Christopher Barron thinks the answer is personality over substance.
Sen. Obama has a fairly pedestrian record on what the gay left considers the critical issues for our community. Obama’s thin legislative record reveals little to no leadership on gay-related issues, and his positions on gay issues on the campaign trail have been largely indistinguishable from those of his Democratic opponents (all of whom, with the exception of Sen. Hillary Clinton, he has vanquished).
The love affair between the gay left and Obama seems to be much more about personality than policy, which should make the recent controversy surrounding the bigoted, hate-filled comments of Rev. Jeremiah Wright all the more troubling to the gay community.
I DON’T BELIEVE that Obama shares Wright’s outrageous views, but I also still don’t know why Obama would have chosen to associate himself so closely with a man so filled with rage, hate and contempt for this country.
If Obama is going to base his campaign for president on his judgment, then he owes all Americans — including LGBT Americans — an honest explanation for that judgment.Â
I wonder what the reaction from the gay left would have been if it were revealed that Jerry Falwell had been John McCain’s pastor for decades or that David Duke had been the best man in his wedding. I am fairly certain that such an intimate association with men with such divisive and repulsive views would certainly be grounds enough not to support his candidacy.
But maybe Barron is onto something more than the gay community’s adherence to Obama’s looks and style.  Perhaps the American gay (left, mostly) can also relate to Rev. Wright and his views.
So, what say you, gay community?
Do you also feel so oppressed that you hate the nation of your birth?  Do you hate the United States so much because you cannot be married here that you cheered after 9/11/2001 like the Palestinians and the Trinity Church members?
And since Obama and Wright were on the one hand “oppressed”, but on the other hand it turns out they are both are multi-millionaires… I’m assuming wealthy liberal gays are most adoring of Obama.
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
There does seem to be a strong double standard when it comes to Democrats versus Republicans on civil rights issues. Granted, much of the Republican reputation, particularly on gay rights issues, is deserved. However, that doesn’t mean that Democrats should get a free pass. The Democrats record isn’t pristine either. Obama has a lot of explaining to do for associating with such a hate-filled preacher.
Judging from some of the comments on this blog, some gay lefties do believe "God Damn America", and would find Wright’s other views congenial: that AIDS is a conspiracy, that the Church is Satan (though Wright limits it to "the white Church"), and so forth.
Conservatives and (real) libertarians sensed all along that something was not only anti-Establishment but culturally anti-patriotism / anti-American about Obama; these gays may have sensed it too – only they found it appealing.
Another explanation may be that Left gays were screwed by the Clintons too many times and do, after all, possess some shred of self-esteem.
OT-but-related: The prospect of Obama’s candidacy has a few Democrats (not necessarily gays) quaking in their boots at the electoral disaster that could result for them. Rightly so.
Bruce, I assume you have some proof that members of Trinity Church cheered after 9/11? It’s claimed so often on here that the conservative position is based on reason and fact so show some facts. And what Wright said (or what you think he said after filtering it through your liberals suck mind)  does not justify your judgement on the congregation.
If one was to hate the US because they cannot get married is an indication of issues far beyond being liberal and it’s a pretty giant leap even on here to make such a statement.Â
There are many reasons for supporting one candidate over another, gay issues is just one of them. And I’m sure there are some who support Wright’s most outrageous statements but that has little to do with the rest of us. None of the candidates stands out in my mind as particularly great on our issues either good or bad. For me it comes down strictly to I don’t want Hillary in, period. Actually, I’m leaning towards McCain, let the fallout from the last 8 years land on him.
ILC, I don’t recall seeing anyone commenting here that they agreed with "God Damn America" guess I must have missed it. Or is that just how you interpret what someone said, major difference.
Ya really need to get off this jag y’all have about millionaires. Â Believe it or not, democrats don’t people that people having personal wealth is a bad thing. Â the big difference is whether people are responsible with their money or are they complete pigs who want to do nothing but increase their wealth at the expense of others.
