religious right, as we saw in the reactions last week to the executive order, none that is satisfactory. With Pence, Trump has someone in the driver’s seat who knows what they want, and who will know when to pull the trigger on something that will definitely satisfy them. Again, stay alert and be prepared.  

Charlotte Refuses to Be Blackmailed By North Carolina GOP, NCRLA and Chamber of Commerce

LGBT North Carolinians are quickly discovering who their friends are and who is only to happy to throw them under the bus in the interest of making a buck.  As previously noted, the North Carolina restaurant and lodging workers association is only too ready to cast LGBT North Carolina citizens under the bus.  Working hand in hand with them is the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce which similarly puts money ahead of the rights of minorities.   Thankfully, the Charlotte City Council made it clear today that it will not repeal its ordinance granting LGBT individuals in exchange for the North Carolina GOP's likely disingenuous promise that HB2 will be repealed if Charlotte throws it LGBT citizens to the wolves, or more accurately Christofascists wrapping their hate and bigotry in the cloak of religiosity.  A piece in the Charlotte Observer looks at the City Council's action.  Here are highlights:

Despite pressure from business leaders, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said Monday that at least for now, repealing the ordinance that led to House Bill 2 is off the table.

And in a memo, the city attorney said the city doesn’t have to act in order for the General Assembly to repeal HB2. Legislative leaders had made dropping the city’s ordinance a condition for repealing HB2.

“Some people don’t realize there’s no legal reason for Charlotte to do anything, and that’s the point we want to make clear to the community,” Roberts told the Observer.

In response, Gov. Pat McCrory and Republican legislative leaders blamed Roberts – and Attorney General Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for governor.

House Speaker Tim Moore of Kings Mountain said city leaders want to “play politics.”

“There’s going to be discussions that occur down the road,” Moore told reporters in Raleigh. “But the first step for anything is that the Charlotte City Council, which started all of this, has to at least acknowledge and rescind what they did. … And frankly, the mayor of Charlotte could care less what happens with sports.”

The ordinance nullified by HB2 extended anti-discrimination protection to the LGBT community and would have allowed transgender people to use the bathroom or locker room of their gender identity in schools and government facilities.

Roberts’ comments came after a news conference in which State Rep. Chris Sgro, a Guilford County Democrat and executive director of gay rights group Equality NC, called HB2 “the worst anti-LGBT law in the nation.” He and other LGBT activists accused Republican leaders of “holding Charlotte hostage.”

A Cooper spokesman said the “new round of finger-pointing is ridiculous.”

“Unfortunately, Gov. McCrory just doesn’t seem to want to fix this,” said Ford Porter.

“The governor needs to stop playing politics with our economy and call a special session to end this now by repealing HB2.”

Supporters of repealing the ordinance had worked furiously over the weekend and Monday to line up votes in favor of repeal. They lobbied three at-large Democrats: James Mitchell, Vi Lyles and Julie Eiselt. It appears unlikely that there are enough votes to rescind the ordinance. Six would be needed unless Roberts vetoed the move. Then it would take seven votes to override the veto.

 Like Roberts, council member Vi Lyles said the state doesn’t legally need the city to do anything.

City Attorney Bob Hagemann agreed. In the memo to Roberts and the council, he said the council’s failure to repeal the ordinance “is in no way a legal obstacle or impediment to the General Assembly’s ability to modify or repeal House Bill 2 as it deems appropriate.”

Kimberly Reynolds, executive director of the Democratic Party, said McCrory should “quit holding our economy hostage.”  “The economic damage facing our state is being caused by HB2 – nothing else,” she said.

Let's be perfectly clear.  100% of the blame for the economic damage that North Carolina is suffering lies at the feet of the North Carolina Republican Party, not the Charlotte City Council.  HB2 was passed by the North Carolina GOP in a crude and mean spirited effort to energize the Christofascist vote.   Now, the entire state is suffering because of cynical behavior of the North Carolina GOP and, thankfully, citizens seem to be recognizing that the real solution is to vote Republicans out of office.

