How the Evolution of Barack Obama Hurt Homosexuals

The recent change in his public stance on gay marriage has earned the president the unwarranted praise of many in the gay community lately. After months of campaigning as a candidate who believed marriage was strictly reserved to one man and one woman, the newly elected president immediately began his peculiar "evolution" on the issue. No one believed he didn't support gay marriage. Everyone assumed, however, he would endorse the political hot potatoe after the November elections. That is, until Vice President Biden forced his hand.

In the wake of the president's (very odd) announcement, gay rights groups and gay marriage advocates rallied around the newly annointed leader of the movement. This included the HRC, who endorsed Mr. Obama's reelection one year ago  while he was still an opponent of gay marriage and was vigorously defending DOMA and DADT in federal court. What virtually no one has bothered to mention is that Mr. Obama's political maneuvering on this issue has hurt the homosexual community's efforts for equal protection at least as much as and arguably more than any anti-gay campaign.

North Carolina offers good evidence of the damage done by Mr. Obama's opportunism. On May 8, 2012, North Carolinians voted to ban gay marriage in that state. The very next day President Obama announced his support. Since that announcement, opposition to gay marriage in the black community has seen a sharp decline. After months of supporting gay marriage at a rate of only about 41%, the black community now supports it by nearly 60%. And nationwide the trend has been the same since his announcement according to the Washington Post. Is the black community turning into an important ally of gay rights after years of voting in opposition? You tell me. But all signs point to yes as, like night turns into day, the NAACP endorsed gay marriage just ten days after Obama's policy shift, calling it a "civil right" issue.

Here's the million dollar question: Would 29 states have banned gay marriage by now if President Obama had had the courage to tell the American people the truth more than two weeks ago? Would states like California, North Carolina and Maryland have banned gay marriage if the president weren't a weak, opportunistic grand stander who preferred to use gay Americans as pawns instead of standing by them as fellow citizens and decent human beings?

The answer is increasingly apparent. No, they wouldn't have. President Obama does not deserve our praise. As in every other instance of his presidency, Barack Obama has failed to lead on an important and divisive issue. And, as usual, the cost was paid by those Americans who trusted him to bring about hope and change.

State Of The Union 2010

Let's see, where does one start when disecting the grab bag of half-truths, empty promises and outright lies in last night's State of the Union address? The entire speech is what marines call a "target rich environment". I'll just talk about a few here tonight, but I think you all should watch the video posted at the end of this entry. It's long, but essential.

First and foremost, this "spending freeze" proposed by the President is a J-O-K-E, JOKE! Let's crunch the numbers here: To start off with, the president has placed Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and all national security priorities off limits. In other words, just about 85% of the federal budget is off the table and will not be affected by this so-called "freeze". Problem number two: the "freeze" on funding for agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (one of the most useless agencies ever created by any government anywhere, ever. Like, totally ever) lasts only three years, this following a year in which the EPA saw it's funding vastly increased by our new "fiscally responsible" president. Problem number three: These spending freezes are strictly that - a freeze. No actual cuts will be allowed under this freeze because its, well, frozen. That is not fiscal responsibility, it's more of the same wasteful spending that got us into this mess in the first place.

President Obama also promised in his speech to continue pursuing his disasterous healthcare reform bills, promising to take into account any advice or solutions offered by anyone. Nevermind that conservatives and Republicans have offered numerous suggestions, not the least of which is to break down state barriers and allow consumers to shop for health insurance across state lines, thus opening the market and forcing the nation's 13,000 insurance companies to actually compete for our business. This would have an enormous impact on our premiums, to say nothing of the effect simple tort reform would have on our healthcare system. By insisting on continuing down the path of socialism, and not "pivoting" to the center as many pundits assumed he would, President Obama has proven once and for all his true vision for America; one in which individuals are virtually helpless without the government.

Listening to the speech, one would think Americans are a helpless people, with no hope except that which is given to us by our benevolent leader in the White House. But what the Messiah giveth, he can taketh away, and he did just that by simultaneously lampooning Washington (of which has been a part for over 3 years now) for it's incompetence and in the same breath insisting that we "trust" him. Whatev.

Between whining about the "tone in Washington" and lecturing the Supreme Court on how to do it's job, the rest of the speech was basically a hate-fest over the unnamed president from whom Barry supposedly "inherited" this whole mess. Let's take the deficit as an example, which the president still blames on President Bush. Ed Morrissey, take it away:

Obama repeatedly insisted that he inherited massive budgetary problems from George Bush, but the Con Law professor may want to retake his high-school civics class. Congress passes budgets, not the President, and the last three budgets came from Democrats. In three years, they increased annual federal spending by $900 billion, while the admittedly profligate and irresponsible Republican Congresses under George Bush increased annual federal spending by $800 billion — in six years. And during the last three years before taking office as President, Obama served in the Senate that passed those bills, and he voted for every Democratic budget put in front of him.

Dammit, ain't the truth refreshing?

Lastly on my very, very short list of complaints (for the long list buy my Barack Obama biography, entitled "Bend Over, America", now available in paperback!) let us turn to an issue I care very much about. Last night President Obama promised to finally work with Congress to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy barring homosexuals from serving openly in our armed forces. So much as I would like to praise the president for this step towards equality, the fact remains that the President is as two faced as ever in regards to this issue. He did no more last night than state the same policy position he has stated throughout his campaign for president. The fact of the matter is that, so far, the only action Barack Obama has taken in regards to Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been to direct his Justice Department to vigorously defend it in the only standing lawsuit against the policy. And what organization is the only plaintiff in the only case to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Why, it's the Log Cabin Republicans, America's largest organization of gay Republicans!

