Comments on: Obama to give HRC keynote

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:13:32 +0000

Yhitzak, you *rock*!

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:01:44 +0000

>I will not be voting for him in the primary or the presidential election if both DADT and DOMA aren’t repealed by then.

If he does marshal both of those pieces of legislation through congress by the time he’s up for re-election, will you apologize for your infantile demanding and lack of patience?

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:53:15 +0000

You have to admit, the man is brave. He knows is reception will be “mixed” at best, and there will probably be some confrontations. He’s got cajones. I’m very glad I voted for him, even if he isn’t doing everything on a timetable or in a method I agree with.

By: Kari

Kari — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:06:17 +0000

“Just how difficult would it be to suspend all gay discharges until DADT is erased from the books? How hard would it be to spend 2 minutes to write an Executive Order?”

There would be Constitutional issues with that. The President is supposed to enforce the law as written, not make up his or her own laws that ignore those passed by Congress, or refuse to enforce those laws simply because he or she does not like them. Obama, owing to his career as a Constitutional law scholar, is likely well aware of that.

There have been times in the history of the United States where the President has ignored laws passed by Congress or charted new territory by doing things that are in violation of existing law. It has never ended well for the President, and typically hasn’t ended all that well for the civilians affected either. I could cite a list of examples, but it’s easier to reference the most recent one.

Have we all really forgotten that President Bush made that kind of behavior a central characteristic of his administration? Why are we encouraging President Obama to do what is legally *exactly the same thing* just because now the shoe is on the other foot?

DADT is a law, not a regulation or any other part of the legal system the President has control over. Were the President to choose not to enforce the law he would be, legally, a criminal.

By: Kelson

Kelson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:58:02 +0000

Drewski, I wonder why more people don’t see this: “Rahm Emmanuel will see to it that Obama does as little as possible that could be considered ‘controversial,’ which I think you would agree is what infurates a large swath of American voters”

You hit the button right on the head! The “power behind the throne?”

Just how difficult would it be to suspend all gay discharges until DADT is erased from the books? How hard would it be to spend 2 minutes to write an Executive Order? It wouldn’t even have to be “added to his full plate.” It wouldn’t interfere with any of the other serious issues with which he has to deal. Just 2 minutes to issue an Executive Order, nothing less, nothing more. There must be something else going on. I agree with Drewski, Rahm must have his fingers in this as well as in everything else that might be controversial. The fluff and fold approach.

By: michaelandfred

michaelandfred — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:13:25 +0000

I didn’t see here for whom the fundraiser is for. The HRC, the Democrats or Obama. Doesn’t matter really, none of it will help the average person marching in Washington. Does anyone here, or anywhere else in the country, seriously believe that while Obama is embroiled in the fight of his political life with health care and as the public is starting to get nervous about Afghanistan…. that Obama is going to go out on a ledge and start supporting any kind of meaningful push for LGBT rights? He went the exact opposite direction in the first 6 months in office when he was flying high off the campaign and could have really made a difference. Now his capital is spent, public approval falling and no matter how health care goes, in another couple months he’ll start thinking about the midterms, then his own re-election. Don’t look for anything more than empty promises and more Obama-ese at this dinner.

Note to previous poster: The Hate Crimes Bill has been working it’s way for ten years through congress and was ready to pass before the last presidential election. it has absolutely nothing to do with Obama and what he has done for our community. Although he’ll work like hell to make it look like it’s his big accomplishment. ANY democratic president would sign this bill when it coms to their desk, and quite a few republicans as well.

By: Yhitzak

Yhitzak — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:01:30 +0000

Nine months in office and what HAS the man accomplished!? Who gives a damn about the economy, health care, diplomatic relations with nuclear-powered countries like Iran, or anything OTHER than STRICTLY GLBT issues!? Really, just WHAT is this guy thinking, trying to PANDER to his CONSTITUENTS!?

I, like every other GLBT citizen of America, want legal equality. But that isn’t ALL that I want. I also want there to be changes within society itself. What Obama is doing is not merely pandering, he’s engaging in a dialogue. He has not repealed DOMA or DADT (read the Constitution of the United States of America, specifically the sections which outline the branches of government and the separation of their powers), but he HAS talked about it, which is leaps above and beyond what his predecessors did. Additionally, he has talked about GLBT issues in a manner that none of his predecessors ever did: he’s given US the power to defend ourselves. And what are we doing with it? We’re standing athwart Obama and his attempts at engaging in dialogues.

This is NOT a huge step forward, but it is a step. Equal rights are never just GRANTED, they are WON after hard-fought battles. This battle is heating up and it is NOT the time to stand aside and say, “No way!” This isn’t everything, but it’s *something,* so let us please stop pretending like President Obama hates us and is trying to find new ways of keeping us in social and legal chains; that is obviously not the case, even if he isn’t the “fierce advocate” he claimed to be. The world isn’t all black and white, there are MANY shades of gray.

By: Jessi

Jessi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:28:41 +0000

blah, blah, blah.
more of the political penis rubbing.
mom usta say “shit or get off the pot”

By: Brian O'Reilly

Brian O'Reilly — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:36:45 +0000

How sweet! I just love the way our “gay activists” and president O’Blah Blah wine and dine each other, and praise each other. Gay activists love their new-found celebutante status, letters of invitation and offices in Manhattan and Washington.

Current gay activists are a laughing stock. They are on the gay rights version of Lost, where promises have no relations to the space-time continuum. If they could just get the stars out of their eyes and sober up, they might actually have the balls to demand something.

The allegiance to the democratic party is just sickening. “We have a working relationship.” OMG.

By: MJoseOC

MJoseOC — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:15:50 +0000

Oh great, this is just pathetic. That’s IT! I’m sick and tired of this political pandering. I’m not going to the march. I’m canceling my tickets. I knew this was going to be an obama circle jerk. This man disgusts me. And I don’t care if the libs of this dumb site read. Obama reeks ass. There I said it!
What is the point of this speech? Hang in there? We’ll get to you soon as we destroy the economy, take over all the industries, socialize our schools, shove down a universal healthcare plan nobody wants, further debt our future generation 53 trillion dollars, destroy the middle class, tax you to death, apologize to terrorist nations, abandon our troops in Afghanistan, … then we will get to the gay issues. Ah at last! HRC is pathetic. when are we going to learn?