As for the NCRLA and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, I recommend that anyone going to North Carolina - the state should be avoided completely, if possible - do their homework and only patronize restaurants, hotels and merchants who do NOT belong to these associations.  It may take some homework, including contacting hotels and asking the question.  They have shown how little they care about LGBT rights and equality.  Do not spend your money at their members' businesses. 

North Carolina Restaurant And Hotel Association - Friend or Enemy of LGBT Citizens?

Having just returned from staying in North Carolina where the husband and I attended a family wedding, I am not sure exactly how to interpret  a resolution by the North Carolina Restaurant and Hotel Association ("NCRLA") calling for the city of Charlotte to repeal its pro-LGBT ordinance while also calling on GOP Governor Pat McCrory to convene a special session of the legislature to repeal HB2 in its entirety.  Obviously, the call for the repeal of HB2 is a positive, but repeal of Charlotte's ordinance seems to be a betrayal aimed at appeasing the hate groups that conspired with the North Carolina Republican Party to enact HB2 in the first place. Yes, the hotel industry in North Carolina has suffered, at least in some areas, but the better solution to me is to declared war in North Carolina Republicans and to see they as many as possible are voted out of office in November and in every election afterwards. Frankly, the NRLA action doesn't make me inclined to visit North Carolina again anytime soon unless I absolutely have to do so. Here are highlights from NCRLA's press release:

The unintended consequences of Charlotte City Ordinance #7056 and House Bill 2 have taken a considerable toll on our state as a whole. The hospitality industry has become collateral damage in a fight it did not start or ask for. Restaurant and lodging businesses and their employees are suffering the adverse impact of these policies though lost business and wages.

The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA) urges policy makers on all sides of this issue to work together to find resolution quickly. “NCRLA has received assurances this week from legislative leadership, that if the Charlotte City Council repeals Ordinance #7056 at their meeting on Monday, the General Assembly is prepared to meet in special session as early as next week to repeal House Bill 2,” said Lynn Minges, NCRLA president and CEO. “Furthermore, Governor Pat McCrory has assured NCRLA that he is willing to call legislators into a special session next week for this purpose if both the city and legislators have the votes for repeal,” she said.

The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association calls on Charlotte City Council to repeal ordinance #7056 immediately, on Governor McCrory to convene a special session of the NC General Assembly, and on the NC House and Senate to repeal House Bill 2 in its entirety.

We . . . . also believe all elements of the debate should be carefully, thoroughly, and deliberately considered and evaluated through the immediate formation of a study commission.

I'd love to hear readers' thoughts.  I can't help but feel that NCRLA's only concern is one of money.  The association seemingly doesn't give a rat's ass about LGBT rights and the need for non-discrimination protections. Therefore, for now, we will continue to avoid North Carolina like a toxic plague until HB2 is repealed and Charlotte's ordinance is allowed to stand.  Charoltte's ordinance isn't the problem.  Rather it is the North Carolina Republican Party and the Christofascists to which it so willing prostitutes itself.  And yes, I did send a link to this post to NCRLA.  Others who want to express their views to NCRLA can do so here.

Barack Obama's Unmet Promise on Discrimination

As I have noted before in posts, securing  workplace non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals is high on my priority list.  Especially since I experienced first hand what it is like to suddenly find oneself unemployed simply because you're gay.  From my experience, we cannot trust businesses to do the right thing and even where some of the business owners are "friends," too often they turn out to be fair weather friends at best and will stand by silently as careers are ruined due to religious based bigotry or the cowardice of those who could object but fear "rocking the boat." Sadly, despite his promises to address employment discrimination injustices, Barack Obama has done nothing on this front.  Yesterday, the New York Times called on Obama to sign an executive order ENDA.  Here are editorial highlights:

President Obama has made repeated use of executive orders to advance the administration’s goals when Republicans in Congress refused to act. Last week, he signed two orders requiring modest but important steps by federal contractors to narrow the wage gap between female and male employees.

These useful measures made even more glaring his failure to honor a 2008 campaign pledge to ban discrimination by federal contractors based on sexual orientation or gender identity. A long-delayed measure to outlaw such discrimination by all employers, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, cleared the Senate five months ago with Mr. Obama’s support, but House Republican leaders are in no hurry to follow suit. John Boehner, the House speaker, has said that a law against that sort of discrimination would be “frivolous.”

