Guardian UK: 'Barack Obama's real record on LGBT rights'

[Newsjock]

Source: The Guardian

On Thursday evening, President Obama will headline the annual LGBT Leadership Council Gala in New York City, timed to coincide with Gay Pride. With tickets starting at $1,250 per plate and going up to $38,500, the event is key to shoring up Obama's 2012 war chest. It's also central to convincing the press and public that the LGBT community loves Obama, and he has our vote sewn up.

But the fact is, LGBT support isn't in the bag. This event is merely the latest chapter in a months-long PR juggernaut that has included the launch of an LGBT web page over at the White House, plus a zillion press releases, proclamations and articles intended to demonstrate the administration's support for LGBT people – despite its track record. This intensive media campaign has been put into motion precisely because not everyone's on board.

... Of course, you'd never know there were hordes of politically active LGBT people who are ticked off with Obama from reading the mainstream press. Major strategic placements by Obama's people in that realm include the gay-donors-fuel-Obama's-2012-campaign story they fed to Politico, now being featured in a magazine widely distributed at Los Angeles Pride. Key political bloggers are referring to Obama as having "a strong record on gay rights". And the Obama's-views-on-gay-marriage-are-evolving meme is appearing – without irony – everywhere.

Still, a powerful core of primarily LGBT grassroots activists and bloggers aren't drinking the Kool-Aid. John Aravosis of AmericaBlog resists the best-president-ever meme, noting that the standard for judging a president should be how well he fulfills his campaign promises and whether he's genuinely progressive for his day and age.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/23/gay-rights-barack-obama

[msongs]

1. the obama crowd can "catapult the propaganda" with the best of them lol nt

[ClarkUSA]

2. Wow. There are PUMAs writing poop-eds for The Guardian. Their journalistic standards have dropped.

[MrScorpio]

3. Of course, Aravosis would be leading the Anti-Obama charge

But, I guess as long as he gets lots of hits on his site, just like his pals Jane Hamsher and Glen Greenwald, with all of those basherific stories, it's all good.

Hey… Folks gotta eat somehow.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[EFerrari]

5. No, you're wrong. The black voting block is almost as young

as the Latino voting block and the kids support equality.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

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[Bluebear]

10. Please support gay marry AND paragraphs.

Thank you.

[bluestateguy]

6. Name one president who has done more

nt

[EFerrari]

7. Aim low.

[pnwmom]

8. Aiming low is what people who don't vote for Obama will be doing.

Aiming to put the Rethug in office. Good luck on getting that person - Mitt or Sarah or Michele -- to do better than Obama.

[Name removed]

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[FreeState]

15. By that standard Bush is what second best at gay rights? N/t

[johnnypneumatic]

16. name one president who isn't a homophobe

[Ignis]

20. In the past 5 years? Or are we pretending that time doesn't exist now?

We hear that the President's stance on this issue is "evolving," yet you want to compare his record against what, exactly? Grover fucking Cleveland?

[Tx4obama]

9. John Aravosis is trying is damnest to get a Republican into the Oval Office. n/t

[EFerrari]

12. So now, in addition to attributing the OP to JOHN when he did not write it

standing up for equality is supporting Republicans?

In Bizarro World, maybe.

[Tx4obama]

13. Who attributed the OP to John? Why are you accussing me of something I did not do? n/t

[EFerrari]

14. It's "accusing". Do you have nothing to say about the issues in the OP?

[Newsjock]

18. Thanks, President Obama

For reminding me that Election Night 2008, the night I lost my right to marry the person I love in California, was such a "perfect night."

I find it almost incomprehensible that you could knowingly be that clueless and insensitive to your audience, particularly on this occasion.

[Name removed]

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[SidDithers]

21. $38,500 a plate?...

And what kind of influence does money like that buy?

Sid