Hillary Thinks The Gays Are Doing A Terrific Job, They Really Are

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/...tough_qu_1.php

Quote:

Hillary Clinton, whose husband has a less than stellar reputation in many precincts of the gay community, was peppered with tough questions at tonight's gay rights forum in Los Angeles.

Rocker Melissa Etheridge, a moderator, told Clinton that gays felt "thrown under the bus" by her husband's administration in the 1990s. By this she meant the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy on gays in the military and President Clinton's support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

"All the great promises that were made to us were broken," Etheridge said. "It is many years later now. Are we going to be left behind like we were before?"

"I don't see it the way you describe that I respect your feelings about it," Clinton responded. The administration, the president, the vice president "did the best they could."

Etheridge: "Why not be a leader now?"

Clinton: "I think I am the leader now. But to not only talk about laws as important as they are, but to really try to change attitudes to persuade people that they should be more open, more respectful. If I were sitting where I were sitting with all you have gone through ... I'm sure I would feel the same way."

On gay marriage, HRC president Joe Solomnese asked her about her opposition. “I prefer to think about it as being very positive about civil unions,” Clinton said. But she said she respected the “advocacy” the gay community is “waging on behalf of marriage.”

Clinton called the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell “one of my highest priorities.” But she defended the policy as written – it was an “advance” that was poorly implemented, she said.

Some interesting back story: The sponsoring Human Rights Campaign – HRC – has occasionally been criticized for being in the pocket of Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) – broadly, the Clinton donor community, which includes many prominent gays and lesbians. Solomnese went out of his way to be ginger with Clinton, but he did not hold back. (My colleague Josh Green promised me a post about this tomorrow.)

I'm not sure exactly what Clinton thinks she's the leader of, as it's certainly not the Gay Rights Movement. More to the point, it seems to me like her attempts at empathy seem to come across more condescending.

"I think you guys are doing a great job and I understand where you're coming from, I just don't support you."

The most unanswered question from the gay community regards why the Democrats are so reluctant to support gay marriage and emphatic about civil unions. The only candidate at this point to actually answer the question is Edwards, who takes issue by virtue of his religion.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The gay community isn't great - its faaaaaaabuloooooooooous!

How ya doing, buddy?

Quote:

The most unanswered question from the gay community regards why the Democrats are so reluctant to support gay marriage and emphatic about civil unions.

Anyone who can't answer that question isn't gay, they're retarded. "Marriage" is a divisive topic, and god knows the Democrats can't take a stand on a divisive issue or they might alienate someone.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by thread title

Hillary Thinks The Gays Are Doing A Terrific Job, They Really Are

gays do the jobs Mexicans don't want to do.

How ya doing, buddy?

Maybe they should unionize.

I was speaking idiomatically.

the fuck do you think the gay agenda is?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by a lurker

the fuck do you think the gay agenda is?

*rimshot*

FELIPE NO

Pander, pander, pander. It's really kind of frustrating how even still, there is so much tiptoeing around this issue.

I'm not too impressed if Hilary's biggest LGBT issue is to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I do agree that it's wrong to discharge homosexuals from the military, but I feel like the issue has a bigger military sway than it does a civil rights sway. "We're losing good troops and consequently losing the war because we're discharging 9000 people a year..." Perhaps it's just a graceful tactic to appease war enthusiasts.

I have to applaud Edwards for being the most vocally supportive of LGBT issues, even if I don't necessarily like that he ultimately shirks responsibility off to states governments to decide if they want to legalize civil unions or not. I think it needs some national support to really make any substantive progress. But something is better than nothing, I guess...and I suppose it is unrealistic to expect anything major for at least another generation shift or two (die all you old conservative religious people, will you?)

Also, Bill Richardson thinks that being gay is a choice. I don't think I could vote for someone that stupid and feel good about it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I hope Don't Ask, Don't Tell sticks around. If there's ever a draft, I'm so showing up in high heels.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Poor gays just can't catch a break.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Always topical, those Google ads.

Obama didn't seem to get it either. As I understand it, he accused gays that are campaigning for gay marriage of fighting over semantics.

A reasonable person would say that the people pushing for civil unions are the ones worried over semantics.

How ya doing, buddy?

This sort of shit is why the 2008 Presidential Election is the most underwhelming, disheartening race since the last one.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Guru

Also, Bill Richardson thinks that being gay is a choice. I don't think I could vote for someone that stupid and feel good about it.

I was flipping through channels the other day and wound up on MSNBC where they were talking to one of the dudes from LOGO that was on the panel. He was talking about how Richardson (I guess that's his name since they were blasting him for saying it's a choice) missed the easiest question they could have offered him by saying he believes it's a choice and how he should have said it's not a choice.

Am I the only person that think it's fucked up we actually want our politicians to lie to us about their stances on issues and then we proceed to complain about it when they don't follow through with their stated stances?

Most amazing jew boots

It also takes huge cajones to stand up in front of an interest group and declare that you fundamentally disagree with the very basis of their reasoning.

He could plug the gaps in the fence with those balls.

It's hard to hold it against him for making a principled stand, no matter how wrong it is. It's better than being pandered to.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I haven't looked up everyone, but I'd be willing to bet there are no atheists or agnostics who are getting a serious look at the Democratic nom. Which would lead me to believe there is certainly more than one person who holds those views, especially since none of these people are under 45 years old.

Which means we either have a statistical anomaly or someone is lying.

FELIPE NO

My money's on Kucinich.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

It's frustrating to see the frontrunners--Hilary and Obama--"pussyfooting" around the issue, if you will. Homosexuals are no less entitled than anyone else to the economic benefits of marriage. The other problem presented through the civil union concept is that, by implementing this method, gays are still ostracized by those who refuse to deem the union of two men or women who love each other as "marriage".

I think that liberal-minded people such as myself would be more impressed with someone who is concerned less about who they might alienate by announcing a position and more about actually taking a stand on an issue in the first place.

Jam it back in, in the dark.