Barack Obama Speaking On GLBT Rights & Addressing Donnie McClurkin's Actions Directly

Barack Obama is a friend of our community. He will be the best president for our brothers and sisters that ever stepped into the White House and for our brothers and sisters around the world. He understands discrimination better than any president in our nation's history.

Some here are making up homophobic quotations and attributing them to Obama. That is deceitful and morally wrong.

Some here insinuate in their posts that Barack was actually at the event, on the stage with McClurkin, handing him the microphone when the idiot made his stupid and self-serving comments.

Barack Obama publicly denounced what McClurkin said and I'm sure that McClurkin wasn't happy with what Senator Obama said.

Those who continue to exaggerate this issue to help Hillary's cause should take caution that they don't damage the likely nominee of our party who will be our friend.

Oppose Obama all you want, but you can't make him into an enemy of gays and lesbian Americans. That's really beneath us.

Here's Senator Obama in a brief clip speaking on our issues directly and toward the end is questioned about McClurkin's comments.

The video speaks for itself.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQLwe-MmxY&feature=related

Donnie McClurkin was still traveling with him until at least the end of October:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/obamas-gospel-concert-tour/

While I don't consider him "an enemy of gays and lesbian Americans", I don't consider him my bestest buddy either on the issue.

He also does NOT support marriage equality. Out of the top three candidates, he is by far the worst on GLBT rights. He doesn't even have a real gay rights section on his site.

If you really are gay and believe what you wrote, then I don't know what to say. Log Cabin Republicans exist, so I guess you can, too.

But, don't make up stuff and try to sell it to those of us with self dignity and self respect.

Go to http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

Click PEOPLE..LGBT



Or you can go directly to the section at http://pride.barackobama.com/page/content/lgbthome

people to get them to think diffeerently.

It seemed like double speak. He said he believed people had rights but didn not seem to have a commitment to propose legislation to Congress, use his influence as a president to get it passed, and then firmly enforce those laws.

I think the missionary work is important but I think we need community leadersand citizens to do that. The presidency is a different role. It has power and responsibility way beyond what he seems to propose

You don't know me. I have been in the trenches for our rights since 1970 when I first began volunteering at the LA Free Clinic. I marched in our earliest demonstrations here in Los Angeles long before it was a "parade" and a "festival" and when it was on lowly Hollywood Blvd. and not the grand event it is on Santa Monica Blvd. That was when the hecklers outnumbers our supporters on the streets and when beer bottles and rocks were thrown at us and the police ignored it. I volunteered at the early "Gay Community Service Center" in the 1970's long before it transformed into the large operation it became in West Hollywood.

I have been an activist within the Democratic Party my entire life. I was elected as a delegate to two national conventions and voted on the floor for Bill Clinton (your candidate's husband).

Your very cheap shot suggesting I should join the Log Cabin Republicans does not minimize my proud role in standing with my brothers and sisters throughout my life.

You actually hurt Hillary's cause more than you help her. And I like her. I don't think I like you, though.

... talk about how Obama does not support marriage equality, when Ms. "I prefer to think of myself as very positive about civil unions" Clinton herself doesn't either, by any stretch.

And just FYI (not that you'll probably believe me), I support none of the top 3 candidates.

But I do like accurate information -- none of the top 3 are "the worst" on LGBT rights, because none of them support equal marriage rights, and none of them have much of a record of doing much for them.

Hillary and Obama were both in the US Senate to vote against the FMA in 2006, and they all voted for the hate crimes bill including transgender people last year. Both are expected to vote for whatever version of ENDA makes it to a floor vote, whether that happens this year, or in the next congress (minus either of them that should make it to the presidency). Senator Edwards was not present to vote against the FMA in 2004, but he would surely have were he there, and not campaigning as Kerry's VP nominee. Give me a break about any of the three being "the worst"... they're all generally the same on LGBT rights and they're pretty much the same on everything else... they just have different rhetoric and none of the three should be given the benefit of the doubt on anything until one of them makes it to the White House, so we'll only see what the winner of the primary and general will actually do for the country when he or she is there.

Go ahead now -- compare me to a Log Cabin Republican if it makes you feel better about your candidate, or any of the Top 3, for that matter.