Mr. Obama said in November that workplace discrimination “needs to stop, because, in the United States of America, who you are and who you love should never be a fireable offense.” An executive order barring discrimination by federal contractors would extend badly needed job protections to more than 11 million employees who work in states that lack such protections and whose companies fail to provide them voluntarily, according to the Williams Institute at the U.C.L.A. School of Law.

What Mr. Obama needs to do is act on his principles and issue such an order, without the religious exemption that was put into the Senate bill to lure Republican votes.

[A]s the Human Rights Campaign rightly noted, an “executive order first issued by President Johnson still, today, provides important and unique protections for employees of federal contractors against discrimination based on race, sex, religion — despite the fact that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects against such discrimination in workplaces across the country.” The group argues that even if the Employment Non-Discrimination Act were enacted, an executive order would be needed to provide the same range of remedies currently available to other protected categories of federal workers.

The best way for Mr. Obama to advance the issue and prod the House to do the right thing is to lead by example, not by waiting.

Still No Progress on ENDA Executive Order

While same sex couples are seemingly making steady progress on the gay marriage front, the same cannot be said for workplace non-discrimination protections.  It remains perfectly legal in 29 states to fire LGBT employees at will and the employees have no legal recourse.  NONE. ZERO.  And at the federal level, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act remains dead in Congress thanks to the GOP controlled House of Representatives. Meanwhile, at the White House, despite calls from 200 members of Congress, Barack Obama continues to resist signing an ENDA executive order that would apply to government contractors. The Washington Blade looks at the situation.  Here are excerpts:

Despite a letter this week signed by nearly 200 congressional Democrats calling on President Obama to take administrative action on behalf of LGBT workers, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had no updates Wednesday on a potential executive order barring anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors.

Under questioning from the Washington Blade, Carney reiterated the position he’s stated numerous times that Obama is focused on passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act through Congress as a means to protect LGBT workers.

“The fact is that legislation, which has moved in the Senate, if it were to be passed by the full Congress and signed into law would have the greatest benefit when it comes to ensuring the rights of LGBT individuals,” Carney said.

Blade: But what makes you think that legislation should be the only course of action if lawmakers in Congress are saying that the president should issue an executive order as they pursue legislation?

Carney: Again, Chris, I just don’t have any new information to provide to you about our views on this, which we have discussed many times. There is no question, I think, in anyone’s mind that the passage of legislation, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, would provide those protections broadly in a way the EO would not.

And as I’ve said before, opposition to that legislation is contrary to the tide of history and those lawmakers who oppose this will find, in the not too distant future, that they made a grave mistake and that they will regret it.

Blade: One last very important question on this. The letter takes note that “time is of the essence” because after an executive order is signed, full implementation will require a process that last many months, if not longer. Do you deny there’s a limited time for the president to exercise this option before time’s up at the end of his administration?

Carney: Chris, I’m not even sure there’s a question there, but I’ll point you to my previous answer.

Meanwhile, people continue to be fired  daily and have their lives turned upside down It is time for Obama to stop the double talk and sign an executive order.  This is a very important issue to me since I was forced out of a law firm for being gay and destroyed financially.  The vast majority of Americans support such employment protections yet Obama refuses to act.

Senate Judiciary Panel Passes Immigration Bill -Gay Bi-Nationals Excluded

 

In a first step towards much needed immigration reform, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill which will now go to the full Senate for a vote.   Even if the bill passes the Senate, it will still be an uphill battle in the Neanderthal GOP controlled House of Representative  Sadly, the version of the bill that cleared the Committee threw gay bi-national couples under the bus and, absent a striking down of DOMA by the U.S. Supreme Court next month, such couples will continue to face discrimination and having to make the choice of staying with loved ones or leaving the United States.  It's yet another example of Christofascist religious beliefs being given special deference and written into the nation's federal laws.   Equally disturbing was the readiness of Democrat Senators to throw LGBT citizens under the bus - something I will remember when I am next contacted by Democrat Congressional fundraisers.   They will get the same treatment that Democrats gave to LGBT citizens today.  Indeed, I will make a point to tell that it is "with a heavy heart" that I won't be giving them a freaking penny.    Politico looks at this legislative development.  Here are excerpts:

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave final approval Tuesday to a sweeping immigration reform bill, setting up a debate on the Senate floor for early June.