Seriously, Barry, when a big group of queers is kicking your ass on any issue dealing in military matters perhaps it's time to go back to Chicago.

The Adventures of TOTUS

As has been well reported by now, Mr. Obama is heavily dependent on the aptly nicknamed TOTUS (Teleprompter Of The United States). Much as been said over the last year of the president's "safety net", but we can now say beyond doubt that the president everyone hailed as giving the most eloquent speechess since Pericles' funeral oration is totally and completely incapable of giving any public speech without his beloved TOTUS. Are you ready for this? Barack Obama has been caught giving a Teleprompter aided speech...to a sixth grade class.


That really happened.

In case you're still not convinced that the president is unable to speak without a visual aide, here he is giving a speech to about a dozen people in his "middle class task force"...with a teleprompter.




The Onion News Service has a hillarious funny spoof on his dependence on his glass aide, too:

It's not so much that this is a devestating blow to Mr. Obama. But the fact is that his fabled eloquence is as fake and phony as the hope and change he promised us; as non-existent as the transparency and honesty we were assured.

Exit question: What's more disturbing? The fact that Obama says such assinine and stupid things, or that all of these things are prepared far ahead of time by a team of political and policy advisers?

Job Security: Clinton and Obama Style

The Hill reports on the $787 billion stimulus stimulus package passed by Barry and Congress was most effective in ensuring job security. Unfortunately for the rest of America, the stimulus bill served none other than Clinton and Obama's campaign pollsters and fellow campaign staffers.

"Federal records show that $5.97 million from the $787 billion stimulus helped preserve three jobs at Burson-Marsteller, the global public-relations and communications firm headed by Penn." "Burson-Marsteller won the contract to work on a public-relations campaign to advertise the national switch from analog to digital television. Nearly $2.8 million of the contract was issued to Penn’s polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, according to federal records.
Federal records also show that a former adviser to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign received nearly $70,000 from that contract to help alert viewers in difficult-to-reach communities that their televisions would soon no longer receive broadcast signals. "

The nation should be nothing short of appalled. At a time where the economy and citizens alike are struggling to survive, these career politicians use taxpayers money to ensure their future candidacy, and it's disgusting. I say we throw all of these bums out and start from scratch. Their egotistical sense of entitlement is costing the nation billions at a time when we can't afford it.

Obama Golfs While America Burns

President Obama, having won his election and a new, shiny Nobel Peace Prize, has apparently deemed himself eligible for a little R&R. Or, perhaps not a little. A lot, actually. After nine months in office, President O (it looks like a zero, get it?) has tied President George W. Bush for "number of rounds of golf played in office". 24 rounds in case, you were wondering. It took President Bush 2 years and 10 months to put in that much time on the links.

Call me crazy, but am I the only one who remembers all of the liberal bellyaching over how much time spent at Camp David, a fully outfitted presidential retreat, often accompanied by aides and advisors? I'm not a golfer, but I don't believe golf courses typically lend themselves to handeling national crises. Now again, frankly I don't care how many times the president plays golf. The only point here is that liberals acted as if Bush were never working on anything, only enjoying the benefits of being the most powerful man in the world.

You Lie! Thank you, Congressman Wilson

Besides breaking longstanding Congressional decorum, Congressman Joe Wilson is to be applauded for having the testicular fortitude to say what were we all thinking throughout the entirity of the president's speech last night. The video below is not presented so much to show you the spectacle, but because I think the "But how did you know!?" look on Pelosi's face is friggin' hillarious.In any case, Congressman Wilson has apologized for his remarks and has been roundly condemned by both Democrats and Republicans. But, not I. For while the networks and her Speakership will remain determined to focus on the act (shouting "you lie" at POTUS), I will focus instead on the assertion (that the President lied to the American people and to Congress about illegals being covered by his proposals).

The fact is that on two seperate occassions Congressional democrats had the opportunity to close the loophole in the bill that would allow illgals access to the coverage. While it is true that no explicit language in the proposals would grant taxpayer funded healthcare to illegal aliens, it is a fact that they would be given treatment under the program, that it would be illegal under the current law to deny treatment, and that the president knows all of this to be true. He lied to us anyway. If it were not true, why would congressional Democrats now be telling us they will move quickly to close the loophole exposed to us last night on live television by Congressman Joe Wilson?

Among three House committees to pass bills for health reform, only one expressly bans federal funding for proving health coverage to illegal immigrants.

"The Congressional Research Service has indicated that indeed the bills that are before Congress would include illegal aliens," Wilson said. "And I think this is wrong."

Indeed, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service study found that the House health care bill does not restrict illegal immigrants from receiving health care coverage.

House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner amplified the complaint that without proof of citizenship, illegal immigrants could be insured.

"There were two opportunities for House Democrats to make clear that illegal immigrants wouldn't be covered by putting in requirements to show citizenships," he said. "Both of those amendments were, in fact, rejected."

In the Senate, Democrats in the so called "Gang of Six," a group of bipartisan senators on the Senate Finance Committee which is the last panel yet to release its bill, began moving quickly to close the loophole that Wilson helped bring greater attention to.

So which is it? Did Congressman Wilson unjustly call the president a liar or was the president actually lying? Or is it the third possibility, and the most probable one, that the president hasn't the slightest clue as to what is in these bills and just wants something passed through the Congress so he can sign it and not look like a big fat political loser.