Thursday, September 24, 2009


Rostow: Obama's Stance on ME Gay
Marriage Initiative Is . . . ?

Let me put all pretense aside and state the obvious: I adore Ann Rostow. A fabulous Texas lesbian writer who writes for SF Bay Times every week, Ann can always find the right words to make an educated, and usually very entertaining, few points on gay politics. She does so again in her latest column, promoting a fabulously radical idea: Get the President to make a public stance known about the anti gay marriage proposition before Maine's voters in November.

Anyone know if HRC or NLGTF or DC-based gay media and bloggers have asked the White House press office or the public engagement office's gay liaisons Brian Bond and Shin Inouye, to explain Obama's position on Maine proposition?

From Rostow's current Bay Times column:

Barack Attack?

Let me go back to Maine for a second, if I may. San Francisco acti-blogger Michael Petrelis just issued a warning, an obvious one once you think about it, to the Maine campaign, telling them to expect a mass mailing featuring a smiling Barack Obama with the quote: “I’m not in favor of gay marriage.”

The anti-marriage forces in Maine are the same people who successfully took marriage away from California couples last year, and as mentioned earlier in this column, they are using the same playbook. One of their fear mongering commercials about teaching gay marriage in schools is actually identical to an ad they used in favor of Prop 8.

So it’s reasonable to expect them to use the same flier that blanketed California last year, distorting Obama’s words to imply that banning marriage carries the Presidential Seal of Approval. In fact, Obama came out strongly against Prop 8, but our side did little to push that point across.

I’m not sure Obama has said anything about the Maine battle, but since he opposed Prop 8, I assume he’s also against Question One. So let’s get him on the record and preempt an attack that is surely coming our way. I imagine the Maine activists have thought of this themselves, but then again, I thought the No on 8 campaign would make strong use of Obama and they didn’t.

3 comments:

Doc Holliday said...

Acti-blogger! Love it and love your work Michael.

XXOO, A pal in DC

Bob Schwartz said...

Rostrow wrote, "In fact, Obama came out strongly against Prop 8." Not exactly true.

Obama did an interview on MTV where he said he was against Prop 8, but neither he nor his LGBT backers got him to do a broadcast TV piece where his fine words might have made a difference. This is vintage Obama: appearing on gay or gay-friendly media to say he's our "fierce advocate," while pandering to the right in a more public manner.

Maybe the official "gay leaders" will overcome their fawning over the president long enough to place one small demand on him: Do a TV ad to defeat antigay bigotry and discrimination in Maine.

Anonymous said...

Not Obama's fault. And I like Bob's "gay leaders" quote marks above, he's right. Our "leaders" lose this issue for us time and again. They don't want the fight. They simply want to get invited to special places and fawn and be fawned over. They want to be paid to have their most awesome lives. The DNC- and HRC-connected power brokers who are our "gay leaders" do well, personally, by handing us very small victories, and asking us to stay beleaguered and writing them checks. Works for them.