Three Republicans joined 10 Democrats to support the bill, which would create a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, invest billions in new border security measures and overhaul the legal immigration system.

Yet even if the bill clears the Senate, the GOP-controlled House isn’t likely to take it up in its current form.

The vote came after the committee deliberated for five days and considered more than 200 amendments. But the Gang of Eight, which drafted the legislation, held together and fended off all but minor changes to the bill.

Senate leaders hope to begin considering the bill following the Memorial Day recess in June. That prospect got a boost on Tuesday when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would not block debate from starting on the floor.

House leaders want their members to put forward their own version of immigration reform, which will be more conservative than the Senate bill. A bipartisan group of House negotiators announced an agreement last week on reform principles, but the lawmakers are struggling to finalize the deal.

The bill cleared the Judiciary Committee after an emotional debate over a provision to allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign-born spouses for green cards. The measure was a top priority of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and gay rights advocates, but including it threatened to derail the entire legislation. Top Republican negotiators such as Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said they couldn’t support the compromise if the amendment were included.

Leahy, who has sponsored various forms of the gay-rights measure for a decade, said following the debate that he withdrew the amendment with a “heavy heart.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that while he believed in his “heart of hearts” in the intent behind Leahy’s measure, he added: “I believe this is the wrong moment, and this is the wrong bill.”

The Democratic opposition was broader than expected. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) also opposed attaching the amendment to the bill because they said it would imperil immigration reform.

The move drew fire from gay rights advocates. Rachel Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, said Leahy is the “only person whose grandchildren are not going to be embarrassed.”

The Judiciary panel spent the day defending the bill’s 13-year path to citizenship, rejecting GOP amendments to rein in the program.    Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposed allowing undocumented immigrants to become legal permanent residents, but not citizens. He said the bill is unfair to millions of legal immigrants who have followed rules and that it would only encourage more illegal immigration.

Obama Campaign Launches LGBT Shake Down, I Mean Outreach, Effort

Call me cynical, but we knew this was coming:  the Obama campaign has launched an "outreach" effort to the LGBT community.  This of course, translate to "shake down" effort by any other name.  Obama wasn't reaching out when he could have done more to speak out against Amendment One.  Likewise, he wasn't reaching out to the LGBT community when he refused to sign an ENDA like executive order that would have been binding on federal government contractors.  I'm sure readers will say, "but Obama came out for marriage equality."  Yes he did, but what's the practical effect?  Absolutely nothing from a legal perspective.  And cynics believe he took the final plunge only because of the backlash following the North Carolina vote and the reluctance of LGBT donors to write big checks.  Also troubling is the fact that out-going do-nothing HRC president Joe Solmonese is co-chairing the effort.  MetroWeekly has coverage on the "outreach" launch.  Here are highlights:

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese was on double duty today, serving as the main speaker on the launch of the Obama for America campaign's LGBT outreach today. Earlier this year, Solmonese had been announced as one of the co-chairs for the campaign for President Obama's re-election, which HRC endorsed in 2011.  .   .   .  Solmonese's HRC successor, Chad Griffin, is slated to start at the nation's largest LGBT political organization, headquartered in DC, on June 12.

 

Much of the call's opening, in which Solmonese was joined by campaign spokesman Clo Ewing and campaign national LGBT vote director Jamie Citron, was focused on a detailing of Obama's accomplishments in his first term, from this past week's support for marriage equality to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to Obama's recording of an "It Gets Better" video.

Metro Weekly led off the question-and-answer portion of the call with a look forward, asking what effort there will be during the campaign to lay out a plan for LGBT equality aims in the second term of an Obama administration.

Solmonese responded generally, talking about collective decision-making regarding priorities, but did specifically mention the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as "landmark issues" that remain to be addressed.

