Andrew Sullivan thinks Obama should be doing more to defeat it:
All this makes it vital, in my opinion, that Barack Obama strongly and unequivocally oppose Proposition 8 in California, rather than keeping mainly quiet as he has done so far. We need him to make an ad opposing it. This is a core test of whether gay Americans should back Obama as enthusiastically as they have in the last month. If he does not stand up for gay couples now, why should we believe he will when he is in office? And if black Americans are the critical bloc that helps kill civil rights for gays, that will not help deepen Obama's governing coalition. It could tear it apart.I happen to agree with Andrew. Barack Obama has, by far, the best gay rights credentials of any major nominee in American history, and he's made a habit of including "gay and straight" in his laundry list of people who are "all Americans." This would just add to the image that he's a brave and thoughtful leader who will actually, you know, lead. It's not like gay marriage is 50 points down in California; this is potentially a winning cause, and a strong endorsement from the Man is likely to help move people for real. It's one of those moments.
1 comment:
I disagree. While I too feel strongly about defeating Prop 8, I think Obama's distance from the issue is wise and tactical. It is no accident, and the relative silence is in keeping with his campaign: consider that on BarackObama.com, under the Issues flyout menu, there are 25 choices of general themes, from Civil Rights to Women, with a miscellaneous "Additional Issues" tab. Hate crimes and employment discrimation are two sub-issues under "Civil Rights" where sexual orientation is mentioned, but GLBT does not merit its own tab.
Moreover, the conventional wisdom from 2004 was that the 11 states with anti-gay ballot measures had increased conservative turnout. Gay rights remains a divisive issue, and with so many other convincing spokespeople who can help defeat Prop 8, why drag the Obama campaign and the entire fate of the world into it?
Let me put it this way. I think the right of gays to marry is important, but not more important than avoiding war with Iran.
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