You really have to read this to believe it. I never thought something like this could come out of his mouth of all people, and i do hope he comes out to say that he misspoke, but i am past anger and just stunned and staring blankly at my computer after having read this.
via Andrew Sullivan's blog:
"One of them said, 'Obama keep your promise.’ I thought that’s fair. I don’t know which promise he was talking about," - Barack Obama mocking gay protesters at a celebrity-packed fundraiser in LA. Yes, we all know Obama opposes marriage equality. But milking that opposition for laughs a day after the court ruling upholding Prop 8?
But since he asked, how about an end to the HIV ban, an end to the military ban and a federal recognition of full civil equality for gay married couples? Three clear promises. After this quip, by the way, the NYT reports:
The people in the audience – who paid $30,400 per couple to attend – laughed as they ate a dinner of roasted tenderloin, grilled organic chicken and sun choke rosemary mashed potatoes.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
this is jarring indeed. it reminds me of the joke he made at the White House Correspondents Dinner, and my reaction was along the lines of Dan Savage's reactionto the joke about gay marriage he made:
Obama has acknowledged the breakthroughs in civil rights for gay Americans! He told a joke about it at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this weekend. (You were there, Andrew, didn't you catch it?) Barack Obama condescended to use marriage equality as a punch line; he made, essentially, a Chuck & Larry joke about two straight dudes—Obama and Axelrod—running off to Iowa to "make it official" with the queers and their "partners." And that's hilarious, you see, because Obama and Axelrod aren't actually homos! So they don't need to go to Iowa to make it official! They can get married—to women—in all fifty states! HA!
The more I think about the joke Obama told at the WHCD the more ticked off I get.
We're witnessing rapid and historic progress in the fight for gay equality and Barack Obama, who campaigned on our issues and described himself as a "fierce advocate" of gay and lesbian equality, hasn't acknowledged the breakthroughs in Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine in a setting or a with comments that are in any way equal to the significance of this historic moment. The best he can do—all he's willing to do—is toss off an Adam-Sandler-level joke.
So here's what I would've said if I'd been prepared for the question: Our lives, our families, and our rights are not a joke, Mr. President. The discrimination faced by gay people—whether coupled and single—is distressingly real and persists even for same-sex couples in Iowa and other states where gay marriage is legal. Stop fucking around and start delivering on your campaign promises to us, to our families, and to our children.
i never really expected him to deliver on gay rights promises soon (if ever), but this is one of the last things i would expect him to say outloud. perhaps another minor slip-up like the "you're likeable enough hillary", or the joke about the special olympics? or does it indicate something worse? i forgave him for rick warren and all the other things he did on this issue. but this is just too much now.