The article covers additional issues, but it seems Solmonese was at his best mealy mouthed double speak self.  Personally, I'd rank picking Solmonese as co-chair of the effort right up with picking  Charlotte for the DNC convention site.

The campaign's LGBT specific web page is here.    Over all, I am left feeling conflicted.  On the one hand, a vote for Romney is a vote for a Christofascist controlled administration.  On the other, there's a less hostile administration that truly only gets concerned about the LGBT community when subjected to great pressure and in need of money and votes.

Obama - The Least Bad Option for the LGBT Community

Proving once again that he's spineless and ever ready to throw LGBT Americans under the bus - after a shake down of our money first - Barack Obama said last night at an A-list LGBT fundraiser in New York City that marriage equality is an issue best left to the states. Where would Mr. Obama and many black Americans be today if that had been the attitude taken towards racial equality during the 1960's? The statement is a cop out and an outright insult. I truly do not believe anything that Obama says at this point. The Washington Blade has these highlights on Obama's latest betrayal:
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President Obama reiterated on Thursday that the marriage issue should be left to the states during an LGBT fundraiser in New York City that took place amid increasing pressure for him to endorse marriage rights for gay couples.
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Obama drew on his opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits same-sex marriage, in his remarks on the New York marriage bill and leaving the issue to the states. The president has called for legislative repeal of DOMA and, in February, announced the law was unconstitutional and his administration would no longer defend it in court. “Part of the reason that DOMA doesn’t make sense is that traditionally marriage has been decided by the states,” Obama said.
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About 600 donors, mostly male, sat at round tables in a large ballroom for the $1,250-a-plate dinner at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in New York. Gay actor Neil Patrick Harris and Capt. Jonathan Hopkins, a West Point graduate who was discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” introduced Obama at the start of the event.
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The whole affair translates to "I don't give a crap about you or your lives, but please give me your money." A column in the Guardian looks at Obama's record on LGBT issues and describes him as "the least bad option." Here are highlights from that column:
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This intensive media campaign [by the White House] has been put into motion precisely because not everyone's on board. Talks with major LGBT donors, bloggers, and activists reveal marked discontent with the gap between the candidate who promised to be a "fierce advocate" for LGBT Americans and the president who has delivered no legislative victory besides repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" – and that under great duress. (I'm not counting the Hate Crimes Prevention Act as an Obama victory because Congress did all the hard work, while Obama merely signed it into law.)
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Otherwise, Obama's contributions have amounted to little more than a generous sprinkling of what blogger Pam Spaulding calls "baby steps for equality" or "Cinderella Crumbs". These are "a shiny, beautiful, breathtaking accomplishment that turns into a pumpkin at midnight – in this case, whenever a future homophobic president decides to rescind the baby step."
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[A]s Robin McGehee, the director and co-founder of GetEQUAL, puts it, "We were promised the Acura with all the accoutrements, but wound up with a stripped-down Honda instead."
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Of course, you'd never know there were hordes of politically active LGBT people who are ticked off with Obama from reading the mainstream press. Major strategic placements by Obama's people in that realm include the gay-donors-fuel-Obama's-2012-campaign story they fed to Politico, now being featured in a magazine widely distributed at Los Angeles Pride. . . . a powerful core of primarily LGBT grassroots activists and bloggers aren't drinking the Kool-Aid.
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Other signs of discontent include last week's brawl at Netroots Nation, a national gathering of progressive activists and bloggers. . . . . And then there are the physical manifestations of discontent. The ones that protesters outside of tonight's LGBT Gala will carry include "Evolve Already" and "Do you believe in evolution? We do."
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Candidate Obama promised LGBT people the world in 2008, and our community provided a disproportionate amount of the money, volunteer hours and enthusiasm so crucial to his win. Now, when he and the DNC are back to woo us for 2012, is the time to ask for more than vague assurances of hope and change.