And you're right, it does speak for itself.

Obama's explanation about McClurkin is unacceptable.

sigh...

when he "reaches out" to the KKK and ANY other - just ONE would do - WHITE SUPREMICIST - then we can talk...

otherwise - SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY! We ain't buyin'...

That way you can just dismiss the real concerns of your fellow GLBTs and feel smug and good about yourself without examining just what it is that has hurt so many in this community.

This video says absolutely nothing we haven't all discussed here a thousand times, lamenting how disappointing and inadequate his response was and expressing concerns about his misguided "reaching out" mindset.

In the interest of not being deceitful and morally wrong, perhaps you'd like to post the links to the "made-up homophobic quotations" and insuations. I haven't seen them, and I'd prefer not to just take your word for it.

I don't want to embarrass or call individuals out. It's not my style. If you really are looking for truth, you can easily find the statements I reference in the archives. I responded to many of them at the time.

I have read every thread on this subject that I've seen and it isn't my responsibility to go on a snipe hunt through the archives to find something you made a claim about that I've supposedly missed.

Instead of being specific about the accusation, you're implying that those of us who think Obama is wrong on this are just making shit up to "help Hillary," which is intellectually dishonest.

I see you downthread claiming to know BuffyTFS's mind, regardless of what she says. You've made up your own mind that criticism about Obama on this is illegitimate. If that's what you need to do to feel good about your vote for Obama, that's fine, but please stop berating the rest of us for not agreeing with you.

Obama may understand some form of discrimination, but by being on stage with McClurkin i think it gave the impression that he dont quite understand other forms of discrimination. hopefully he can learn from this.

I think he can do a lot for the GBLT community, but he needs to say it instead of imply it.

:party: WELCOME TO DU!! :party:

:hi:

Obama has said that he disagrees with McClurkin on gay rights. Obama does not believe the things that McClurkin says. That seems to be a given.

So, in reality, this is a question of whether or not we should tolerate intolerance, in any context. This is a much more complicated question than gay rights, because there is no obvious right answer: should we reach out to those that disagree with us?

Traditionally, in American politics, the answer is no. We want to fight for our cause, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. Period. This, my friends, is called "partisanship." Obama's campaign (and arguably Mike Huckabee's as well) is about trying to transcend that partisanship and bring about "unity." Unfortunately, the corollary to that concept is that for "unity" you may have to compromise some principles, or at least have some allies that disagree with you.

So, should we tolerate intolerance? I don't have an answer to that one.

one of those members compared gay people to murderers.

second -- obama thinks gay folk are animals in need of civilizing -- if i may --

"Giving them a set of basic rights would allow them to experience their relationship and live their lives in a way that doesn't cause discrimination," Obama said. "I think it is the right balance to strike in this society."
Sources: Chicago Daily Tribune, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

explain?

Pretend this quote is referring to Jews, Blacks, or women. Do you see something wrong with it now?

If you still don't, I really don't know what to tell you.

He is saying that without civil unions, GLBT Americans in relationships are causing the discrimination against them.

Where do single people fit in? Do we get a set of basic rights too, or are we left out? Are we causing other people to discriminate against us too? Maybe we're causing all of the discrimination against the entire GLBT community!

what the fuck -- are we animals in need of civilizing?

I must have missed it.

another thread -- it was linked.

in my fury -- i didn't copy the link.

but it should be able to be googled.

Yet he gave him a stage and a microphone in his name to preach homophobia to a crowd of homophobes in order to raise campaign cash and wrest votes from another candidate. He claims we need to "reach out to" such people.

I disagree with the KKK and Prussian Blue. I would not allow them to sing, speak or do anything in my name for any reason. I denounce them and everything they stand for. I don't "reach out to" people who advocate for the harm of and/or extermination of other human beings.

And that's something that makes me worry about Obama's campaign. Sometimes it seems like he hasn't learned anything from history. Politicians used to reach across the aisle -- that's why people like Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch could be friends. But then the Newt Gingrinches and the Tom Delays took over the party.