I think any support for Orgasma is strictly based on White Guilt and the desire to see a black man do well.
There are many reasons for supporting one candidate over another, gay issues is just one of them.
I would agree except you don’t see any evidence of that from the gay left. That "debate" on Logo is a good example. It’s funny how anybody who opposes gay marriage is a racist, sexist, bigot homophobe unless, of course, they have a D after their name.
 the big difference is whether people are responsible with their money or are they complete pigs who want to do nothing but increase their wealth at the expense of others.
Who in the hell made YOU, or any other liberal the arbiters, of what people do with their money???????
Â
So youre saying Democrats hate themselves? Because its been demonstrated that Republicans are far more generous and charitable than Democrats.
Sorry Kevin, being "generous" with other people’s money isn’t being generous at all — its stealing.
Yet the entire Democrat party is a case-study in people who didn’t earn their wealth trying to steal wealth to secure their power from real hard-working Americans who did. The Kennedys, the Rockefellers, the Heinz-Kerrys, the Deans, the Kohls, the Feinsteins. and the rest of the trust fund Democrats, their biggest lobbies, trial-lawyer leeches like John Edwards who create nothing and take everything they have from those who do, Organized labor, aka organized crime, Hollywood, the most grossly overpaid people on the face of the planet all live lavish lifestyles and pay astonishly little in taxes (I think the Heinz-Kerrys were discovered to have paid apprx 12 percent on their vast wealth) while advocating increasing taxes on the people who actually are working hard to get ahead and creating wealth.
Yes, I agree, Democrats ARE loathsome pigs!
Dave (#4) –Â Wright/Obama’s congregation cheered throughout the church’s DVD video production of the Reverend’s 9/14/2001 sermon where he damned America and said the 9/11 attacks were America’s sins "coming home to roost."
What more evidence do you need? Or are you one of those people that also believes Rosie O’Donnell when she says steel was never melted by fire?
CORRECTION!  The post-9/11 sermon was 9/16/2001.  Lest I be called a liar……
Dave: Assuming you’re new here (which you may not be – but we do get many different "Dave"s blowing through), I’ve probably been around longer and I’ve probably read a lot more comments and argued with more people. So, you can take my word for it.
Now that you mention it, though, I do seem to recall one Dave recently who characterized Wright’s comments as "telling the truth about this country" and "there was not one [part of it] that was not absolutely true":
http://www.gaypatriot.net/2008/03/17/will-rev-wright-cause-obamas-downfall/#comment-109519
I don’t know if it’s you. Even if it was, I couldn’t possibly know what you’d think on any given day of the week, or how you’d want to spin your views this time. So, my advice is: if the shoe fits, wear it – and if not, then not – you decide.
Can we please take the magic marker and underline that about a billion times and draw giant arrows to it?
the big difference is whether people are responsible with their money or are they complete pigs who want to do nothing but increase their wealth at the expense of others.
Yeah, like when John Edwards made $500k as a consultant to a hedge fund (Fortress Investment Group, incorporated in the Cayman Islands) so he can pay for his 28,000 square foot house and $400 haircuts.
That video on myDD is quite powerful. Â How nice of liberals to put all that anti-Obama stuff together for us.
#12: "Yeah, like when John Edwards made $500k as a consultant to a hedge fund (Fortress Investment Group, incorporated in the Cayman Islands) so he can pay for his 28,000 square foot house and $400 haircuts."
And let’s not forget Edwards taking a $55,000 fee to give a speech about poverty at UC Davis:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=16809
"Believe it or not, democrats don’t people that people having personal wealth is a bad thing.  the big difference is whether people are responsible with their money or are they complete pigs who want to do nothing but increase their wealth at the expense of others."
