As Long As We're Talking About Rick Warren, Did You Know Rush Limbaugh Is A Drug Addict?

I shouldn't have to say this first, but I will, I'm not defending Rick Warren.

But if the worst thing that happens during the Obama presidency is that he lets a hate-mongering idiot speak at his inauguration I'll be ecstatic. Stop and think for a second. George Bush TOOK US TO WAR UNDER FALSE PRETENSES. He also APPOINTED people that don't believe in global warming to senior positions in the Environmental Protection Agency. He sanctioned torture. That's just the preamble to any rant about the disastrous last eight years.

George Bush gave away all our money to his rich friends. He betrayed New Orleans. He mandated abstinence only education.

So can we stop on the Rick Warren thing for a moment? Yeah, Rick Warren sucks, but we didn't complain when Obama participated in debate with John McCain hosted by Warren. Because we hadn't won yet we were willing to go inside their house; now we want to burn it down.

The reality is that at some point Obama's likely to do something much worse than invite Rick Warren to speak at his inauguration. At some point Obama is probably going to make a bad political appointment. Rick Warren is a symbol of something, and symbols matter, but they don't matter as much as policy or appointments. And let's not forget who we voted for. Obama has never been in favor of gay marriage, either.

To quote Andrew Sullivan: "I think Obama is different. I think the earnestness and sincerity of his campaign, and its generational force, have given us a chance for something new, and I fear that in responding too viscerally to the Warren choice, we may be throwing something very valuable away far too prematurely."

Something else to keep in mind is that the right wing nutcases are already on the attack with "The Obama Recession," and attempts to link Obama with the Nation of Islam. And we're not helping. Politically, inviting Rick Warren to speak at the inauguration is not a mountain, it's a molehill. There are much bigger fights on the horizon. We need to keep our powder dry.

- Stephen Elliott is the Editor of The Rumpus

Follow Stephen Elliott on Twitter: www.twitter.com/the_rumpus

Comments

[tonysmith]

andrew sullivan is hardly an objective source on obama. he IS the tank....no­t just in it.

[panthergod]

Anyone who is surprised or disappointed by the Warren appointment hasn't been paying attention to anything obama has stated regarding his fundamental views for the past four years since the '04 Democratic National convention.

[blooddoc]

I could be wrong, but I believe Obama is simply doing what he said he would do: reach across party and ideological lines to seek common ground on which to stand while searching for solutions to the nation's many problems. It serves no useful purpose to start your administration trashing or isolating your political or ideological foes - better to feel them out and, while still standing on your principles, make it known that some things are open to civil debate ("disagree without being disagreeable"). Who knows, he might even be able to convince these opponents to see progressive ideals in a more favorable (to them) light.

[Choicelady]

You're not wrong. That's what's happening.

[KarenGeorgetown]

Why are we reaching across party lines, again? Work with me here. I don't get it. Their idea of working across party lines the last eight years was, "Agree with us 100% or you are un-patriotic. We'll ruin you." They have nothing to share. They are morally corrupt. They are always wrong. They have no new ideas to help transform a nation. We finally won out over greed, corruption and incompetence. Let us not rejoice that another homophobic Bible-thumper got a toe hold.

[ProfessorDuh]

Exactly right.

[ProfessorDuh]

There's a line that should not be crossed, the one Obama would not cross by inviting David Duke and the KKK on the podium with him. And Warren, with his vicious attacks on gays and atheists, is on the other side of it.

[JimR]

I don't agree with Warren's views on homosexuality or gay marriage, but he has hardly been vicious about it. That's your twisted spin on it. Actually, that's more than spin, it's an outright LIE to say he has been vicious.

[JackNasty]

How exactly is any political campaign to strip a group of taxpaying citizens equal protection under the law NOT vicious?

[ProfessorDuh]

Warren equates homosexuality with incest and pedophilia, and says that Jews will burn in hell. Those are vicious, stupid, fundamentalist claptrap beliefs fit only for the morons who attend Warren's cash register of a church.

[StillIRise]

As a black woman, who lived through segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, I would have no problem with Obama inviting David Duke or the KKK to share the podium with him - because I understand what Obama is doing, and I trust his judgment. African Americans did not win their rights with simple demands and threats. It took years of a carefully organized movement, eventually led by Dr. Martin Luther King, to change the consciousness of America to embrace the rights that had been denied our community. Inclusive in that change was the change of hearts and minds of some of the most racist and hateful people who had one time stood against us, but ending up standing with us. Not everyone changed, even unto this day, but those who didn't became the minority voice. The fight has not ended, and the struggle goes on, but we've learned over time, that change of this kind is incremental, and the slights and disappointments that we have to bear are relatively inconsequential to the greater goal. As a black man himself, I think Obama understands this perhaps better than many.

[Choicelady]

You're so cool! Wonderful statement!

[ProfessorDuh]

So the fight has not ended? Funny, then, that it's the gay hater up their on the podium mouthing platitudes about God, and not the racist, isn't it?

