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Bud Evans responds:
Sorry Gerry, Obama is no Deval Patrick (even though Obama did “borrow” some of his speeches). I see no courage of conviction in this political chameleon, Barack Obama. He did not vote against going to war in Iraq because he was NOT in the US Senate at the time. I tire of hearing that ridiculous distortion incessantly.

For example, I did not vote for that other Republican war-monger Richard Nixon. Does that mean I had the wisdom of forethought? Or could it be that it was because I was underage at the time. Hmmmm…Obama not in US Senate (plus) doesn’t even have a say in voting to authorize Iraqi war (equals)…uh…courage? Later, he jumps on the bandwagon, as national public opinion turns against the war. This brave stance is at last taken beyond the walls of the liberal Illinois state senate where he once resides– of course, again, when there is no political risk — as Obama runs for national office.

Contrary wise, another (a genuinely brave Black man with true convictions), Deval Patrick, stands up, at great political risk in his own state, IN FAVOR of an unpopular Mass. Supreme Court marriage equality ruling for same-sex couples, then runs for the highest executive office in that state, with no apologies or equivocations, to replace that plastic face homophobe Romney. That is an actual profile in courage.

Obama stabbed his GLBT supporters in back at that hateful “Faith Forum” by joining the lynch-mob in denouncing our equality and then “bravely” offering us a place at the back of the bus. Sorry, this guys is a dangerous phony — just like Bill Clinton. Make the Dems work for our vote, just like they do for every other constituency, otherwise take the word “Pride” out of “Gay Pride” and replace it with a new label — Gay Uncle Tom.

You have your rights in Massachusetts, how about giving some of your support to the rest of us who are still struggling for rights in our own region of the country. Federal recognition is the only way to achieve that. Obama will not fight for us — if we do not demand it. Don’t give him a free ride. Make him earn our vote. If he doesn’t think the marriages of tens of thousands of same-sex couples, including mine, (my spouse and I were married in Canada four years ago) are “sacred” enough for him to be considered valid in the eyes of whatever superstitious concoction (as if it needs to be) that he politically leeches off from, then he deserves neither our loyalty nor our votes. The Dems are terrified when the Blacks stay home or the Hispanics or the Jews or any other minority because they know that they really must to earn their votes. Why are we such wimps and pushovers?

Obama is not the great messiah. He is careful and calculating in every nuance of his nebulously optimistic and pedantic orations. Many in the GLBT community picked him as their champion because they thought a Black man, a formerly oppressed minority member, would be more sympathetic to our causes. Guess what, homophobia is as toxic, if not more, in the minority communities. Formerly oppressed minorities (with the exception of most Jews due to their higher levels of education) often embrace a hatred of GLBT Americans, with relish, in order to feel better about their own misguided sense of inferiority — just like the way White trash treated Blacks in the South in the last century.

It breaks my heart to see someone like Obama, who should know better, acting like one of those who just can’t quite embrace the notion that homosexuals are just as good as anyone else, and not some weird fringe group that has to be distantly tolerated and put in its place from time to time. So just remember the next time you vote: When you pick the lesser of two evil, you still choose evil. Aren’t we better than that?

~ Bud Evans

And personally, I see no reason why I need to pay any more taxes than the obscene amount that we already have to pay. I see not need to have a nanny state and I have no desire to give money that I work for towards able body individuals that do not intend or want to work.

Obama and Patrick are friends, have very similar philosophies, and share a dynamic oratory style. Like Patrick, Obama stuck his neck out by speaking up against the Iraq war in 2002/2003, at a time when that opinion was considered to be so politically poisonous, that good friends like Kerry and H. Clinton felt that opposing the war would torpedo their careers (they chose “career preservation” over “doing the right thing at a crucial moment in our country’s history”).

Patrick is not perfect, and his legacy as governor is far from secure (he’s got a lot of improving he needs to do). But, here in MA, we took a chance on a “promising” and charismatic candidate, who had a “thin” resume, but who exhibited character on a controversial issue. I should also add that all conservatives and moderates feared Patrick would have to raise income or sales taxes to pay for all the programs he proposed; to date, he was NOT raised income (or sales) taxes. He’s aggressively pursuing increasing revenue through biotech and casino revenue.

I guess I’m saying 1)Yes, there is risk in voting for someone with a thin resume, but 2) When you can see evidence of courage, clarity of vision, and the person being a genuinely GOOD HUMAN BEING, it’s worth taking that risk, I think. I think it’s worth taking a chance on Obama. And I’m willing to wait on federal support of gay marriage. His stance on the Iraq war is what showed his character, IMO.