2008 Obama Cured Me
posted by on October 30 at 10:11 AM
When you’re in a hole, stop digging—that’s the standard advice. Someone needs to give it to Barack Obama because his hole is getting bigger and bigger.
MTV hosted a dialogue with Obama in Cedar Rapids Iowa yesterday and a college student—who I’m thinking might be gay—asked Obama his position on same-sex marriage and about Donnie McClurkin.
Andy at Towleroad doesn’t think much of Obama’s response:
My problem with Obama’s position on McClurkin is that though he says he wants to “teach” people about homophobia, there was clearly no “teaching” that went on at the “Embrace the Change” tour. An “ex-gay” who was allowed to emcee the entire event publicly celebrated his “deliverance from homosexuality” during the event’s final hour. Did gays have any chance to rebut McClurkin’s remarks to those at the event so they could “learn” about tolerance? To me, “reaching out” to people would be exposing them to an alternative perspective. Is having white gay Reverend Andy Sidden read a prayer at the beginning of the concert a real effort to do that? I don’t think so.I think it’s interesting that Obama claims the gospel tour was “a while back” when it was Sunday. He’s clearly anxious to put this episode behind him.
After watching this video of McClurkin’s comments—which he characterizes as a “rant”—Andrew Sullivan had this to say:
I was under the impression he would be singing. Allowing this guy to preach strikes me as a step far too far. No, he doesn’t say anything homophobic as such. He uses the usual formula of loving those he wants to be other than they are—which is a very funny kind of love. But in saying that God “delivered” him from homosexuality, McClurkin describes sexual orientation as something that God wants to save me and other gay people from. If one were being generous, one would say this isn’t meant as an attack; but it is certainly experienced as an attack. McClurkin, in short, should never have been allowed to speak at this event, because his words are inherently divisive, his record of comments on gay people offensive, and the point of the event was allegedly unifying. It wasn’t…. I still believe that broadly speaking, [Obama] is the only major candidacy right now that offers the kind of change we need. But what happened on that stage was inexcusable, stupid, and damaging. I don’t blame any gay American for jumping the Obama ship over it.
Which is exactly what John Aravosis at Americablog is doing. Surf on over and buy the t-shirt:
Why don't you buy one for all of us, Mr. Moneybags?
I watched Obama on Ellen. He dances like a straight white guy. Just saying..
Obama has put himself in a no-win situation. He's losing the gay vote, which means he has to publicly backtrack and try to court it, which means he loses others who would be displeased with hearing a pro-gay message.
All things considered, though, I wouldn't be surprised if this only makes a small bump in his polling numbers. He'll get past it, I imagine.
Man, fuck this whole campaign. I need to stop reading any news and analysis about it. At least on the Daily Show I get my bitter view of this Machiavellian horseshit with a pleasant laugh. Since my vote isn't going to matter in the primary anyhow, I may as well give it to Kucinich.
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Osama = OBAMA no Nig-Nogs for me!
I'm beginning to wonder if it's going to cost him anything. For the primary, every lesbian I know was already on planning on voting for Hillary, and so were at least half of the gay men. The other half were a split between Obama and Edwards. So he never had that many votes in the bag with the gay community to begin with.
From an evil, 'fuck principles' Karl Rove perspective, the real people Obama needs to win the primary aren't gay people. They are straights who "don't hate" gay people but aren't big fans either. If he loses all his gay votes but gains some African-American and straight moderate votes through his "I-respect-gays-AND-ex-gay-minorities" lip service, he's made a net gain.
I wish we counted for more, but we just don't.
is this the same guy who opposes Trans inclusion
maybe a little over the top mostly
i'm absolutely amazed by the sheer, gaping idiocy of this whole debacle. i mean, after all the controversy leading up to the event, to give mcclurkin a mic and let him talk for a half hour? WTF???
stupid. game over. bye!!!
I'm so glad you support the War in Iraq and the War in Iran by going with Sen Clinton.
Hello! McFly! Wake UP!
What Brandon @8 said. It is incredibly stupid that Obama and his campaign managers allowed this guy to speak for half an hour.
@ Will in Seattle
Obama's no dove. Hill may bomb Iran, but Obama seems keen to bomb Pakistan so I think that kind of evens it out.
@10, @8, he didn't talk for a half an hour. He performed for half an hour. About two minutes of that made reference to homosexuality. I assume you've never been to a contemporary black gospel concert. It's always always always a mix of singing and speaking over the vamps.
John Aravosis can't be trusted on this issue...he described McClurckin as one obama's top surrogates, which is beyond absurd.
