President Obama will speak Saturday night at the Human Rights Campaign national dinner. His appearance at the biggest, and most important, gay political event of the year reflects the White House's recognition that many in the gay community are disappointed, if not feeling outright betrayed, by the President's lack of progress on various gay civil rights campaign promises.
The big question in gay-land is what will Obama say. I fear the answer is: Not much.
As someone who supported Barack Obama early on during the primaries, and raised nearly $50,000 for him during the campaign, it gives me no pleasure to burst the pink champagne bubbles of hope. But President Obama's track record on keeping his gay promises has been fairly abominable. Not only has he failed to move the ball forward on any of his top campaign promises to our community, but he has actually moved us backwards on issues such as DOMA, which he once called "abhorrent," but now defends in court (even though he doesn't have to). One step forward on minor issues and two steps back on major ones does not a fierce advocate make.
Yes, the recent Justice Department DOMA brief was "better" in that it no longer compared loving gay relationships to incest and pedophilia (yippee!). But our "fierce advocate," as President Obama once called himself, is still siding in court with the bigots, still defending DOMA as constitutional, and appears to be making no effort whatsoever to follow through on his promise to see the discriminatory law overturned, while now, remarkably, explaining to us that as the leader of the free world he's powerless to influence legislation. Of course, the notion that the American president is as powerless as the figurehead Queen of England is flat-out untrue. But even were it true, for argument's sake, it would beg the question of why Barack Obama made repeated promises that he knew he couldn't keep?
It is true that thanks to President Obama married gays in a handful of states can put their partners' names on their passports. That's nice. And some gay partners of some gay federal employees are now guaranteed some less-important federal benefits that they already had access to even under George Bush's tutelage. And the President did hold a cocktail party in June for the "good gays" who refused to sharply criticize him for comparing our marriages to incest and pedophilia.
And if the year were still 1992, this would be major progress.
But it's 2009. Gay and lesbian Americans are no longer a closeted, self-loathing diaspora satisfied with the occasional crumb of respectability carelessly thrown our way in exchange for our knee-jerk vote for one political party. We've moved beyond the Pride Proclamation equivalent of National Ice Cream Day.
We want to be able to hold a job without fear of being fired. We want to be able to marry the loves of our lives. We want to be treated like human beings rather than political pariahs. And our President promised to help us on all of these fronts, by repealing DADT and DOMA, and pushing ENDA. But now, we're to believe it's crazy talk to simply expect our President to keep his promises. The President has a lot on his plate, we're being told, what with health care reform and all those wars. No time to free the gays. Come back next election when running the country becomes easier.
But it's never going to be easier. There are people who don't like us, and they're always going to yell and scream if politicians or the courts try to give us our God-given rights. It's part and parcel of being a discriminated-against minority. And we shouldn't have to constantly remind this particular president of how prejudice works.
And now, to add insult to the injury, we face the subtle bigotry of "incrementalism." The White House has found a new buzzword - a rhetorical silver bullet to get the President off the hook for yet another forgotten promise. It's a common tactic of this particular White House. For example, did that promise to get DADT repealed suddenly become more trouble than it's worth? No problem. Simply change your commitment from "repealing" DADT to now only promising to "change" it in an incremental way. That way, you can take a small Solomon-esque step towards putting a friendlier face on the daily discharge of two gay service members under this administration, while still keeping the main policy in place and hopefully avoiding the pesky controversy that often comes with principle.
In three stories in the past twenty-four hours we've seen the appearance of the "incrementalism" buzzword (here and here), and one story reports that President Obama is going to explain to our community on Saturday night how necessary incrementalism is to achieving our rights.
Don't believe it. It's a smoke screen. There has been no incremental movement whatsoever by this administration towards repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell, repealing DOMA, or passing ENDA. Again, I take you back to the gay passports. It's a nice gesture, don't get me wrong. But how is putting our partners' names on passports in a handful of states, holding a cocktail party for some gay leaders while banning others, issuing a Pride Proclamation, and nominating a gay ambassador to an island when we've had gay ambassadorial nominees for 12 years already - how does any of this even incrementally advance the President's major commitments on DADT, DOMA, ENDA, the HIV travel ban, and so much more?
It doesn't. They're nice small steps worthy of a President, and a civil rights community, living in the last century. They are unworthy gestures to a core Democratic constituency that was made specific, repeated promises in exchange for its votes, promises that are now being rewritten to ease the political pain of true leadership.
President Obama's long litany of small steps seems intended to give the shrinking number of administration apologists a long list of quasi, and even pseudo, gay accomplishments with which to argue that the real promises, the most important and substantive promises, can be put off until another day, or decade, that will likely never arrive.
And to those who say "we're only ten months into his term, give him a chance," that's not how effective legislating works. You can't just wake up one day, a year or two from now, and decide that it's suddenly a good day to lift the ban or repeal DOMA. It takes a long time, and an aggressive public relations/media, grassroots, and lobbying strategy, to influence legislation. If the White House is sincere in its desire to help us on DADT, DOMA and ENDA, then they need to enunciate, start enacting, and working with all of us on a real comprehensive strategy for victory, now. They simply are not.
