From Obama’s angry reaction, it must have come as quite a shock. Expecting a love fest as he lent his time and effort into trying to revive Barbara Boxer’s political career at an LA Democratic fund raiser, Obama was heckled, interrupted, and abused by members of the gay community, one time slavish devotees.
.
Promising everything to everyone who might be swayed early in his candidacy, Obama pledged his support to the gay community in two key areas; same sex marriage and allowing openly gay people to serve in the armed forces. Claiming that he would do all in his power to give same sex couples full equality under the law and use his “bully pulpit” to repeal both the Defense of Marriage Act and the so called the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the military, Obama won the gay community’s very vocal support.
.
Of course, as is so often the case with politicians, Obama failed to live up to those early careless promises. Instead, Obama has back tracked, blamed, and avoided the volatile issues, earning him no points on the right AND the anger of the left. Unfortunately for Obama, these issues are of fundamental importance to liberals and his popularity with his base is diminishing rapidly.
.
But why? What exactly do gays want from Obama? Initially passed in 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act is a federal law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The Act further protects states from being compelled to recognize same sex relationship ceremonies performed in other states. Obama pledged to use the full weight of his office to repel the Act, which would essentially provide same sex couples with the rights and protections in matrimonial and family (adoption) issues that traditional couples enjoy.
.
Due in large part to Obama’s campaign promises, gay rights organizations pressed a dozen states to put same sex issues of the ballot since he took office, expecting a more favorable climate for their cause and for Obama to lobby publicly for the repeal of the DOMA, as promised. Instead, Obama said nothing.
.
Without his assistance, four states and Washington DC legalizing same sex marriages and another four states granting legalized domestic partnerships. While conservatives cheered the rejection of same sex marriage in California and New York, Obama’s failure to even address the issues, let alone, use his position to further the gay rights agenda, sent waves of shock and anger through his base.
.
While Obama was silent, other law makers were not. Nearly 100 members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. This fact makes Obama’s failure to use his position an even more bitter pill for liberal supporters to swallow, since it would have been particularly easy to publicly support measures that had already been brought up.
.
If Obama had hoped that this betrayal would soon be forgotten, he was mistaken. Just yesterday, a Texas court determined that a lesbian couple who live in Texas (which doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage) couldn’t divorce there, insuring that this issue won’t go away.
.
Already feeling betrayed, Monday’s hecklers (members of GetEqual, a gay rights activists group) were upset that Obama has also dragged his feet in repealing the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which prohibits gays from openly serving in the armed forces. A major campaign platform in California, Obama had promised that gay rights would be a significant part of his first year in office and that repealing “DADT” would be a top priority in his military policy. On this issue he has been impotent.
.
Attempting to regain control of the crowd, which had begun chanting “Yes We Can,” in response to the heckler’s demanding to know if and when Obama was going to keep his promise and repeal DADT, Obama continued to declare his commitment to repealing the policy. However, for many previous supporters, his pledges are falling on deaf ears.
.
Obama’s ability to help struggling politicians is almost non-existent and often his presence is seen as a hindrance instead of a help on the campaign trail. Independents and many conservative Democrats who supported him during the election have migrated in mass to libertarian and Tea Party candidates. Now his most ardent liberal supporters are beginning to see him as a deceitful and duplicitous.
.
To bad for Obama, Alinsky only wrote a manual explaining how to take power, not how to keep it.
No comments:
Post a Comment