Listening to Obama speak, I get the impression that he personally is not homophobic. That perhaps he's a bit undereducated about some of the nuances of gay rights issues, but basically he's a decent guy.
But man, last weekend was an incredible gaf. And so easily avoidable.
Hypothetical Obama staffer: "Donnie, when you get up on stage, just sing, okay. Just shut the fuck up about the gay thing and sing your gospel songs, and this will all just blow over."
I can't believe nobody in his campaign thought to have this conversation with McClurkin. And if nobody thought to have a little sit-down with McClurkin, what does this say about Obama and his campaign staff? What are they gonna do in the general election when they run up against the Roves and the Swiftboaters? That he could stumble this badly during a mostly polite primary does not speak well of his campaigning abilities.
Which is really too bad, because I still kinda like the guy, and I still like the idea of having a president someday in my lifetime that is not an old white guy, and I really thought maybe he was the one to break the cycle. Guess not.
Yeah, this guy is a joke. I much rather have someone who is political savvy enough to know to never bring up the subject that may potentially divide his or her voters. Just kiss some babies and take pictures with old folks.
@13, McClurkin didn't focus on making statements about homosexuality (he spoke much more harshly about hypocrisy in the church, something no one is mentioning)...he only sought to defend himself against critics who he felt had misrepresented him.
I wish he'd shut up about it, but I can't blame him for wanting to set the record straight. He never said for example, that gay people are are trying to kill our children, something that's being repeated throughout the blogosphere, without a source.
12 - no i've never been to a contemporary gospel concert. presumably obama has, and still he gave the guy a mic and let him speak. it was his call, not mine, and it was a fucking dumb one.
game over.
I wrote to Obama, and expressed my discord with all of this... here's the response I get. I was cured too... I'm not voting for that hypocrite.
Dear Friend,
Thank you for sharing your strong objections to past statements of
one of the performers on the recent South Carolina gospel tour. I
appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns directly because I
strongly disagree with Pastor McClurkin’s deeply hurtful and offensive
statements about sexual orientation.
I have always clearly stated my belief that members of the LGBT
community are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the
respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently
supported gay rights throughout my career, and I will continue to work for
an open, tolerant society where people of all sexual orientations are
protected and their contributions are valued.
To honor my commitment to promoting tolerance on the gospel tour,
I asked Rev. Andy Sidden, an openly gay South Carolina pastor, to open
the tour and offer a prayer. I’m glad he joined us, because we have
to speak to people we disagree with in order to confront issues that
are important to gay and black communities, like the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
I have spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the
need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts of the
Black community, and I will continue to be outspoken on this issue.
More broadly, we need to create a productive dialogue between
people of opposing views, and I had a good conversation about this with Joe
Solmonese, President of the Human Rights Campaign. After our
conversation, Mr. Solmonese issued a statement that said, in part:
“I did thank [Senator Obama]…. for his willingness to
call on religious leaders to open a dialogue about homophobia. We hope
that Sen. Obama will move forward and facilitate face-to-face meetings
with religious leaders, like Rev. McClurkin, and the GLBT community to
confront the issue of homophobia.”
“We also call on all of the presidential campaigns to look
within their ranks of supporters and make the same commitment to engage
in a dialogue among differing views around issues of equality and
fairness for our community.”
A group of LGBT and religious leaders have also embraced this
opportunity to open a dialogue, and you can find an open letter from them
below. I’ve said before that America’s diversity is its greatest
strength. In order to confront the challenges of our day, we must be
able to get past the divisions which have upheld our progress in the past.
I am committed to building those bridges to a better future.
Thank you again for contacting me and sharing your concerns.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Eat yer spinach and vote Kucinich.
I watched the entire hour last night on MTV and was really astonished that Obama never really answered one single question posed to him. It was fairly obvious that the students who had asked the questions were not terribly satisfied with the responses he gave. Not one of his responses even centered on the question. He basically spent the hour rambling about what he believed and what he would do as president. It was really disappointing all the way around. He even referred to the McClurkin thing as happening "awhile back" when it just took place a few days ago. The one question that I wish had been asked would have been "As President would you close the Office of Faith Based Initiatives due there being a perceived constitutional conflict?" Nobody asked it though.
You're all assuming this didn't go exactly as planned. We get one view on all the liberal blogs but there's a bunch of church-y old ladies out there that don't don't know a blog from a hole in the ground and they're "...generally more focused on making allowances for Mr. McClurkin’s past homosexuality than on anything about Mr. Obama."
