Although Barack Obama stated his opposition to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on open gays in the military, the Obama team has let it be known that it will not try to repeal the law during the next session of Congress.
And now there are reports that despite New York state Democrats' support for same-sex marriage, the state Senate will "probably" not take up the issue during the coming session.
Have gays been had? Maybe so.
A lot of gays contributed time and money to the Obama campaign, not only because Obama represented a welcome change from the dismal Bush administration, but because he espoused a number of gay-supportive positions, including repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
I can understand the Obama administration's desire not to make the same mistakes as the Clinton administration in 1993, when Clinton proceeded without taking account of the strong military opposition to the inclusion of gays such as Gen. Colin Powell's and congressional resistance as personified by Sen. Sam Nunn. You may remember Sen. Nunn's highly publicized visit to the "close quarters" of a submarine. The implication was obvious.
And I can even understand that there are more nationally pressing issues for Obama and the new Congress to deal with such as the state of the economy, the war in Iraq and the worsening situation in Afghanistan.
Then too, in 2006 and 2008 Rep. Rahm Emanuel helped create Democratic majorities by recruiting candidates who were "moderate" (and often socially conservative) Democrats to run in swing districts. He achieved his goal, but weakened the strength of Democratic support for gays.
But at some point, say within a year, I would want to see the administration form a working group or task force to develop a plan to gain military and congressional approval for repeal. It could include deployment of those 100-plus admirals and generals who recently signed a statement supporting gay inclusion, commissioning opinion polls on the issue in marginal districts, and targeting wavering members of Congress for serious lobbying and promises of pork. Without some real indication of administration intentions, I'd be inclined to think they aren't serious.
Turning to New York, The New York Times reported (Nov. 29) that "some" state Senate Democrats, who control the upper house for the first time in years-support delaying a vote on legalizing same-sex marriage until after the 2010 election-that is, until 2011 at the earliest.
"That would prevent Republicans from being able to use gay marriage as an issue against (Gov.) Paterson in socially conservative areas of the state or against Democratic Senate incumbents," the Times reported.
Maybe so, but a number of gays poured money into the campaigns of specific Democratic candidates with the aim of defeating anti-gay Republicans. What are they going to get for their money?
And why won't the same argument by Democratic leaders apply in 2011-that a positive vote on gay marriage would just give ammunition to their GOP opponents in the next election? This argument could be used in each subsequent year to justify avoiding a vote on same-sex marriage. It seems it is always jam tomorrow, but never jam today.
Further, without a popular Democrat like Obama at the head of the ticket in the 2010 election, the New York Senate Democrats might lose their narrow majority and the GOP could regain control. Then gays and pro-gay Democrats would have lost their opportunity to vote on (and maybe approve) same-sex marriage.
There is more than a whiff of a shell game in all their arguments.
I would not go so far as to say that the Democrats deliberately lie about their intentions on gay issues. But they certainly promise more than they can or know how to deliver and downplay the post-election difficulties of fulfilling their promises. And hearing their promises, gay "leaders" (most of whom are Democrats anyway) become excited and beat the drums for supporting the Democrats with money and get-out-the-vote efforts. Then they wind up with nothing. Strangely, they are never apologetic about all this.
None of this is to suggest that anyone need support Republicans instead. With but a handful of honorable exceptions, the GOP embrace of the Religious Right makes that implausible. But gays should be more selective about which candidates they support and sometimes vote for a minor party or not vote at all in a given race.
And we should demand specifics on how a given policy will be enacted, not just accept a general message of support. As Sam Goldwyn is alleged to have said, "A verbal contract is not worth the paper it's written on."
3 Comments for “Are Democrats Useless?”
posted by TS on
Paul, have you considered the possibility that more gays are Democrats because they tend to have had liberalizing life experiences? That they give more to Democrats because they have more disposable income and are more politically engaged than the average person?
But with that said, you are right to point out that any gay person that supports the Democrats believing them to be the governmental champions of fairness and equality will be sorely disappointed.
The two party system SUCKS! Sure it works for the same old political insiders who have an extreme vested interest in the status quo political system, but for almost everybody else it’s a drag. Even I have been known to support the democrats because I find their platform more palatable, but I hate having to do so. It’s total crap that an unwieldy coalition of classical liberals, libertarians, radicals, unreliable youths, racial minority activists who wear blinders for all causes but their own, socialists, and god knows what else is needed to beat the Republicans.
posted by charlie on
More significant than Obama’s choice of Warren was his defense of this odious pick. In the news conference following the pick Obama said he had been a “fierce advocate” for gay equality his entire political career. He then went on to say he “intended” to be the same fierce advocate during his presidency. Huh? Why insert the word “intended here? Why not just say he will continue to be a “fierce advocate”. The term “intend” is the ultimate wiggle word for politicians. Obama has signaled that he “intends” to do nothing for gay and lesbian Americans. All promises made during the campaign will not be kept.
Mr. Obama promised change. I took that to mean no more of the mendacity and venality of the past 16 years. That may be true for most Americans but the LGBT community is being thrown under the bus. He thinks we have nowhere to go. Well I think the LGBT community should just boycott Democrats-no votes, no money, no volunteering, all of which we do at a higher rate than other interest groups. Let’s see how the democrats fare in the mid-term elections without us. We will come back to the fold when the following conditions are met: ENDA passed, DOMA and gays in the military gone.
My excitement of Obama winning has turned to anger and bitterness. I, and practically every gay and lesbian person I know, feel excluded from his vision for American. A vision we worked hard for as well. My partner and I have canceled our plans to come to DC for the inauguration. We have no desire to crash a party we’ve been disinvited to.
posted by Susandenver on
I can only say that I am tired of the lies the Democratic party has given us building up to our support for them to win the presidency. I know that neither party wants to deal with a few of pur issues and that might be somethng we just have to accept butI am damn tired of the lip service I have gotten from our Congresswomen in Denver Diana Degette. She has used us and I am going to lead the way to remove her. I will even vote Republican if that is what it takes. At least I know where they stand as they tend to do what they say even though might not like everything. But I am finding that I don’t like everything the Democrats have been teling either. As a business owner I am sick of where the our party has gone, and now we elected Obama and we are forgotten.. Sorry but I’m giving the GOP a chance in 2010. Time will tell…