I am unabashedly, even with my own list of gripes, a great admirer of President Barack Obama. I'm one here who IS NOT voting against Mitt Romney, I'm going to vote FOR President Obama, even if he disappoints me in this, as he has in other things. But, the fact is for me, the teeter totter is weighed heavily on the president's side. For lots of reasons, but that's a different diary.
But I do implore the president to be bold here. Follow me beneath the fold to find out why I think he can get away with it.
And yes, "get away with it" is the correct way to put it. If there's ANYONE here who really thinks the president doesn't believe in full marriage civil rights for gays, I've got some swamp land to sell you. Let's just call it for what it is. He needs to get himself re-elected first and foremost, and this is what he's thinking about.
If y'all want to jump on him for that, I'll remind you, gay and straight alike, that second to his duty to his country, is his duty to his party and his down ticket. And I listed that as second, and I think regarding this president that's fair. If I was talking about the GOP, I'd say they consider getting back the football to be their first priority and their only priority.
Yes. Barack Obama must get himself re-elected, or everything else is academic. And so,
his campaign is wary of making marriage equality the issue. They would prefer to get him elected first, and then do what's coming in this country anyway---facilitate gay marriage in every way he can. In short, he doesn't want to take this on in this election with everything else.
Today's polls show what is going to shape up as a tight race, even if as Kos says, Obama still looks good in the electoral college. We've seen his leads erode over the last weeks, as was to be expected, IMO, and we've got months to go. This country is in a political civil war, and deeply divided.
I look at Wisconsin, and I see this. Walker is an asshole who defies Wisconsin's history of progressive government in every way. And it's still a dead heat when it comes to the recall. These are the times we live in. So Obama's concern about every vote is justified, and his desire to put off this issue is at least understandable.
Here's my point to the president. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LOSE MORE VOTES THAN YOU GAIN for taking a strong stance on civil rights for gays, and that's exactly what we're talking about here. Equating the "slum" of partnership rights---also eroding these days where the GOP has any say---to marriage isn't cutting it.
The fact is marriage is BOTH a religious and civil institution. Churches have the right to deny gays from getting married under their roofs. The country clerk who issues marriage licenses does not. The state does not. Not under our constitution. This is unarguable and will end up in the SCOTUS if saner heads do not prevail. And if the current SCOTUS rules against gay marriage, a future SCOTUS will rule for it. It is now inevitable.
Why is it inevitable? Because the cat is out of the bag and out of the closet. EVERY American has a gay loved one. Jesus Christ on Roller Skates, if Dick Cheney can't speak against gay marriage rights, because he loves his gay daughter, what the hell is the issue?
Yes, if the president were to come out 4 square for gay marriage, the GOP would go to town on it. But I actually think this would hurt them with more than it would help them with. Believe me, there are as many republicans out there with gay loved ones as democrats, not to mention independents. And even if they won't admit it, it will trouble them greatly to treat their loved ones as second class citizens.
Not to mention, this is one more huge issue that the president could make this election about, instead of running from it. He could add this to his premise that Americans have a clear choice in this election. He could do so with all his powers of oration and belief in fairness. And I think he could sell it, and how.
The president is a pragmatic man, and I appreciate that in many ways. But there is a point where pragmatism must be balanced with idealism. I think this is the perfect issue for the president to do this with. Much more so, for me, than the loss of the public option---which has so embittered many here. More so because it is at the VERY HEART of what this country promises, no matter which party is in power.
I pray that the president will "evolve" on this A LOT FASTER. In the eternal words of Goethe:
Then indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting over lost days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute;
What you can do, or dream you can do, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Be bold, Mr. President. I don't hold my vote over your head if you don't, but I feel it in my heart---this is the road better traveled.