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/obamas-gospel-concert-tour/
Kevin @12 Sorry, no, he didn't just talk for "two minutes" and wasn't in any way a peripheral figure. From the WaPo:
"I just said yes," he said of his invitation by the Obama campaign. "I didn't know so much was going to happen. I didn't know my yes was going to mean I was misunderstood and vilified. .. . Sometimes people can take your words and do this with them," he said, making a twisting motion with his hands as the crowd shouted Amens and cheered for him.
After another song, he specially addressed the issue of homosexuality, saying he had been "touched by the same feelings."
Now a lot of people have over-stated the guy's relationship and closeness with Obama, and it should be possible to attend fundraisers without vetting every single person also attending the fundraiser and making sure everyone's politics are good, but Obama was simply stupid to let the guy play such a big role at the event and to let him bring up the issue.
@12 I agree that Aravosis is the last person whose opinion should be heeded. I haven't been able to take him seriously ever since the "Waah, Jon Stewart disconnected my internet access" or whatever incident. He seems like a total schmuck.
Thanks blogosphere -- if Cirrhosis and the other lesbigay bloggers hadn't attacked McClurkin, he wouldn't have felt the need to defend himself. His exgayness wasn't an issue TILL YOU MADE IT AN ISSUE.
okay this is how it breaks down: obama's campaigning is being criticized because he says and does what all the other candidates believe. he's insulting to gays and appears unorganized because he and his staff didn't have the foresight to hide this issue; to not address it.
so, for those who want to criticize his sincertity, i'm not sure that works. and for those who want to criticize his strategy: he might have gained support because of this. for those who feel he's not doing enough, or has been insulting, well, you are probably right.
Carnage. It's over. Hopefully he'll still be a force for good in the Senate.
yes, it does appear to be over. and even if he runs again in the future, he'll never seem as clean as he once did -- even if he's a better politician and a more experienced leader then. this saddens me.
So, I just watched the CNN video of this that Sullivan linked...
Loved how McClurkin went all Willie Ninja immediately after saying that "God delivered me from homosexuality."
Two snaps for Reverend Girl, right there.
Because THERE'S a momentum killing scandal, Senator...when your ex-gay minister turns out to not be quite so ex.
Good luck getting your message out through the kind of media fog something like that would envelope you in.
@15: the kill comment: http://web.archive.org/web/20030925082218/http://www.cbn.com/700club/profiles/donnie_mcclurkin2.asp
though, in context, he appears to be speaking about pedophiles when he says "those who". he is/was, after, himself gay.
This shit depresses me to no end. I had a LOT of faith in Obama, and now I'm just confused. Fuck.
I'll agree with two things, anyway: Obama didn't handle this very well, and, John Aravosis is a bit of a ninny.
@17 It's that kind of thoughtful reasoning, passion for common ground and uniting political forces, and general compassion and intelligence that makes me want to vote for Obama. I don't care that he's not a well-oiled political machine, in fact, I like that about him. I also like that he didn't yank the rug out from under this guy just because a liberal hysteria over him erupted on the blogosphere. He's our best hope, hands down.
@11 - yeah, but both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are actual threats to America.
Not to mention where most of the al-Qaeda money, volunteers, and training comes from.
21: he spent a while defending himself, but hardly any time actually talking about homosexuality. And the WaPo account is confusingly written--but other accounts make it clear that he didn't get into that stuff until the end, during his performance.
It's not at all surprising that he was the emcee, he's actually really good at that--he hosted the 2006 dove awards.
i can't believe what a bunch of dopes tons of people are being in that
a. obama cant be voted for because of this
b. hillary cant be voted for because she would do "x"
the likelihood that obama moves against gay people is equally likely that he will do anything different than hillary in a 12-18 month period regarding foreign policy.
Obama thinks gay people should have something less than marriage equality. Like I sayh massah, i be goin to da drinkin fountayn over theh massah. Thank ya massah.
@26 Yeah, that's the same mistake that people are making with the "war" comments--he's not referring to the gay community, he's referring to sexual predators. The specific context was his worry about the Harvey Milk school opening up in NYC. He worried that it would be a magnet for sexual predators (which is dumb but understandable, given the messed up stuff he endured as a kid). Acting as though his comments were a swipe at the toignorant.tality of the gay community is intellectually dishonest.
whoops, that word should be totality.
@35,
Let me guess. You're also the "no nig-nog" asshole.
The audacity of homos!
Andrew Sullivan is one strange guy.
Obama tells everyone he is not a homophobe, but his best friend is. And yet, a gay man wants (you) to vote for him?
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