How do you reach out to monsters without getting a chunk taken out of your arm?

of course beauty -- as well as ugliness is in the eye of the beholder.

first of all -- donnie was not alone -- altogether there were four gospel groups with an anti-gay message.

secondly -- the messages were so virulent that it was like threatening the community with a ball bat in one hand and saying he was kidding at the same time.

third -- obama thinks our behavior will be civilized if we are accorded near marriage privileges -- in other words he thinks we are animals.

of course -- it's not the 19th century any more -- and obama has his ways of making himself -- and even acting like a modern person -- but his language and donnie and the gospels are leading to a very, very different conclusion.

but like i said -- you just don't like it -- fortunately you speak only for yourself. -- as i speak only for myself.

.

four -- four anti-gay gospel acts - one comparing us to murderers and his statement that virtually comapres us to animals.

He repeatedly makes statements like the "set of basic rights" statement and the bigots are good, decent, and moral satement.

He thinks heterosexual HIV/AIDS is a GLBT issue.

He doesn't support full marriage equality.

He may be friendly to the GLBT community but he is no true friend.

n/t

.

It's really getting obvious.

And he was, and is, as upset about this incident as anyone who has posted here.

This isn't about hatred for "the black man." This is about one black candidate who decided to appeal to bigoted southern voters by giving a platform and a paycheck to a preacher who spouts homophobic hate.

He traded the goodwill of GLBT Americans for short term political success in SC. It goes to show you where "we" stand in the scheme of things. It doesn't make him homophobic, It makes him a typical politician, whose word is worthless.The fact that he tossed us overboard at the very beginning, and not after the convention, shows how quickly he would desert us . I just can't trust him ,

(For those who read here, I have had the honor of meeting mitchtv and I respect him and I know that he is extremely intelligent and has a great heart and is a bonafide progressive.)

So, back to mitchtv-

You know that I respect your opinion.

I just diagree with you on this one.

I think Barack is truly a superb fellow and will be an advocate for us that will make you proud.

That clip of him speaking publicly must have stung the idiot who made a fool out of himself.

Likewise , I'm sure:toast:
I live (here) by the rule "make your words soft and sweet, for someday you may have to eat them" Or, I try to

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3973482#3975916





Obama obviously considers LGBT rights less important than rights for black americans. He considers our rights so trivial that he'll use us as pawns in his attempt to win votes away from Hillary Clinton.* I don't think he really will fight for us, especially if the homophobes put any pressure at all on him.










* Don't let the avatar fool you. I do not actually support Clinton. I'm only casting a vote for Clinton to try to keep Obama out of the GE. He and his supporters can thank themselves for that.

The avatar tells me everything.

like he called for the racists to be fired? No, he didn't. That's hypocrisy on his part.


He insinuates that having McClurkin and friends perform on his behalf was "reaching out". Would Edwards/Clinton having Prussian Blue perform to a crowd of racists be "reaching out"?


Having a bunch of bigots spew bigotry to bigots is not "reaching out". It's preaching to the choir. Obama used it to win himself votes and reap campaign cash. He denounces racism while using homophobia as a tool to further his campaign. He is no friend to the LGBTs.


And the avatar tells you that as bad as Hillary is, I'll take her over Obomination.

Anyone say Obama hates gay people. What he's done is way more insidious.

Fact one: Many African Americans support Hillary Clinton.
Fact two: African Americans are a significant percentage of the Democratic Voting Block
Fact Three: Most (excepting the Log Cabinites) LGBT vote democratic and a large portion of them will vote Clinton.
Fact Four: The African American churchgoing demographic are preached about teh evol gay in their midst and believe it - educate yourself on being black AND gay in America - it ain't pretty.
Fact Four: McClurkin preaches to these people that being gay is our choice and god will cure us if we want it and pray hard enough. He says that gay people are out to kill teh childrenz! Oh Noes! Amens get shouted to the rafters.
Fact Five: Obama used four gaybashing acts in a tour of southern black churches.

How the F does anyone not understand what he's doing? He's sacrificing GLBT votes for the *more* votes he thinks he can get out of African American Evangelicals.

How is this any different from what the republican hate machine has done for the past five years?

How is this him not sacrificing US to get that vote away from Clinton?

