Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: Prop 8 passed because of pathetic planning
Call me a racist or bigot. Say I’m a reactionary queen who feeds off the hard work of others. Throw out the “excuse maker” line. Accuse me of what you will, but Prop 8 passed because the “No on 8″ side had no clue about strategy.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Start typing those comments about how “ashamed MLK would be of today’s blacks” or maybe point to those CNN “numbers” showing 70 percent of black voters supporting Prop 8. Meh. After you are done venting your moral outrage and furious anger, riddle me this: why didn’t the folk running the “No” campaign use a letter from then candidate Barack Obama?
The letter was written to the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club in June of last year and this is what candidate Obama had to say at the time.
“As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. …
“And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states. …
“Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks.”
Why was this kept on the sidelines? Apparently the argument went the letter got press in the New York Times and no one outside of the Bay Area knew anything about the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club
“That was a close call,” said Steve Smith of DeweySquare, a Sacramento-based consulting firm involved in the “No” campaign. “Maybe we should have.”
A close call?!?!?! A close call?!?!?!? I know what I want to say, but this is a family site. Go at it Dan Savage.
Bingo, Dave.
This is not the first time this has happened. Remember, the Windy City Times in Chicago miraculously found the 1996 questionnaire of Obama’s after the election. That was the questionnaire that said he supported same-sex marriage.
Incompetence on part of the No On 8 campaign? Maybe. Or was this the Wisdom of Solomonese with marriage equality in California on the line?
Oh, and don’t get me started on the David Geffen seed money.
Obama owes the gay community big time.
No on 8 was the most pathetic campaign I have ever seen. There was no outreach to minority communities, reasonable religious folks and the ads were impersonal and irrelevant.
Some of you commenting just don’t seem to get the fact that if you support gay marriage you WILL NOT GET ELECTED TO HIGHER OFFICE. Obama is a politian and knows this, Hillary is a politian and knows this, everyone knows this but you guys. So stop harping about how Obama is a hypocrite.
Mainstream America is just not ready for same sex marraige its reality. “Obama lied to us and is a hypocrite.” So you feel betrayed, get over it.
I agree that the No on 8 campaign sucked big time. Yes on 8 made it about the kids. No on 8 made it about invisible people, probably voters thought that perverts at the circuit parties, or the funny hairdresser don’t need marriages. They never crossed their mind about the other gays, no gay families were shown at anytime or any moment. To be sincere the only thing I remember about the no on 8 campaign was about how bad the past was when Asians couldn’t marry Whites and such. By not putting a real face to the terrible consequences of prop 8 most voters kept in mind the children, in 2008, not Asian with White romance in 1910 or whatever.
James is correct. The campaign was terrible. There are professionals that can do better in their sleep.
For me I sat here in my comfortable Mass wedding and didn’t do enough..i’ve learned. I hope we all have.
I just bought a case of Spanish wine aka Shawn’s suggestion…..California will feel the loss of my families wine spend!
There is a bigger issue here that some people bring up: Obama lied to us and is a blatant hypocrite. Yes, what smart pol would support gay marriage, why hurt one of our so called allies when we have so few…but the reality is he lied to that Dem group in California. Not for gay marriage, we all knew that…why congratulate them?
I’ll tell you why…he knew that letter wouldn’t see the light of day.
We need to call him on that NOW. We called him on stem cells and he FINALLY did the right thing. I called him on religious freedom but he caved with the horrible hate-based office.
We need to call him on this…we need to publish that letter and ask why he has two positions on the issue: one in private, one to get elected.
He’s already elected, so there is less risk than when the letter was written
cm,
No attempt to rewrite history. The “No” folk ran a terrible campaign. As for Obama and marriage, I’ve made my thoughts clear on his position. Here is a link in case you forgot. Enjoy your day.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/102108-prop-8-ca-and-race/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI8BcWLarJg
Watch and pay attention. “I have not said that I am a supporter of gay marriage.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWqLcCBOzEM&feature=related
“I WILL TELL YOU, THAT I DON’T BELIEVE IN GAY MARRIAGE.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwsmgzitc0w&feature=related
Sonja Eddings of “Protect Marriage”:
“We thank Barak Obama… …for helping us. We think he’s going to put it over the top.”
Enough with the revisionist history James.
What the f**k point is a letter, when Obama is on national television at the same time saying he doesn’t believe in gay marriage.
Let’s not re-write history here folks.