You are the canary in the coal mine

Peter Daou, who was Hillary's Internet guy during the campaign, just wrote a piece for the Huffington Post in which he basically says that the brouhaha over homophobe Rick Warren being invited to give the invocation at Obama's inaugural, and the subsequent invitation of gay Bishop Gene Robinson to make amends (during which time his prayer was "accidentally" not televised), was a precursor for all the woes the Democrats are now feeling:

It took more than half a decade, countless American and Iraqi deaths in a war based on lies, a sinking economy and the drowning of an American city to finally kill Bush-Cheney-Rove's dream of a conservative realignment.

Democrats, controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, have managed to kill their own dream of dominance in 12 months.

How did it happen?

....I'd like to suggest an additional explanation for the demise of Democratic fortunes, namely, that Democratic leaders made two crucial miscalculations in early 2009. A quick glance at the news a year ago today offers clues. On January 19th, 2009, CBS published the "Obama-Lincoln parallel." The Washington Post wrote about a "bear market for Republicans leaving the Hill or the administration." The same day, techPresident discussed "How the Obama Transition is Using Tech to Innovate." Elsewhere that day, LGBT bloggers were complaining that gay Bishop Gene Robinson's prayer was left out of HBO's live broadcast of the inaugural concert.

In that small selection of stories, key themes emerge: a) Obama is the next Lincoln; b) The Obama online revolution continues; c) Republicans are finished; d) a handful of progressives aren't buying it.

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Where will the energy (and the phonebankers) come from in 2010?

Today, I've been rolling the whole Coakley fiasco around in my head, and I just kept coming back to our very own Liz Newcomb's warning to the Obama Administration in her post "Who will phonebank for triangulation?" Liz was prophetically channeling Cassandra in this very race. Sure, Coakley could have been a stronger candidate, but Brown wouldn't have had a chance if Obama had kept his base happy:

And then I was wondering if Rahm Emmanuel and David Axelrod were wondering about this, too. If they are, they seem to have come to a different conclusion than I. They have embraced a Clintonian strategy of triangulation for the Obama administration, i.e., adopting Republican policies and themes and making them their own to win over the center, while disavowing and disappointing the left, often purposely. Remember Clinton's welfare reform, which adopted key elements of Newt Gingrich's "Contract with America"? Remember Clinton's denunciation of Sister Souljah? That was Clinton's Reverend Wright moment.

To me, the Emmanuel and Axelrod approach seems to be a case of misapplied conventional political wisdom. The Obama era is not the Clinton era. Clinton did not ride a wave of youthful idealism into office, like Obama did. Obama will need every bit of that idealism to get reelected. He needs the lefty idealists to vote and to run phone banks and to knock on doors for him. He will not generate that kind of enthusiasm by triangulating on every issue important to the left – whether that issue be DADT or healthcare or climate change or whatever. Obama’s approach will not likely drive his base into the Republican party, but it will drive them into apathy. And that is one thing that Obama cannot afford.

So I ask Axelrod and Emanuel: Who will phonebank for triangulation?

The Obama administration ignores, and takes the progressive base for granted, at their own peril. Read More...

GW University College Repubs are miffed at Meghan McCain

An intra-GOP, gay-related, squabble has broken out between the College Republicans at George Washington University and Meghan McCain. From The Edge:

McCain finds herself squarely in the middle of a new controversy. George Washington University’s Allied in Pride student group invited McCain to be the keynote speaker in its "Marriage Equality Week" program. But McCain was also booked to speak at the Washington, D.C., university’s event "Redefining Republican: No Labels, No Boxes, No Stereotypes" on Feb. 9.

"She a different type of Republican," Michael Komo, the president of Allied in Pride, told The Hatchet, the student newspaper. "We thought her input would be helpful on the subject of marriage and the future of the GOP."

But George Washington’s College Republicans weren’t so enthusiastic. "Our executive board was told that Meghan McCain’s primary focus would be her opinion on what it means to be a Republican," a spokesperson for the club told the Hatchet. "We later discovered through her Twitter and subsequent conversations with the SA and [the Graduate School of Political Management] that she would be giving the keynote address for Marriage Equality Week."

The GOP club claims it was not told McCain would be at the school as part of a marriage equality event. McCain’s booking agency is reportedly receiving $7,500 as a speaking fee via Greater Talent Network in New York.

This piece is disturbing on several levels. First, what's wrong with those College Republicans? They're too young to be homophobic. Second, organizations will actually pay Meghan McCain $7,500 to speak? Wow. That's just wrong. Read More...

The fundie bigots are pissed at the Simpsons, again

Oh, I'll just let them explain. From the American Family Association (which ironically has its own history with anti-Semitism):

Moms, this has to be the worst of the worse of all "The Simpsons" episodes. In an upcoming episode Homer Simpson will visit Jerusalem and contract Jerusalem Syndrome. This is a psychological condition where visitors to the Holy Land become convinced that they are biblical figures and Homer believes he's the Messiah. The Simpsons' overly aggressive Israeli tour guide is going to be none other than Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat, Bruno).

