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Loading ...Biden pick praised by gay groups
08.23.2008 4:20pm EDT
(Washington) Barack Obama’s choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate has been greeted with praise by LGBT civil rights groups.
During his career in Congress, Biden has a proven record of fighting for and supporting issues of fairness and equality, the Human Rights Campaign said Saturday.“In selecting Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, Senator Obama has chosen a proven and effective advocate for fairness and equality that our entire community can be proud of,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.
“Senator Biden’s record in the United States Senate is one of support and understanding that has been unwavering throughout his career.”
Recently, Biden, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, played an instrumental role in securing the passage of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), legislation which included Senator John Kerry and Senator Gordon Smith’s provision repealing the discriminatory HIV travel and immigration ban.
“His working across the aisle guaranteed that the Kerry-Smith provision was adopted. Furthermore, when opponents of the provision attempted to garner support to strip the provision from the bill, Senator Biden fought to keep the provision in the bill and helped secure the votes for PEPFAR’S final passage, said Solmonese.
“If the support Senator Biden has proven on our issues is any indication of the type of Vice President he will be than our community can be assured that Senator Obama has chosen a thoughtful and staunch advocate for equality as his closest adviser,” Solmonese said.
Gay Democrats who began their annual convention in Denver on Friday also were quick to praise the choice of Biden.
“With the selection of Senator Biden, Democrats now have a national ticket that is ready to lead our party to victory this November,” said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats.
The selection won kudos from Obama’s former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton who called Biden “an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Obama-Biden ticket will bring the change the country needs, including a filibuster-proof Senate majority.
But the campaign of Republican rival John McCain wasted no time, immediately producing an ad featuring Biden’s previous praise for McCain and comments critical of Obama from an ABC News interview last year. Biden had said he stood by an earlier statement that Obama wasn’t yet ready to be president and “the presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.”
“There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama’s lack of experience than Joe Biden,” McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said in a statement. “Biden has denounced Barack Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing – that Barack Obama is not ready to be president.”
Jay wrote: August 24th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
“There are a lot of Republican trolls posting here. The huge majority of glbtq people will vote Democratic. They would be stupid not to.”
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I see… hmmmm…so that means that any one who has a different political point-of-view is a “troll” — according to you.
Relatively speaking, then wouldn’t that make you a Democratic Troll?
I personally am a Independent Troll. We eat little DNC and RNC Trolls up! …
Mmmmmm…yum…yum!!!
Seriously speaking, what we really need is a viable Third Party. We, as a community, can not really afford more angry Judaists defecting to the Republican Party and more slavish Uncle Toms embracing the Democratic Party. REAL change means dumping both of them.
If only ten per cent of the Congress was comprised of members of a liberal third party, something like a Labor Party, which most governments have in much of the English speaking world, then they could demand that favorable legislation be passed that recognizes all citizens’ constitutional equality in all aspects of American life. National Health Care could pass without kowtowing to the self-serving conflicting interests of cold-blooded, greedy health insurance lobbyists and carnivorous medical industry profiteers. The Democrats and the Republicans would be forced to appease this Third Party in order to get portions of their own legislative agenda passed. And it would be more likely compromise legislation where all three parties could claim victory — and not winner take all.
But on civil rights, no compromise would be necessary. Democrats and Republicans alike could deny principal ownership of any “Gay Friendly” legislation and blame it on the “Third Party“. Which would be fine, since this Third Party would exist mainly because of consolidated minority and true progressive support anyway, and not have to answer to the same status quo imposing lynch-mobs that both the Democrats and the Republicans are beholding to.
Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are more about corporate interests than about ordinary people. A third party run for president is unworkable at this time, but district by district and even in state-wide federal Senate races, this could be the best thing that could happen to the US Congress and in America.
There are a lot of Republican trolls posting here. The huge majority of glbtq people will vote Democratic. They would be stupid not to.
Even though I don’t care much for Obama, I can never vote for McBush. I see this as a chance to eventually have Biden for US Prisdent. So Biden for VP is even more reason I am voting for Obama, even though I am now voting more for Biden and less for Obama. To me Obama is more of roadblock for McBush to overcome than anything. The thin Senatorial experience is troubling and also the idea that a felon helped Obama gain his mansion is sickening. How dare Obama raise the issue of McBush’s legally obtained 7 homes when Obama had a criminal on his side to get him one of his own!!!!! And this from someone who can’t stand McBush or Bush himself.
I will make it clear that I do not support Obama or McCain and as for Biden he is the same as any in Washington. I am seeing the LGBT community as lost! The LGBT community cries freedom for all, “we have the same rights”. But look at what the LGBT community supports! The biggest anti freedom senators and reps. in the country. Obama, McCain, Biden have all voted to silence all Americans. They have voted against the 2nd amendment every time. They support open borders each one have voted for amnesty for illegal aliens. The very worst is yet to come as Obama, McCain and Biden support the “North American Union” which will make our United States Constitution null and void. I am sick of the LGBT community screaming for freedom but only gay freedon and not caring one bit about the U.S. Constitution. I am a lesbian and proud to be but I am not proud to be a part of the LGBT community.