Oh yeah, Obama's going to deliver us all with help from his ex-gay but still on the down-lo good buddy.

Fuck Obama and his calculated political moves to get the votes he needs. No one gives a shit about the gays anyway, right?

He will not get my vote even if he gets the nomination.

Never again will a vote for an enabler of fag bashing. Period. End of fucking story.

I think his actions are more evil than the people who actually do hate gays -which I don't believe he does. In my mind, he's worse. It's a political move using the very lives of an UNPROTECTED minority.

He's splitting two segments of the Democratic party and it's damn well on purpose.

It certainly deserves it. :applause:

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

This really needs to be its own thread, it sums up everything that is wrong with this situation.

:applause: :applause: :applause:

NOT EVERY PERSON WHO IS UPSET WITH OBAMA OVER THIS IS A CLINTON SUPPORTER/IS PUSHING THIS ISSUE TO BOOST CLINTON

Jesus fuck, maybe I need to post it in Esperanto or Pig Latin or something.

:rofl:

but I'm more and more on the fence. Lately I just want it to be over, so I can support WHOEVER.

Most of the religious homophobia in this country has come from WHITE churches.

When will Hillary speak to Billy Graham (who she continues to honor) and to his son, Franklin?

When will Hillary speak to the White Baptists and Pentacostals that preach homophobia, fund anti-gay measures.

Barack did. That took guts.

Hillary! Speak out to the white evangelical preachers about homophobia and tell them about your "gay brothers and sisters."

... has come from white churches.

Even if it's true (which I'm not buying just yet), regardless of where the total homophobia in general comes from, most black gay men in this country can't escape the influence of the black church while still maintaining ties with a huge swath of the African American community. The black church's influence is far and wide and permeates just about every sector of the black community in this country far more than the white churches do the country at large. There are a good number of places in the country where non-black (or non-Muslim or non-Latino for that matter, among other religious and ethnic groups, since I don't feel like researching them all just now) LGBT people can generally distance themselves from anti-gay religious fundamentalism. Gay African American men (and to an extent, black lesbians, as well) don't always have the same option, unless they voluntarily choose to isolate themselves from other blacks. This makes Obama's role in combatting homophobia in the black church all the more critical. While I personally don't believe he's a homophobe, the McClurkin incident didn't send the best message, and I honestly believe he could have found another gospel singer that could have reached as many people without alienating a large part of the GLBT community.

Take two hours of his time and set it straight. Hillary's apologized a dozen times for stuff she didn't even do - that her aides did.

His New Hampshire campaign didn't even RESPOND to a large gay newspaper seeking comment from them.

We're 5-6% of the national vote, according to exit polling data. Probably more, since people don't like to talk to pollsters. It's not a stretch to say that we're about 8% or more of the Democratic vote, since we vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

We're sizable enough to swing an election. Right now, most of us are headed into the Hillary campaign in droves, because this man WILL NOT address us.

Why won't he take a couple of hours to make it right? I thought he was running for President.

I posted the video. That was more than enough for me.

When Hillary speaks to her honored and beloved homophobe, Billy Graham and his son, about homophobia in the white churches and calls us her "gay brothers and sisters" to them, then I'll see this another way. Oh, but that's "different" isn't it?

Not anymore.

There are simply racial overtones to the continued working this false issue.

I'm really struck by the keyboard southern white gay "activists" here (many of whom are my age and just now coming out of the closet and haven't done a fucking thing their entire lives for the GLBT community and are now the arbiters of justice.) Fuck that.

Barack Obama is "the enemy of gay folk"?

The Daily Kos doesn't permit comments like "screaming monkeys", "drug dealer" "muslim" from posters there.

Why doesn't Hillary Clinton just apologize for voting for the goddamned war that has taken 1 million Iraqi civilian lives?

activists" line.

Why do think so many men, especially southern men, delay coming out until well into adulthood? It's because the atmosphere they're living in is so toxic, and the "Christian" preachers are some of the main contributors to this atmosphere.

Cowardice is the word that comes to mind.

The only thing I crossed here is "the color line"

And I smell racism.

It's called gay pride. I am happy that some have decided to come out of the closet after twenty to thirty years in...2007. Wow that took guts.

