A year ago today I was EXCITED about an Obama Presidency, and fucking PISSED about Prop 8...
A year later and the only "change" is that gays have lost the right to marry in ANOTHER state... WTF Maine?!?!
You'd think the first black President would champion civil rights and be the national voice calling for equality... SO. FUCKING. SAD.
Thoughts swirled into my head. Actually, some of these thoughts have been in my head for some time, but I thought I'd lay the whole thing out...
First of all, back when the 2008 presidential primaries were just getting under way, I was leaning towards Hillary Clinton. I felt that she would be more likely, if not better able, to fight back aggressively against the attacks by the Republican party. I really didn't feel Barack Obama would be able to win in November. Obviously, I was wrong there.
However, I also had another concern about Obama. I worried that even if he was elected, his presidency would turn out to be more like that of Jimmy Carter: full of promise but ultimately ineffective and leading to a GOP victory after one term. So far, just about a year into the Obama presidency, that concern has not faded.
I feel that Obama has been much too soft on the GOP. This is not the time to play around with bipartisanship. The Republicans have no interest in bipartisanship. They gave up on that long ago. Their sole intention is to get their way, no matter what ugly tactics they need to use. Their only strategy is to block anything that runs counter to their dual agendas: continuing to allow the rich to get richer and to hell with the rest of us, and turning their warped religious beliefs into laws. They aren't remotely willing to compromise. What they want is to win, and then to dominate. All they want to do right now is say "no" to anything the Democrats have to offer. They have no proposals for how to solve the nation's problems except for the same failed policies they've supported over the last 30 years.
The complete insanity of the right wing -- the "birthers," the "death panel" nuts, the "tea party" nuts, Sarah Palin -- should have been countered easily enough. Almost no one in their right minds should fall for this, but the slow start by the new administration allowed this lunacy to gain a foothold, and served to help the GOP, if only as an ongoing distraction.
Look at what's going on now with the health care "reform." The system now is broken, the best available route to start the process of fixing it includes a public option, most people in survey after survey after survey support the public option, yet it likely won't happen because of the lack of guts of the President and the Democratic leadership in Congress. If a bill passes, it won't be nearly enough.
When it comes to dealing with what I like to call the RepubliScum party, candidate Obama talked a great game. President Obama hasn't nearly lived up to those words.
Certainly, Obama inherited a complete mess from the Worst President By Far In U.S. History. Between the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the economic meltdown, I find it hard to make a case that he should be spending more time (and political capital) on issues such as ending the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. But when he does speak out on gay issues there's a sense that he's pandering. The actions of the administration (and the story I've linked to in this sentence is just the most recent example) have, again, fallen short of the words.
All of this criticism should not be taken to mean I don't like or support President Obama. Especially when considering the alternative, there's no question about my vote every November. Until the GOP is no longer dominated by the hard-right, ultra-Christian factions, no GOP candidate in any election will get my vote. But Obama needs to do better.
Meanwhile, about the fight for equal rights -- same-sex marriage, benefits, legal rights, etc., here's the good news: as time rolls on, the fight for equality will be won. Sure, people are upset and distressed about Prop 8 in California and Question 1 in Maine and how a majority of voters chose to take away equal rights and so on. However, think how far we've come. It wasn't too long ago that even considering the possibility of same-sex marriages was ludicrous. There were fights to even get domestic partnerships in place. We've made massive progress in a very short time. And same-sex marriages have occurred in some states for a while now, and none of the negative effects on marriage and society (as spewed by the ultra-Christian liars) are actually happening. This will serve to pave the way in the rest of the country.
Another factor, which is even more telling, is youth. Young people are much more supportive of equality. They're growing up in an atmosphere of more information, more knowledge, more visibility, and that's helping them to see through the hatemongering and bigotry. The people who are trying to prevent progress tend to be older. Their numbers will dwindle as they get older and eventually die. They're dinosaurs, and they're slowly becoming extinct.
Those elections in California and Maine were close. Sooner than anyone could have imagined, those losses will become victories, and more will follow. The fight for equality will be won. It may not be as soon as we'd like. But it will be won.
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