[UltraClassic]

The Warren issue means nothing. If liberals and leftist democrats want to screwup the entire shooting match, they need to do just what they are doing right now, freak out over a meaningless prayer giver.

Liberals and leftist democrats along with mainstream Americans elected Obama. I did not vote for him nor would I vote for him now. But I am willing to "cut him a huss." For Christ's sakes people, give the guy a little breathing room. He is going to have his hands full dealing with the right wing in this country as well as bringing the 48% of the country who did not vote for him around to his way of thinking.

The entire Warren issue is nonsense. Give it a rest already.

[lovable]

for the next 8 years u will always find one person to disagree with obama and the media will turn into drama !!!!!! when in truth it will be only a few people in that group.

[perturbation]

You people are confusing display with substance. I care about legislation and executive orders, not who's on stage for public displays.

I'm gay, and almost as liberal as Jesus, and I have no objection to throwing this bone to Warren and his ilk.

The hysterical response in some liberal quarters is a prime example of how good people can focus on petty battles and lose the war.

[panthergod]

Your only problem was that Jesus wasn't liberal socially speaking.

but yeah, I agree. this nonsense is why the right has been laughing at the left for 30 years.

[zendem1]

The Warren move was shrewd politics on Obama's part.

[EtTuBrute]

SPOILER WARNING: I am an independent (have been since the first national election I voted in (1972)). I had never voted for the winning presidential candidate in that entire time until this year.

If critics here think back to Obama's campaign, where he, essentially, promised to try to reform the current American political system and its systemic, embedded politics of division and hate, they might realize that is exactly what he is doing here. He isn't asking anyone to agree with Warren or endorse his views, and by making this selection he is exposing the hypocrisy of the evangelical point of view to national scrutiny and debate.

Hmmm... a national debate about evangelical's stances regarding civil rights immediately following their concerted effort to discriminate against a large portion of the citizenry, in concert with other bigoted religious “christian” leaders and institutions ...hmmm...

TMAN, zukervati, littlebuddylouie, L3ftofC3nter are all correct. Obama's campaign is not foolish or shortsighted in anything they have done so far. This was a calculated political move on Obama's part, and highlights his promise to be (really) inclusive, unlike that other guy (uniter, not a divider), and perhaps live up to the theme of his campaign.

And, Spud777, he seems to be trying, partially, to build a new base, more inclusive of those of us who do not belong to or endorse either of the corporate political parties. What a concept… government of, by, and for the people… why didn’t anyone think of that earlier?

[Sketchartist]

Look, Obama quite deliberately went out of his way to pick a fight with gay people at this moment, for calculated political reasons. Sensing vulnerability after the Prop. 8 loss, he and Rick Warren are both trying to use our zeal for our rights against us. Those who discount our reaction to this punch in the nose play right into that calculation.

It's simple, old-fashioned bullying. If you don't think we should fight back - every time it happens - you are wrong.

[channelerchik]

Why in the world would you think Obama is trying to hurt gays? That's insane. You're paranoid. What he's doing is what he said he would do, look for common ground amongst diverse groups. This reaching out to right wing evangelicals - a huge and powerful group - by picking one of their most progressive leaders (gives away 90% of his earnings to fight poverty, preaches about righting all sorts of social wrongs instead of staying on the usual anti-abortion obsession) is a brilliant move on Obama's part. It opens the door and welcomes them to the table rather than sticking our tongue out at them and slamming the door in their faces. While slamming the door on them might feel vengefully nice in the short run, in the long run what Obama is doing is far wiser. Of course. He's a brilliant man.

[swo68]

Rev. Lowery, who is scheduled to deliver the benediction, shares the same belief as Warren on gay marriage. Warren shares the same belief as Lower on civil rights for gay couples. What's all the fuss over Warren? Is it because he's white, and Lowery is black?

[Spud777]

Time will tell! Obama just used up a big good will pass on this one, there will not be others from his base.

[GG1983]

If anyone would like to read a comparison between Rev. Lowery and Rick Warren you can find one here: http://quasisuspectclass.wordpress.com/

[Warthog]

On the bright side, after the incalculable damage done by Bush, O has a whole lot of scope to fix things. Just by getting rid of the idiotic religious based mentality and replacing it with a modicum of sensible science will do wonders in pulling the nation back from the brink.

[zukervati]

This was nothing short of a pure genious on part of Obama, he's bringing the ones he diametrically opposes closer to him than the ones he agrees with. This has forced Messrs. Rick Warren et. al. to change thie ways (cleanup his website, get the hate language removed, show "compassion" towards the Gay and Lesbian community and, well, bring this discussion to the bigots that regularly attend his church). Isn't it nice to see the likes of Warren having to change in order to be in Obama's camp?

Every medicine has its side effects, and the dose Obama gave to Rick Warren will have the side effect that is sure to lead to a more open dialogue between his flock of sheep and the GALA.

The walls are a crumbling!

[littlebuddylouie]

This post reminds me of something Obama said during a network news interview shortly before the election. He said two of his favorite movies were "The Godfather, and The Godfather Part 2."

"There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
(Michael Corleone, Godfather Part 2.)