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News & ArtsThursday, November 12, 2009
Politics / Homo Fierce Advocacy Watch
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 11:10 AM
The White House tries to prevent Boston College from releasing the video of senior Obama domestic policy advisor Melody Barnes expressing support for marriage equality. Americablog has the story.
1
OH MY GAWD!!! TWO DAYS!!!!
TWO FUCKING DAYS!!!!!!
OH MY GAWWWWWWWWWDDDDD!!!!!!
wow, that sat on a video for two days......
maybe they were writing speeches for ft. worth or figuring out how to get the health care bill thru the senate.....
absolutely horrific, two days they sat on a video of an advisor "sympathizing" with gay marriage......
OUT-FUCKING-RAGEOUS!!!!
TWO FUCKING DAYS!!!!!!
OH MY GAWWWWWWWWWDDDDD!!!!!!
wow, that sat on a video for two days......
maybe they were writing speeches for ft. worth or figuring out how to get the health care bill thru the senate.....
absolutely horrific, two days they sat on a video of an advisor "sympathizing" with gay marriage......
OUT-FUCKING-RAGEOUS!!!!
2
The point, which is made well in the article, is that the White House should not have been involved in vetting this video at all. It was a video taken at a private university of a public event involving a public official. The White House should have immediately told the college that it is not in the business of telling private universities whether or not they can publish videos.
7
@2 the article clearly states that the college's policy is to get the "speakers" permission first before releasing any videos.... the white house wanted to see it, so fucking what, and two days later said 'go ahead release it'.....
y'all acting like they're withholding this video....
sadly, this is just another example of how the gay rights movement is shooting itself in the foot by attacking obama every chance they get.....
y'all completely tone-deaf to real politics!
[[[[if you truly want gay rights, get a national approval rating for gay rights at 60%.....
and don't look to the prez to do it for you....
do it yourselves.
(he's a fucking politician. not an activist. (do any of you know what a politician is?))]]]]
y'all acting like they're withholding this video....
sadly, this is just another example of how the gay rights movement is shooting itself in the foot by attacking obama every chance they get.....
y'all completely tone-deaf to real politics!
[[[[if you truly want gay rights, get a national approval rating for gay rights at 60%.....
and don't look to the prez to do it for you....
do it yourselves.
(he's a fucking politician. not an activist. (do any of you know what a politician is?))]]]]
8
Montgomery, in the United States of America, the US government doesn't tell private institutions whether or not the private institution can publish its own video of a public meeting at the university. It is irrelevant if this is the university's policy. The government should immediately recognize that the policy is creepy, as applies to the government. But instead, the White House said "yippee!", accepted the role as official censor, and then took two days to review the video and decide whether or not the temporary gag order should be made into a permanent censor of the video.
That's the kind of crap we would expect from George Bush's White House. And especially when the video in question was "controversial" because it might have shown a White House official being pro-gay, it's offensive as hell for the White House to agree to the role as official government censor. It's irrelevant if they took two days or two minutes to deliberate over the fate of the video - it was none of their business, and offensive for them to accept the role of official censor.
That's the kind of crap we would expect from George Bush's White House. And especially when the video in question was "controversial" because it might have shown a White House official being pro-gay, it's offensive as hell for the White House to agree to the role as official government censor. It's irrelevant if they took two days or two minutes to deliberate over the fate of the video - it was none of their business, and offensive for them to accept the role of official censor.
11
@8- You're comparing Obama to Bush?
Exactly my point.
Why is it so insane that the white house wants to review a possibly controversial video? maybe they want a headstart on how to respond to criticism?
it's the private college's policy to give release rights to the speaker, and the white house sat on it for about 36 hours.... (big fucking deal!)
Now, if you care about the gay rights movement, and the success of obama's presidency, than you'd be wise to understand the reality of politics.....
there are 5 states in America currently with an approval rating for gay marriage over 50%. Five whole fucking states. Nationally, gay marriage has about 35-40% approval rating. Thus, it is a hot button issue, red meat for Republican opposition.