Keep patting yourself on the back. Someone has to, apparently.

Thanks.

lol

I want to hear that he's sincere and that we're not some back burner special interest constituency to him.

While I've never thought the "Hillary does it too" argument is reasonable or well thought out, in this case the analogy doesn't even work. Billy Graham has not made a war against homosexuals or homosexuality a cornerstone of his long career. His son is probably more strident on the issue, but, again, it's not a focal point for him like it is for Robertson, Bauer, Dobson et al.

And Hillary has never put either of them onstage at a fundraising concert to rage against gay people.

Conversely, McClurkin's entire political message is focused around his "ex-gayness" and, by implication, denying the reality of our existence. "God delivered me from homosexuality" is his core message - it's what he shouted from Obama's stage. It is a message that does great damage to gay kids everywhere. You know that.

I don't hate Obama. I don't think he's a bad person or a homophobe. I think he exploited the bigotry that exists in certain parts of the black, evangelical community to drum up votes in a state that is crucial to his candidacy.

In other words, he made a calculated, cynical political decision that involved giving us the back of his hand.

He needs to apologize for this. If he does it AFTER South Carolina, it will be worse, because it will be seen as just another calculated political move. He can take the time to do this and make it right. It's not that tough a thing to do, all it takes is a bit of courage and moral leadership.

or sent one on a fundraising tour for her.

It was the black LGBT community that kept this issue alive, because it's LGBT blacks who were most hurt by this McClurkin shit and the way Obama handled it. Jasmyne Cannick, Keith Boykin, Pam from Pam's House Blend, Rod McCullum, and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. This has not nearly been about white racists piling on a black man and if you had a dollar to go to the clue store you would understand that.

Spare us your outrage over the plight of this "black man", when you are completely deaf to the plight of LGBT blacks both in and outside the church. Obama very cynically played up this "divide" between black evangelicals and LGBT people, and once again we were the ones who suffered. He made us invisible, again, for votes.

I have lived in the midwest and the south and both have racist gays and non racist gays. Not only that, it wasn't racist gays who chose a white gay minister, as opposed to the literally dozens of black ones available, to open the concert at which McClurkin spoke. That would be an Obama campaign staffer.

Ironic that you made that statement, since probably the most well-known southern white gay activist in the country, the epitome of gender issue laden southern conservatism and veiled racism, endorsed Obama over Clinton. Any other generalizations and blanket charges you'd like to level at critics of Obama's affiliation with McClurkin?

That's consistent with my charge. I stand by it.

"KEYBOARD southern white gay 'activists". (You got two of the three adjectives correct, but missed the "key" component).

And thank you for helping make my point so well. :hi:

... at least not one who isn't terribly divisive and often works against the interests of many segments of the LGBT community... heh, makes sense why he's endorsing Obama.

when you count family members.

:)

My father's partner is black, and this has pushed him from undecided into the Hillary column.

I think Obama should apologize, and it would make a difference to many of us.

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here.
Don't want to be his sister or brother.
Won't accept his tolerance.
He wasn't there and he didn't hand him the mic.
He PAID him and gave him a NATIONAL FORUM to spew his hate.
In the clip he says McClurkin was "one of the singers".
HE was the PAID MC.
I'm not making him and enemy.
He isn't my enemy.
He's just no longer a "candidate" in my eyes anymore.
I'm sick and tired of so many Obama supporters patronization.
I wish you would all stop insulting my intelligence.

He should play "The Back Stabber" at his next rally.

has been out of the closet and working for gay rights longer than many posters here have been alive. That is nothing to be contemptuous of and I'm rather appalled that some people here seem to think it is (Ageism? Definitely.)

Of course, that doesn't mean that there can't be a difference of opinion, only I wish some people didn't find it necessary to hammer home their opinions with overt nastiness. What does it gain? I was once told by a wise person on this board that if one uses a nasty tone all that people will respond to is the nastiness, ignoring the message, no matter how intelligent and well-reasoned it may be. I learned from that and I hope others will too (not that I won't get exasperated and "nasty" myself from time to time.)

Anyway, I have a question for the OP or anyone else who REALLY has the answer.

