Gut Check

When Dick Cheeeney was asked why he had not served in Vietnam, he harrumphed that he "had other priorities in the '60s than military service." Like applying for six deferments.

Side note: come to find out, the very long E in "Cheeeney" is the family's preferred pronunciation of their surname. The ubiquitous-as-homemade sin, Liz Cheeeney announced this top-secret fact on a morning show, and now Chris Matthews has dropped the long A in Chaney and cheeses out Cheeeney whenever he can. I just thought he was being sarcastic. I won't tell you how my household still says the name.

But forty years after the 60s, prioritizing is still a problem.

As much as I was fully prepared to be disappointed in the Obama administration, I am surprised by my disappointment. They seem to have other priorities than full civil rights for LGBT people.

And heck I know Obama has a lot going on -- health care, the economy, two wars. I'm not one of those old coot guys complaining that Obama's trying to do too much. I think they're just jealous of his energy. In fact, under the federal radar, many things are changing at the agency level. The US Census will now count married gay Americans. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, now unrecognizable from its early iteration, creeps through committee. Hate Crimes legislation moves forward.

After an LGBT firestorm greeted the Justice Department's review of the Defense of Marriage Act with its concluding argument that put gay marriage in the same paragraph as pedophilia and incest, the White House quickly announced domestic partnership benefits for some federal employees. Coinky-dink? Ya think?

It was perhaps symbolic that the photo op of Obama signing the memorandum entitling federal employees to the equivalent of a gift certificate to the early bird special at The Olive Garden in Bethesda [one time only!] seemed to chop off the heads of the gay leaders present behind him. Awkward.

In our house, we often wonder if Obama has any gay advisors close to him on staff. The fact of the matter is two thirds of the Obama administration is former Clinton staffers. They are still traumatized by the early hijacking of their administration by the issue of gays in the military. I've always thought when the history of that moment is written, it will be revealed that some Republican mole was in the crowd whenever Clinton jogged on the mall or stopped in at McDonalds and would shout "What about gays in the military?" Finally Clinton just offhanded something off-message and undisciplined like "yeah, we'll look into it" and off the rails we went.

The Clinton people in the Obama administration still seethe when they recall the day Clinton's OMB was announcing exciting details of their new budget to an empty room because the press was over covering cranky little Sen. Sam Nunn giving his report on the difficulty of humping in confined quarters on submarines. Mind your head! The disastrously chicken Don't Ask Don't Tell non-solution became the cynical mantra of the next sixteen years.

I don't really want to hear how naïve I am in the ways of politics. Save it. I have grown up a lot in the sixteen years since the Clinton years. So has the gay movement. So has America. It's time for the Obama administration to gut check their priorities.

Comments

[gurukalehuru]

As you said yourself, he has other priorities. 90-95% of the population are not gay, and to that voting bloc the economy, iran, health care, afghanistan, iraq, housing, the environment, long waits at the airport and the high price of movie popcorn are more important than whether or not people of the same sex are allowed to marry.
Beware the backlash, baby.

[zanzig]

6 months into a 4 year term is a little early to write the President off isn't it?

[houstonobserver]

Priorities, so many to choose from.

I do think you need to be somewhat more patient. The Emancipation Proclamation took a little while to get into gear as well.

Basically, you have a bunch of far-right terriers yapping and nipping at his heels with every move the President makes. I think they are your real impediments, not Obama.

He needs to tread carefully. While I believe that he knows your cause to be laudable, I just cannot imagine him engaging and fighting them over this issue right now, as opposed to all the other "treading on their paws" stuff that he is doing now.

When he is ready to do so, I expect him to put as much energy and effort in making it happen as he is doing now with health care.

[jhamm1]

"I don't really want to hear how naïve I am in the ways of politics. Save it. "

Very well, then You're very naive in the ways of politics.

Just kidding.

But seriously, I think you're right that the Obama administration seems disturbingly distant on issues in terms of advancing gay rights. Admittedly, when Obama reaffirmed his commitment during the campaign trail that he conceived of marriage as strictly a union between a man and a woman, many of us assumed that he was essentially playing "under the radar" in effort to elude political controversy.

Now that the advancement of gay marriage and repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell seems to be gathering momentum all across the country and more and more people seem receptive to the idea, the question remains as to why the white house has reinforced DOMA while sitting idle as more and more gay servicemen and women continue to be discharged.

Perhaps, we may be obligated to come to terms with what we dread, in that Obama's campaign promises about marriage may have indeed pertained to his actual beliefs.