And therein lies everything you need to know about how liberals feel about personal wealth–if you are a wealthy Democrat, it is assumed that whatever you did to get it was "responsible" (?) and must have been earned in some fashion that made the world a better place. (Bootlegging, or selling indulgences…er…carbon-offsets, for example). Â If you are a Republican with money, obviously you’re a greedy pig who earned your money "at the expense of others." Â The test is just which letter comes after your name: (D) = "responsible"; (R) = "greedy pig." Â This "standard" (in comment #5) is integrated so seemlessly into Kevin’s dna that he’s too obtuse to see just how subjective and useless it is.
the big difference is whether people are responsible with their money or are they complete pigs who want to do nothing but increase their wealth at the expense of others.
And how many people’s retirement plans were decimated to enrich George Soros? How many people were screwed out of their mineral rights with the Kennedy’s oil company? And how about Orgasma’s miniscule charitable donations until it was politically beneficial?
I’m sorry to go off topic, but this is just too good:
Hillary, tireless advocate for universal healthcare, has been busted for failing to pay $300,000 in healthcare premiums for her own campaign staff!
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/03/31/hillarys-zero-payor-health-care-plan/
So, why do Left gays support Obama or any leftist? And, from a GPW post, what explains the Left’s obsession with Bush? And why do far leftists, in fact, hate America?
These questions are related. Evan Sayet’s classic speech should be viewed at least once a year. Among many other observations, he points out that leftists are fundamentally
committed to the idea that nothing – *nothing* – is or ever could be worth believing in, fighting or dying for, and Peace on Earth will arrive when everybody knows that.
Consequently to that, left-liberals are inevitably driven to prove or "know" that anything which seems right and good really isn’t, and anything which seems wrong or evil really isn’t. And driven to support symbols of their mindset, and to tear down symbols of the other, "right and wrong are valid distinctions" mindset.
Obama is the post-modern, post-nation (and yet curiously race-burdened), covert anti-American who won’t salute the flag. Bush is the opposite of that, the guy (or symbol) that must be torn down, slandered, etc.
P.S. And Hillary could be almost as good as Obama to them… but, she just doesn’t go far enough. She still salutes the American flag ,and suggests we needn’t withdraw from Iraq instantaneously. Hence, she isn’t All That.
I do not get why gays and lesbians support ANY Democrat for any office. That being said, if any gay or lesbian thinks that Sen. Barack is going to with a pen legalize same-sex marriage, make hate crimes punishable by the death penalty on first offense, make children "sensitive" to alternate lifestyles, you will be in for another long four years. Again, as I have written many times, the fight is with the Islamofacists who will stop at nothing to destroy our way of life. Again, when they go after the "infidels", it will be the gays and lesbians first on the chopping block. Don’t worry, the Jews will follow closely and the Christians who do not convert. Defeating the Islamofacists is number one priority for the United States. Everything else is secondary. Keep that in mind when voting in November.
“Sorry Kevin, being “generous” with other people’s money isn’t being generous at all — its stealing.”
No, it’s making people who are ordinarily selfish (no matter which party they belong to) pony up to their social responsibilities.
We have shared infrastructure, but the wealthier actually get more use of said infrastructure, therefore they should pay more for it. It’s a matter of responsibility and duty, not theft.
But hey, if you don’t like your obligations to your fellow citizens, you can always escape society by, let’s say, moving to Mars.
Mark, if these Islamofascists are such a concern, why hasn’t the current President nailed Osama yet? We’re still waiting on Bush to fulfill that promise. It’s kind of sad that we’re seeing McCain promise to get him, when the current President is perfectly capable of doing that.
The Dem Party has not done much for Gays. If you have followed Arizona politics, you will find that John McCain is not a “far right” conservative. He views Gay people favorably.
Do not trust the power-group who used their influence over the media to nominate Obama. If they (the Obama people) will use third-world, undeveloped country tatics to against one of their own Dem icons, then we should all be afraid.
Do not hand over power to these elitists that are currently controlling the Dem Party. They are as wrong for this country as the “far right” is.