Very well said Bud.
You ask what Obama would sacrifice? I can assure you he would not sacrifice anything. He is a career politician as is Biden.
And Larry, I completely agree with your comment on the antiquated electoral system. I think that it’s very unfortunate that we do not allow territories to vote.
Let me state right off the bat that I am not a Republican, but neither am I a Democrat. The Republicans have an offical policy of exploiting hatred against us in order to garner more votes. The Democrates have an unoffical policy of marginalizing us, and then shoving us aside when they no longer need our votes after an election. They’ll also sell us out in a hearbeat — if it is to their political advantage. Witness: DADT and DOMA.
So listen GLBT community,and especially HRC, Obama is not the great Messiah. Just remember, Ronald Regan nominated U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy who wrote the majority opinion in the pro-gay ruling in Romer -v- Evans and wrote the majority decision in striking down the ignorant so-called “sodomy” laws nationwide in Lawrence -v- Texas. And a Republican Chief Justice on the California Supreme Court wrote the deciding opinion decreeing same-sex marriage in that state.
Also recall Bill Clinton’s knee-jerk reaction (before the Mass. Marriage Ruling) when the Hawaiian Supreme Court was pondering Marriage Equality and how Clinton was all to enthusiastic in his endorsement DOMA so that our rights wouldn’t become a distraction and a re-election issue that might have put his sorry ass on the line.
If Democrats wont go on the record as supporting our complete equality, unconditionaly, we should not support them unconditionally.
There are still so-called “Liberals” who would still support this hypocrite, Barack Obama, because he doesn’t have a problem with members of the GLBT community sitting at the back of the bus — as long as the GLBT community knows their place. Jeeez!
I never thought I’d live to see the day that a formerly oppressed minority would get all “Jim Crow” on another minority, and then be so proud about it. “Separate but equal(?)” indeed — how shameful.
Some “liberal” straights call us selfish for wanting the same rights that they take so easily for granted. Selfish like Martin Luthern King who fought for the civil rights of his people when there was an even bigger war going on in the 1960s. Remember Vietnam anyone?
And then there was President Johnson who sacrificed the Southern vote in order to ensure equality for Blacks by pushing the 1964 Civil Rights Act. What would Obama sacrifice for us?
I’m not saying don’t vote for him — the lesser of two evils and all that. I’m just asking: What has he done to earn our loyalty when he doesn’t even consider us worthy of full equality in these un-United States of America?
My vote didn’t change because of Biden being added, because I would (if I could) have voted for Obama anyway. But we US Citizens, that do not live within the 50 states but in one of the possessions/protectorates of the US, do not get to vote for President, Ahh the antiquated Electoral college system
Would anyone here vote for a white man who said that since he is Christian, he doesn’t believe that African Americans should have a marriage sanctified between them?
That “God is in the mix” with regard to the question of interracial marriage, and that is how some people feel who are proposing a constitutional ammendment to ban gay marriage?
If you would vote for such a man, then it makes sense that you go ahead and vote for Obama.
Otherwise it just doesn’t make any sense to me.
(Incidentally, by choosing Biden he just lost the election.)
We can only hope that this partnership will not only result in positive changes for the gay community, but also domestic issues as well as international issues which the American government and its’ people face. It is time, and some would say long overdue, that America moves on and beyond the Bush/Cheney years. It is time for America to rebuild itself not only with its’ people but on the international stage as well. Time will tell who next resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and whether they can follow through with all of their promises for a better America!
Trace: No. Actually I was being sarcastic, sorry if that didn’t come across. I also said McBush as in to imply that there’s no difference between McCain and Bush this election cycle(as far as I can see).
My point was that even though Biden didn’t appear at the HRC/Logo forum; (which was a little insulting) He’d still be better for us as a group than Bush has been and McCain will be. I base this off of the fact that for all other issues other than one (albeit an important one) he has supported us. Through non-discrimination with housing, and employment, pushing to repeal DADT, and he still wants to give us equal rights under the law that married couples have.
McCain would try to appoint more Scalias to the court. Scalia has said he would overturn Lawrence v. Texas if he could (making us criminals again). McCain also is against adoption rights.
Summary; I’d take Biden over McCain, and Biden isn’t even in the No.1 slot.
Ross, so you’re saying Biden and Bush are both the same as neither would appear befor the HRC?
Yeah, cuz McBush is sooOOOO much better. You know the guy who wants to appoint justices that will recriminalize sodomy? He’s totally OUR champion.
John!
Stop with the facts! If Obama had put Fred Phelps up there on the ticket, the HRC would have heralded the event as great for our community.
The HRC is a solely owned branch of the Democratic Party.
I wonder what HRC President Joe Solmonese thought when Senator Biden was one of only 2 no shows to the historic HRC sponsored debate on LGBT issues in the democratic primary. That showed real guts on publicly suporting our issues, right Joe?
“Senator Biden’s record in the United States Senate is one of support and understanding that has been unwavering throughout his career.”
- When I hear him say him admit that his vote of DOMA was wrong, I will believe that.