The OP talks about people making up homophobic quotations and putting them in Obama's mouth.

Did Obama actually say that McClurkin was only saying that "unhappy" gays should change? Again, I don't know if he said it or not. If he did, does anyone have proof?

Because if he did say it, then it's clear that he DOES NOT understand the gay community or what we're struggling for -- and against -- AT ALL.

Whether he said it or not, he invited a known homophobe on the campaign trail, and I can understand why some people can't get past it (I won't deny that it's a major problem for me).

Just as there are, sadly, straight homophobes (even if unconsciously) on this board, I've no doubt there are white racists, and I do understand that some Obama supporters will wonder if the criticism has some underlying racism to it. On the other hand, I can't imagine that most of us would feel good about a candidate of any race, religion, what-have-you if he invited the likes of McClurkin on the campaign trail.

I think the OP has to realize that it isn't necessarily Obama's race that is preventing many of us from supporting him (albeit, horribly, in SOME cases, it might be).

P.S. Just reread my post and at the bottom of my computer screen -- my post is last on the page as of this writing -- I was shocked to see google ads for downloads of songs by -- you guessed it -- Donnie McClurkin! Right here on the page! (These ads are, of course, generated automatically by the words and names on the page -- not by DU -- but it certainly is friggin' ironic!)

can choose not to be gay.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/10/29/post_159.html

The concert was to be the highlight of this outreach and while the crowd left excited, it was clear the campaign still regarded the controversy as complicated. Aides gave reporters a three-page memo detailing McClurkin's and Obama's views on gay rights that noted in capital letters "MCCLURKIN DOES NOT WANT TO CHANGE GAYS AND LESBIANS WHO ARE HAPPY WITH THEIR LIVES AND HAS CRITICIZED CHURCH LEADERS WHO DEMONIZE HOMOSEXUALS," with quotes detailing those statements from the singer.

The next paragraph then stated "OBAMA DOES NOT AGREE WITH MCCLURKIN'S VIEWS ON GAYS."




_______________

I believe Obama that he doesn't agree with McClurkin's views, but I still think he was wrong to give this man a platform on which to spout them.

1. McClurkin is one of those "church leaders" who has demonized homosexuals so who is he to criticize them?
2. The reason gays and lesbians are unhappy with themselves/their lives is largely due to those who demonize them.
3. McClurkin and anybody else who wants to "change" gays is a psycho-spiritual terrorist. Visit Ex-Gay Watch and learn about the torture these people inflict on LGBTs and call "therapy".
4. Anybody who supports or condones these "ex-gay" charlatans is aiding and abetting psychological, physical and spiritual harm on LGBT people.



(Directed not at you, pnwmom, but replied to your post since you provided the information on McClurkin's statements)

We agree: It was wrong what happened. (I posted in the bigger forums my protest when it happened).

Campaign aids make mistakes. Hillary's got caught red-handed calling voters falsely informing voters Obama was a "muslim". HIllary has had high profile supporters make comments about his middle name being "Hussein". And HIllary campaign got caught red-handed pushing the issue that Obama had taken cocaine. Hillary did not do any of that. Some people do stupid things. McClurkin is an egotistical self-hating homosexual.

I went out of my way to defend HIllary Clinton on the eve of the New Hampshire primary here at the DU when she got emotional. I wrote (and many here will remember, if they have any sense of fairness) that it was "shitty" to pile on to her for having a small moment of emotion after all the cruel crap she has had to deal with in life. Here is the link to what I wrote (which topped the Greatest Page that day): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=3983855.

Obama is a good man. Hillary is a good woman. They will both be good for the GLBT community. They will in all likelihood be on the ticket together. Those who are saying they will "never" vote for Obama will have a dilemma should that happen, won't they.

I appreciate you providing the quotations as they are and with the proper attributions.

Both Hillary and Obama will be very positive for the GLBT community. The will probably be on the ticket together. I have defended Hillary (even though I support Obama) when she was maligned falsely or when her mistakes or mistakes by her supporters were blown out of proportion. I will continue to do so.

I posted here at the DU enraged at the time of the McClurkin situation. Obama addressed it publicly (see the video) and in statements. It will never be enough for some here. I can't change that.