Newsweek's Predictions for 2010: Obama Does Nothing on Gay Rights

It's always nice to know that one is not the only person who feels that the LGBT community has been thrown totally under the bus by Barack Obama and the Congressional Democrats. Now, in addition to numerous LGBT bloggers, Newsweek likewise predicts that Obama will do "nada" on gay rights issues in 2010. Our votes and money were sought when he wanted to get elected. Now, we are an inconvenience that he wants to ignore. Hopefully, in November, 2010, the LGBT community will give back to the Democrats what we have received in 2009 - nothing of real substance that impacts us in our daily lives. Here is Newsweek's prediction:

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Patience became the 2009 mantra of the gay rights movement, which generally supports Democrats. Many activists believe that in his heart Obama supports their flagship issues: the ability to serve openly in the armed forces, to be protected from employment in the workplace, and the right to marry (even though he’s on record as favoring civil unions over marriage). But they’ve received almost nothing for their troubles. What the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community has learned this year is that the president is ultimately a pragmatist. Although his very presence in the White House is the stuff of culture wars, Obama himself is reluctant to wade into one. Moreover, if socially divisive policies have the potential to compromise his legislative agenda, Obama has proven that he simply won’t pursue them. Expect this tension to become more acute as the 2010 elections loom—and for gay rights to be shunted aside again. The last thing this pragmatist president will do is hand election-year ammunition to an already energized conservative base that’s venomously opposed to gay marriage.

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The LGBT community needs to cease all support for Democrats altogether except for specific candidates that actively and openly support our cause.

Obama’s Preacher Complex

Speaking of evil religious influences, Wayne Besen has a column that follows a New York Times article that looks at the circle of five (5) preachers with whom Barack Obama has surrounded himself. Most of them are toxic anti-gay ministers and Obama's action in selecting this circle of religious counselors again begs the question as to whether or not Obama's pro-gay campaign rhetoric was anything more than a cynical effort to secure gay votes and money. There are plenty of gay accepting clergy and religious denominations that are far more gay friendly than those from which Obama scooped up this crowd. Yet Obama has selected these people almost as another deliberate slight to the LGBT Americans who helped him win the presidency. Personally, I've had enough and have unsubscribed from every group and organization promoting Obama and his agenda. If and when he pushes through the repeal of DADT or secures passage of gay rights legislation, I will bite my tongue and stand corrected. For now, however, I'm tired of having Obama flip the bird at LGBT Americans. Here are some highlights from Wayne's column:

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The New York Times reports that the president has surrounded himself with a cadre of clerical crackpots known as the “Circle of Five.” These holy men are: Rev. Joel Hunter, former head of the Christian Coalition; anti-gay Bishop T.D. Jakes; the ex-gay loving Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell; and Jim “waffling” Wallis, a protean progressive. The only Obama shaman who isn’t shameless is the civil rights era preacher Rev. Otis Moss Jr.

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“Whoa, OK, so let’s assume [the Obama Administration decides to release] a mealy mouthed message like ‘the President does not believe in ex-gay therapy’ or some such nonsense,” wrote blogger Pam Spaulding. “If he doesn’t, then what is he doing talking to Caldwell when there are plenty of other prominent pastors he could choose to break bread with who don’t subscribe to that view?”

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By embracing these conservative clerics, Obama is also setting a wretched example overseas. Last month, the State Department released a report to Congress that documents “an unfortunate crisis in human rights abuse directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide.” Much of this violence was the result of brutal religious oppression. Yet, Obama pals around with reprehensible reverends, thus undermining his own administration’s call for moderate religious leadership abroad.

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It is time Obama stops searching for Daddy and becomes the man of the (White) house, by picking preachers who are not at irreconcilable odds with his human rights policies.

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Obama arranges a White House meeting with representatives of Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America and surrounds himself with anti-gay preachers all the while ignoring the plight of LGBT Americans who often face daily discrimination in their lives because of the likes of those with whom Obama is brown nosing. Here in Virginia, the reality is that gay citizens frequently cannot even secure legal counsel since many members of the Virginia Bar will not represent gays either out of their own religious based bigotry or out of fear of upsetting their Christianist clients. I'm not making this up and I received one such call today from a gay man who could not find representation due to his sexual orientation. While I managed to find him counsel since his legal needs were outside my areas of expertise, it is indeed a sick situation and Obama's fraternizing with anti-gay religious bigots does NOTHING to improve the situation.