I am relieved that Obama's peeps are playing it safe, being cautious and reviewing tapes.
It is political suicide for obama to fully endorse gay marriage right now.... My advise is for y'all to be patient. the more political capital obama builds, the better leverage he will have to push for gay rights.
so, health care, the economy, the wars....... help him bank some success before he tackles the red-hot social issue with 40% approval....
Exactly my point.
Why is it so insane that the white house wants to review a possibly controversial video? maybe they want a headstart on how to respond to criticism?
it's the private college's policy to give release rights to the speaker, and the white house sat on it for about 36 hours.... (big fucking deal!)
Now, if you care about the gay rights movement, and the success of obama's presidency, than you'd be wise to understand the reality of politics.....
there are 5 states in America currently with an approval rating for gay marriage over 50%. Five whole fucking states. Nationally, gay marriage has about 35-40% approval rating. Thus, it is a hot button issue, red meat for Republican opposition.
I am relieved that Obama's peeps are playing it safe, being cautious and reviewing tapes.
It is political suicide for obama to fully endorse gay marriage right now.... My advise is for y'all to be patient. the more political capital obama builds, the better leverage he will have to push for gay rights.
so, health care, the economy, the wars....... help him bank some success before he tackles the red-hot social issue with 40% approval....
13
For anyone who wants to understand the politics of gay marriage, please please please read:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/d…
notice in this one the red dots on the graph which tracks gay marriage state by state (and how our own washington isn't even above the 50% threshold yet....)
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/g…
my point, we've got work to do. obama has larger priorities, and can't be expected to tarnish his approval ratings to fully embrace gay marriage right now.....
and yes, he's a politician, not a saint.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/d…
notice in this one the red dots on the graph which tracks gay marriage state by state (and how our own washington isn't even above the 50% threshold yet....)
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/06/g…
my point, we've got work to do. obama has larger priorities, and can't be expected to tarnish his approval ratings to fully embrace gay marriage right now.....
and yes, he's a politician, not a saint.
14
Meanwhile soldiers are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq, some of whom are undoubtably gay, all for two wars against al-Qaeda - who ain't in either country.
Hmmm.
Hmmm.
15
@7- I really don't understand how it is "tone-deaf to real politics" to hold an official to the promises s/he made while running for office. The WON on those promises, who's support are they afraid of losing?
16
@15 in his campaign he was against gay marriage....
but AGAIN, THIS ISN'T ABOUT OBAMA. this is about the gay rights movement building support nationally. how will we build support by bashing the president? are we hoping to get conservatives on board with our anti-obama message?
[[[AND DAN SAVAGE, FUCK YOU, CORRECT YOUR POST. it says nowhere in the article that the white house "tried to prevent" the college from releasing the tape. have whatever opinion you like, but don't lie about what an article says!!]]]
but AGAIN, THIS ISN'T ABOUT OBAMA. this is about the gay rights movement building support nationally. how will we build support by bashing the president? are we hoping to get conservatives on board with our anti-obama message?
[[[AND DAN SAVAGE, FUCK YOU, CORRECT YOUR POST. it says nowhere in the article that the white house "tried to prevent" the college from releasing the tape. have whatever opinion you like, but don't lie about what an article says!!]]]
17
Whew. It's times like these that I'm GRATEFUL!!! there's a Slog comments KILLFILE!!!! PLUGIN!!!~~!1] DAN SAVEGE GRRRR (FROTH [EYES ROLLING BACKWARDS INTO HEAD])
18
@16- But for gay rights, gays in the military, domestic partnership, etc... How does having an administration official voice her personal sympathy for gay marriage contradict their stand? And yet they deliberately held up the release of this woman's talk because for some treason Obama and company seem to think they can make the bigots happy. They can't.
19
@18 they didn't "deliberately hold up the release of this woman's talk"... they took around 36 hours to review the tape before they consented to it being public (which was the school's policy to get such consent, not obama's policy).
ya know, there's a few other things going on over at the white house, and 36 hours doesn't seem like a particularly long time to do something like this....
the real story here is that gay advocates like dan savage are sensationalizing every speck of gay dust obama leaves around....
ya know, there's a few other things going on over at the white house, and 36 hours doesn't seem like a particularly long time to do something like this....
the real story here is that gay advocates like dan savage are sensationalizing every speck of gay dust obama leaves around....