See posts #65 and #67 below to some of your questions. Your post was most even handed and fair. I am an old geezer who has been an activist for our cause for a very long time. Someday, I might post the full chronicle of how a handful of us in 1992 pushed David Mixner to confront Bill Clinton to revise his speech at the Democratic National Convention just two hours before he gave it to include the word "gays". In brief, it went round and round, back and forth. At first they came back with a revised text that included the word "AIDS". We told them it wasn't good enough. My dear late friend Rod Bourland told Mixner that all the ACTUP activists, the Tsongas delegates and the Jerry Brown delegates would scream and blow whistles during his speech if he didn't do it. Well, I was shocked to see Rod, very sick at that time, become so aggressive with Mixner as we huddled in a stairwell at Madison Square Garden. Mixner, to his credit (I think it was what he had hoped to hear, although I will never know) said he would take the message back to Bill. In less than 20 minutes, Mixner came back and showed us still another revised text that included us for the first time in a presidential nominee's acceptance speech. My dear friend Rod died on year later. His last months were spent coughing and struggling as he worked on Tom Hayden's gubernatorial campaign here in California with me. Of course, David Mixner later felt terribly betrayed by Bill Clinton after his reversal on allowing us to serve openly in the armed forces. Those were very hard days in our struggle as we also had to deal with the holocaust of AIDS and nearly 12 years of neglect by Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

We've come a long way since the time when homosexuality was a criminal act (Jerry Brown was the first government official in the world to decriminalize homosexuality) and when our gathering places were raided by the police even in NYC and Los Angeles to the times of 'Will & Grace', Gay Pride Festivals and LOGO holding a presidential debate forum where all but one of the candidates appeared on national television to address our issues. Both Barack and Hillary were there and I was proud of that. Hillary even said she would reverses Don't Ask, Don't Tell. My have the times changed.

Finally, in jest, I didn't have anything to do with the Google Ad for McClurkin's songs. That was ironic indeed.

OK, I'm off for an 6 mile hike with my companion of thirty-four years (a Latino who is also for Obama) here on a lovely winter day in Los Angeles.

You seem like a very good man, BillSam.

Peace.

--DZ

Take care now.

I just hope you understand why so many people are having problems with McClurkin. If you had spent your whole childhood struggling, lonely, trying to change, etc., (which, I don't know, maybe describes you as it does me), then you would understand why, as an adult in control of my own life, I will NEVER EVER BACK DOWN from who I am. And the implicit disrespect shown to the GLBT community hurts, as I am a full-fledged member of same. :D

So, he's a good guy, and I could change my mind, if it became clear that he's truly sorry for that, and also that his presidency will NOT be a repeat of Bill Clinton's betrayal crap, as you so well pointed out and as I recall it happening exactly.

Cheers. :)

We did what we did because it is what we had to do. We marched, we had set backs. We buried our friends and loved ones who dropped dead around us while Ronald fucking Reagan couldn't muster the courage to say the word "AIDS" and when George H.W. Bush felt his contribution was to scream at AIDS activists (who were dying) to "CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR", We pushed back and I'm glad it's easier for younger gays to day. We still have a long way to go. We have to intervene more in the Red States where bullying is still the culture against gay and lesbian teens and where hate crimes are common every day experiences.

And we must push back against assholes like Donnie McClurkin and the wicked bastards in Exodus. Obama's campaign learned a lesson. The thing is that he is speaking to black ministers about homophobia. Wouldn't it be great if our white Democratic candidates would do the same to the great white majority of preachers the same way?

I don't trust the Clintons so should they get back into the White House, I won't have any emotional investment this time around to lose. They will do better than the creeps that are in the Executive Branch now, but that's about all I can expect.

The OP is suggesting we GLBT'ers who continue to criticize Obama because of the use McClurkin in his campaign are racists or are pro-Hillary.

I loathe Hillary. Also I'd like the OP to tell my mixed race nephews and nieces (Afghani, African American, Filipino, French) and my half African/ half French cousins that I hate their ethnicity. :crazy:

That's why he used raving homophobes to recruit votes for him in South Carolina. It makes perfect sense.

nice TRY - ain't workin'...