President Obama just won the Nobel Prize. Ostensibly because the world still holds hope that our President will keep his promises and truly try to change the way Washington works. Men worthy of the honor - a Desmond Tutu, or a Lech Walesa - did not spend their time trying to semantically wriggle out of their commitments to free their countrymen.
Barack Obama has a chance to be truly noble tomorrow night. All he has to do is keep his promises.
Follow John Aravosis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aravosis
Huffington Post: Obama's Nobel Peace Prize: HuffPost Bloggers Weigh In
President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize early Friday morning, and HuffPost bloggers have offered opinions that range from skeptical to angry to adulatory.
Huffington Post: Obama's Big Gay Speech: HuffPost Bloggers Weigh In
President Obama will address the Human Rights Campaign -- the largest gay rights fundraiser in the country -- this Saturday, and a number of HuffPost bloggers have weighed in.
Well, eat your heart out, John! The President said more than you can chew!
I belonged to the old school of thought, where homosexuality is deemed immoral and same sex marriage is unnatural. My belief was borne, to a great extent, out of my religious upbringing.
But the president's speech today was a wakeup call to people like me to rethink and re-evaluate our misplaced moral reckoning. Simply put: Obama made me realise today that, as human beings, we are all equal before our Creator. There should be no discrimination shown towards each other.
Because homosexual, hetrosexual or lesbian, we all can contribute in equal measure to make this a better place for all. Being different is no reason or justification for prejudice. Credit to the president for convincing (converting) me to the truth!
Obama is going faster than any politician I have seen, yet the left wing people I know, including my kids, quote right wing talking points as to why Obama is not going fast or far enough. How soon the left has forgotten where we were headed and where we would be under McCain, i.e., totally screwed. And we will be living with a republican congress in 2010 if we don't stay the course. Then progress toward the goals will totally stop, and Obama will not have a second term.
Unless Obama starts walking on water soon, I'm actually going to give him 4 years to fix the big stuff. Again, kudos on your comment.
Irony; it's the champion's breakfast food...
Take a breath.
Breathe into a brown bag if need be...
If the Presidents speech tonight was not good enough for you -
Then I'm he to collect your card.
REALLY did you ever believe you’d ear a setting President –
(not one 10 years later) say the kinds of things
our President said tonight on behalf of the LGBT citizens?
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-aravosis/what-would-a-nobel-laurea_b_315614.html
Health Care Reform has been defeated every time because of other diversions. I am a lesbian saying this. Health Care Reform will have a major impact upon gay Americans, too, because many of us live in states where we do not have an option of domestic partnership insurance.
Let's please focus on the greater good here, and then tackle the rest. I'm not saying to not have passion about it, I do too. Just please let us not split our party to the point where we take our eye off the Health Care Reform/Public Option ball.
Breathe into a brown bag is need be...
If the Presidents speech tonight was not good enough for you -
Then I'm he to collect your card.
REALLY did you ever believe you’d ear a setting President –
(not one 10 years later) say the kinds of things
our President said tonight on behalf of the GLBT?
As for DOMA, in the long run it is better for gays for this to be fought in court. The DOJ is basically pushing the Courts to make gays a "suspect class" under the equal protection clause. This will be essential when the marriage battle takesover the courts. BTW, repeal of DOMA will not force states to recognize out of State marriages - it is a constitutional issue.
Finally ENDA would be nice, but employment non-discrimination laws are modest and easy to get around. Businesses do it all the time, especially when you cannot argue disparate impact. Also, ENDA doesn't help much when unemployment is at 10%. ENDA will pass, slipped into a bill like hate crimes bill.
I wish gays would spend more time and money aiding the community, teens bullied at schools, kids forced to prostitute because they are kicked out of their homes, homophobia faced by gays in poor neighborhoods. Where is the voice for these people.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/10/we-get-a-gay-ambassador.html
Have you noticed how many Dems are sitting in congress????? Perhaps you'd like to explain why neither congress nor Commander Obama has repealed DADT yet, with absolutely nothing stopping them from doing it. Maybe you should "stop" and check out your own ignorance.
It's political calculus, plain and simple.
That remains to be seen. You get played once too often, you move on. Taking your base for granted, is like insulting old friends in a rough bar. When things get ugly and you need them, they may have left without you. I, for one, am on my way to the car.
"Men worthy of the honor - a Desmond Tutu, or a Lech Walesa - did not spend their time trying to semantically wriggle out of their commitments to free their countrymen."
Thank you for putting these thoughts into clear, bold words! I whole-heartedly agree. Obama's strange blend of idealism and flat-footed "pragmatism" is very frustrating. The only silver lining, is that we still remember all of those hopeful words that he extended during the campaign. Time to hold him to them.
I am going to the Equity March tomorrow; are you?
It is time for every one of those promised to be honored. Now, not later. The act of speaking out for yourself or your cause is free speech. It is our obligation.
You’re correct in pointing out the realities that often delay social progress. However calling a group that wants equal treatment a bunch of ‘whiners‘ places you at the same level as your so called ‘Rethuglicans.’