20
Yet again, Montgomery sun (#19), the White House had no business vetting this video at all. It should have immediately told the college that it is not in the business of telling private universities whether or not they can publish videos of public events.
21
@20 why wouldn't you want them to cover their asses, make sure they see what was said first before giving consent?
in politics you leave no stone unturned!
[obama and co. are most likely the best political team we've ever seen. a black man got more votes than any other president ever, took down the clintons, and wait, did we forget that obama is a freakin' black man, and won in a landslide presidential election?]
let them do their politics. chill the fuck out.
in politics you leave no stone unturned!
[obama and co. are most likely the best political team we've ever seen. a black man got more votes than any other president ever, took down the clintons, and wait, did we forget that obama is a freakin' black man, and won in a landslide presidential election?]
let them do their politics. chill the fuck out.
22
@21- I do remember he won a landslide election, yet has been backing off of most if not all of his policy proposals as if he didn't have a boatload of popular support behind him. It's almost like he didn't mean any of it and we might as well have Hillary or McCain in office.
23
@20 because, for the umpteenth time, the White House has absolutely no business telling private universities whether or not they can publish videos of public events.
24
@22 great point...
but i don't think he was lying during his campaign. it's just insanely hard to get anything done in washington dc. i mean his own party is even selling him out.
remember the health care bill that was to be signed into law in august?
maybe january now.
how about the strict wall street regulations?
this week the senate, one year later, introduced a bill to regulate wall street.
didn't he run on education too?
any peep of repealing "no child left behind"?
obama is the most decent guy to hold office in decades, and his team is the most politically astute. to watch them tread water like this is boggling. a revealing indicator of just how fucked up our country is....
regardless, badmouth the dude all you want: it's your own foot your shooting.
but i don't think he was lying during his campaign. it's just insanely hard to get anything done in washington dc. i mean his own party is even selling him out.
remember the health care bill that was to be signed into law in august?
maybe january now.
how about the strict wall street regulations?
this week the senate, one year later, introduced a bill to regulate wall street.
didn't he run on education too?
any peep of repealing "no child left behind"?
obama is the most decent guy to hold office in decades, and his team is the most politically astute. to watch them tread water like this is boggling. a revealing indicator of just how fucked up our country is....
regardless, badmouth the dude all you want: it's your own foot your shooting.
25
@23 for the umpteenth time, it was the college's policy to get a clearance to publish the video.... read the damn article.
26
@25: I did read the damn article. Why can you not understand the simple point that, regardless of the university's policy, the White House should not be involved in telling private universities whether or not they can publish videos of public events, and they should have simply told them to do whatever the fuck they wanted.
27
@26
it's a potentially controversial video.
the white house wanted to see it.
they did nothing wrong considering the university's policy.
likewise: team obama should endorse single payer health care, should end both wars immediately, should enact a new New Deal, and should legalize marijuana, etc.
do you wanna talk politics or do you wanna talk idealism?
it's a potentially controversial video.
the white house wanted to see it.
they did nothing wrong considering the university's policy.
likewise: team obama should endorse single payer health care, should end both wars immediately, should enact a new New Deal, and should legalize marijuana, etc.
do you wanna talk politics or do you wanna talk idealism?
28
It's a video of a public event at a private institution. The government cannot tell a private institution not to publish video of a public event.
30
I realize that. Which is why, while they could have requested a copy of the video, they should have immediately told the university to do whatever it wanted, since they have no right to force the university to do anything with regards to videos it makes.
31
yeah, that's idealistically what should have happened.
but alas they run the white house, not the house of idealism.
team obama did the right thing, politically.
yet on the idealistic level i agree with you....
g'night dingo.
but alas they run the white house, not the house of idealism.
team obama did the right thing, politically.
yet on the idealistic level i agree with you....
g'night dingo.
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