The episode is titled "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" and set to air on Fox March 28th which will coincide with Palm Sunday. The official description of the episode involves the Simpson family going on a church trip to the Holy Land.

In an interview, "The Simpsons" Executive Producer Al Jean states that Sacha Baron Cohen will play a "pretty angry but funny" Israeli tour guide. Jean promises this Easter special will "be a show that all faiths can come together and be offended by."

Jean also discloses that Cohen's character is "trying to get Marge to give him good grades on the comment card, and she goes, 'You people are pushy,' and he goes, 'What do you mean, you people? You try having Syria for a neighbor! What do you have – Canada?'"

"The Simpsons" has never been a family-friendly show, but this is going too far. As Christians we are appalled and this is not the first time the producers of this show have made poor decisions. Marge Simpson made the cover of "Playboy" magazine November 2009. And a 2002 episode where the family visited Rio de Janeiro sparked an official complaint from authorities in the Brazilian city.

This animated program has gone from inappropriate, to crude, to now offensive. Simpsons producer Jean doesn't seem to mind that we will be offended by this religiously-themed episode.

Then there was the time the AFA promoted the "Nazi"-type science of a known hate group. Read More...

Mixner calls on Obama to speak up when anti-gay advocates are using his words against us

Joe and I have been saying for a while that this was a growing problem, the religious right constantly using Obama's words against us. David Mixner echoes that point:

But this is not the first time Obama's words have been used against us. They were used by the evil forces pushing Proposition 8. They were used against us in Maine while the President remained totally silent doing the election. They were used against us in New York and New Jersey doing the debates on marriage equality. How much longer is Obama going to remain silent while the bigots use his own words against our struggle for freedom?

The President's silence is now hurting us and hurting us often. He can either chose to make clear that these advocates of oppression do not express his personal views or he can continue his silence which in essence at this stage endorsing the forces opposed to the struggle for LGBT freedom

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On homophobia in Uganda: 'Americans export the stuff because we have a surplus at home'

Boston Globe columnist Jesse Singal has a column today about the influence of American homophobes on Uganda. While Uganda's government is taking homophobia to the extreme, the rhetoric against gays in the U.S. from leading right-wingers is strikingly -- and frighteningly -- similar:

In their popularity and reach, Beck, Gingrich, and O’Reilly are mainstream figures. Yet even though they use approximately the same narrative as the evangelicals in Uganda - gays aren’t just doing something morally wrong, but are leading a dangerous movement that could corrupt society at large - Americans hesitate to call their views unacceptable.

None of this means that news networks should yank the bigots off the air. Nothing will be gained if anti-gay sentiments simply scuttle underground to a million online forums. But at some point, we’re going to have to realize that the “principled’’ opposition to gay rights coming from some prominent pundits is a thinly disguised version of the hatred that the anti-gay movement helped bring to Uganda. Americans export the stuff because we have a surplus at home.

Singal is right. And, this begs the question of what solutions Beck, Gingrich, O'Reilly, NOM, the Catholic Bishops and other gay bashers propose to deal with the gay community. Read More...

Perry v. Schwarzenegger: SCOTUS's Camera Ruling

Here is an informed and intelligent take by Lambda Legal’s Jenny Pizer on the ruling preventing cameras in the courtroom. It’s over on Karen Ocamb’s blog.

Pizer's piece is worth a read, although I do not take the same level of comfort as she does from the fact that the camera issue is a distinct one from the main issues in the case. As Pizer herself points out, SCOTUS had to buy into the anti-marriage-equality’s argument that irreparable harm will result if the proceedings are televised. (You can read opinion here, specifically pages 2-3, 7, 12-13). The court agreed that defense witnesses are likely to be harassed and their testimony chilled. To me, the ruling reveals a sympathy to the arguments of the defense.

The 5-4 conservative/liberal split is also worrisome, because it breaks so cleanly along ideological lines. I would have been less troubled if a liberal justice had sided with the conservatives or vice versa on this issue. Read More...

San Diego's GOP Mayor to testify at Prop. 8 trial today

The Prop. 8 trial resumes today. And, the first witness today for our side will be the Republican Mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders:

Sanders is set to testify at 8:30 a.m. and address the media afterward on the courthouse steps in San Francisco, spokesman Darren Pudgil said.

Sanders, a Republican, has gained the respect of gay-rights advocates — and the animosity of opponents — with his turnaround on the issue. He announced in December 2007 that he no longer would oppose marriage rights for gays, including his lesbian daughter.

“He’s testifying essentially on his experience on the issue and why he believes marriage equality is important from a government perspective,” Pudgil said.

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