[harriscrl3]

Dont worry Gays will be able to get married in most if not all states soon. And they too can cheat on each other and carry on affairs and divorce each other too.

Civil Rights organize around getting married does nothing for me. I want people to STOP getting married. Its an oppressive institution and a social construct. What about those of us who dont want to get married and get punished because we chose to live with a parent that we can't put on our health insurance because they are not a spouse or a child.

I wish folks would stop elevating the instution of marriage its a joke. If you want to fight for Civil rights I suppport you 100% but dont base it on simply the right to get married and expect us to say well you know its a Civil Rights issue. You are making it worse for people like me who dont care about marriage who thinks its an institution that has outlived its uselfulness assuming it ever was of course.

When you fight to recongize ALL kinds of family then I'll happily join the fight.

[noneIn2008]

Obama has accomplished in months, things that Reid and Pelosi just talked about for years. At least he is moving the ball forward.

[daltexman]

What's that I smell? It smells like an Obama apologist! noneIn2008 thinks that Obama is moving the ball forward -- that is laughable. I voted for him and don't think he has done anything of note that helps the LGBT community. He is a big disappoint­ment....

[We-Are-The-Ones]

You are grossly misinformed and are more likely than not an Obama h8ter.

If you want information about what the Prez has been doing try looking up the LGBT Proclamation as it lists some recent actions.

[Fabienne]

Don't you think if Obama really "gutchecked his priorities" that he might decide poverty, which afflicts 20% of the American citizenry, war, homelessness, joblessness, the pandemic o gun violence in the country, the horrific state of public education, might come before gay marriage?

[greenie227]

I have to agree. I think gay marriage is a state issue and will be decided by the states. I think Obama needs to make his number one priorities the war, unemployment, the economy and housing. Those affect everyone in this country.

[SouthJerseySteve]

Sheesh! My Dad may be right -- another Jimmy Carter!

[jmpurser]

We should be so lucky. Carter was an intelligent and principled man who knew what he stood for. I really have a lot of respect for him. I think he was the last decent man we had as president given the jury is still out on Obama.

[TheBaffler]

Please don't slander the noble Carter with such a comparison.

[SouthJerseySteve]

I became disillusioned in the new Obama administration as soon as I started seeing that many of his White House appointments are Clinton cronies -- not much change if we bring these "old farts" from the 1990s back. I am also not too surprised that he has thrown us LGBT under the bus--he threw the whole country under the bus when he failed to prevent Wall Street crooks from abusing our TARP monies.

Now, I'm feeling like Mrs. Vitter, Mrs. Craig, Mrs. Ensign, or Mrs. Sanford -- trusting "our man" is something we need but it will take a lot of work to regain trust!!!!

[We-Are-The-Ones]

TARP was passed under Bush.

DADT and DOMA passed under Clinton.

Obama is not responsible for your disappointments regarding past Presidents.

You are disillusioned after 5 months? How grossly immature.

[AnotherTry]

That's your answer to everything. If not now, when?

"...after months? How grossly immature."

[jmpurser]

It's true that President Obama isn't doing much on gay rights but it's not because health care is taking up his time. He punted on that before the game started.

Looks like he's planning on being a one term president.

[noneIn2008]

Too bad he is distracted from gay rights by one other priority..­..........­... health care, increasing troops to Afghanistan, crime bill, cap & trade, taking over banks, taking over car companies, home loans, credit card reform, cigarette taxes, internet czar......­..........­....

[Tanyars5]

Well lets impeach him. It is obvious his priorities are all wrong.....­.....NOT
Healthcare reform should be his #1 thru #10 priority. 47 million Americans who lack health care is a crisis.

[Beelzebufo]

Obama didn't struggle so hard, for so long, to become president just in order to be a one-termer!

[daltexman]

If he would grow a spine and do the right thing instead of being driven by politics (e.g., Rick Warren, DOJ defense of DOMA brief, crumbs for federal gay employees, no acknowledging of states with gay marriage, "God is in the mix", marriage is between one man and one woman, etc.), he might deserve a second term. I truly hope that this is his first and last term -- he is a big disappointment, and this is coming for a fellow black man (albeit a gay one). The "fierce advocate" is neither!

[We-Are-The-Ones]

If you are disappointed after only 5 months and claim to be a Black man, then you know nothing about equality let alone patience.

Seems to me that you were wanting to be disappointed so that you could have the pleasure of being angry at another Black man.

5 months have passed and you claim to be disappointed? Grow up, for God's sake.