John McCain has proven he can work with both parties. An Obama presidency will be about as effective as the Carter presidency AND we must all never forget that is was Carter’s mishandling of the Ayatolla that is the original cause of many of our current problems with Iran.
Carter is a fool. Obama is a fool. The fools at CNN, MSNBC, CBS, YAHOO, ASSOCIATED PRESS…..
All of you…Do you truly believe there won’t be a backlash against you for rigging this election? That backlash will come in the form of our countrymen soundly rejecting your militant creation.
People, we all know how damaging militant gays can be to our attempts at going mainstream. Do not allow this inexperienced mouth piece of George Soros the chance to ruin our contry.
Wake up!~ Just because Hollywood pretends to like does not mean they know what is best for the US.
All this BS to elect Jeremiah OBAMA Wright to the Black House? I do not think so.
Yes, the US is ready for a black man. No, the US is not ready for Chicago Militants to run our country. Dems, back to the drawing board in 2012. We will not allow you to make a mockery of Democracy. You will not use your money to shove a puppet down our throats.
Ok. Here’s one for you. I am a life-long Republican who has been following the election on Republicansfor obama.org, and has already voted for Obama. Yes, since I’m not a liberal democrat, I differ from many of his views. but I have found him to be a thought, articulate and intelligent person who is going to have to clean up one huge mess by George Bush. We hear every rant and lie the McPalin campaign has to offer. My latest zinger was, that one day McCain is all upset because he’s compared to George Wallace 1968, and the next day he’s threatening to whip a black man. If you want another theocon and neocon in office, then vote for them. I used be Pentecostal and Word of Faith and I know what these religious extremists will do if they get in office. You may think you’re okay because you have a venom filled website that would scare Sean Hannity, but just let the a theocracy get established.
John, please show me the venom with which out site in filled.
And your rant does not sound like the words of a Republican, but an angry Repubilcan-hater pretending to be one to make it seem there is a groundswell of GOP support for the Democratic nominee.
This is interesting. I’m not gay, but why would gays support a party/ideology that is openly hostile to them? If the religious right had their way, you would be hanged in the street. I dare one of you to wave a rainbow flag at a McCain/Palin rally!
Justin, your comment is based more on ignorance than anything else.
just take a gander at my posts on the Republican convention, particularly this one where I was out as a gay man and experienced no hostility whatsoever.
Apparently you base your conclusions on the gay community’s hostility to conservatives rather than actual experience of the GOP.
Some wing-nut wrote:
“So, what say you, gay community? Do you also feel so oppressed that you hate the nation of your birth? Do you hate the United States so much because you cannot be married here that you cheered after 9/11/2001 like the Palestinians and the Trinity Church members?”
I respond: While I usually take pains to avoid “psychologizing” the opposition, in this case I’m going to let myself go. Briefly: y’all are nuts.
Do you loathe yourselves so much that you’re going to vote in such a fashion as to become a traitor to your own body and soul?
Is fear so much the motivating factor in your pathetic existence that you’ll support torture, aggression and a host of other misdeeds in the hope that you’ll sleep more soundly at night? Do you like to use the term “Islamofascist?”
“Gay and conservative?” Makes about as much sense as “Quaker and Nazi.”
Now, go play with your Sarah Palin dolls.
Bill Courson
It is in my opinion that conservative gays, PUMA’s, Conservative Republicans and Modern Republicans should form a coalition for 2010 and 2012. Obama managed a coalition which included gays, atheists and Muslims. This is surprising when the Koran does not allow “same sex” marriages and rules stoning as punishment. They managed to come together to win this past election with a solid coalition. It has come to my attention that the Sarah Palin supporters or handlers are rethinking their position on gay issues. One of her good friends is a lesbian. We all have to come into the 21st century! He without sin throws the 1st stone! No one said anyone was sinning either. We have to divorce religion from politics to win the next election. We can work together or we lose!