12/22/2008
Biden Defends Rick Warren Pick on Tonight's Larry King Live
In a pre-broadcast transcript, Vice President-Elect Joe Biden defends Obama's choice of anti-gay pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at Obama's inauguration.
KING: There has been much controversy over the selection of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at the inaugural. He's been a guest on this show an awful lot, and he supported California's Proposition 8, a measure that outlaws gay marriage. He is also very opposed to abortion. I know the gay community in America appears to be up in arms. What do you make of this?
BIDEN: Well, I'd make of it [as] Barack Obama keeping his commitment. Barack Obama said you've got to reach out. You've got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country. We can't continue to be a red and blue country. We can't be divided like we have been. And he's made good on his promise. And I would say to the gay and lesbian community, they have nothing to worry about. Barack Obama, every aspect of his life, every aspect of his public life, and every commitment he's made relating to equality for all people, will be things that he will stick with and that they should view this in the spirit in which he offered the opportunity to -- to Mr. Warren."
Biden will appear on Larry King Live at 9 pm EST.
Biden made similar remarks yesterday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos:
"Barack Obama...has a stellar and outspoken record in support of equality for all Americans, including gay and lesbian Americans. But he also has made a judgment, I think correctly, that in order to heal the wounds of this country and move this country forward...that he was going to reach out. He made it clear there are parts of the positions taken by the Reverend that he strongly disagrees with, but there's also some very positive things about what he did. He's giving invocation. He's not making policy. He's not part of the administration."
Earlier
Rick Warren Defends Inauguration Invite, Engages Melissa Etheridge [tr]
Posted 1:09 PM EST by Andy Towle in Barack Obama, Inauguration, Joseph Biden, Larry King, News, Rick Warren | Permalink
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Thank you, Derrick. Happy Holidays, doll.
Posted by: soulbrotha | Dec 22, 2008 4:49:33 PM
LOL
Derrick from philly
Thanks for the laugh. Sadly too many who never voted for Obama and never will no matter what are using this as an opportunity to be concern trolls.
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Dec 22, 2008 5:02:45 PM
Jimmyboyo-
The only opportunity I'm taking is to point out that the next time you cast your vote, drunk on Kool-aid, pause and consider what your candidate really stands for. How could you rationalize that Barack Obama was for equal rights for all people, yet he himself believed that gays don't have the right to marry?
I hold you unquestioning lemmings responsible for this president-elect. A Clinton would have done a lot more for us- they've always walked the walk, even when they've failed, they brought us closer to equality.
And for all of you who bashed McCain's man Mark Buse, at least McCain wasn't afraid to surround himself with gays.
Change. You can shove it up your ass.
Posted by: dc8stretch | Dec 22, 2008 5:31:47 PM
Dear DERRICK FROM PHILLY,
You don't get biting sarcasm.
Are you sure you're Gay?
Posted by: jesse james | Dec 22, 2008 6:18:26 PM
D: I've already posted twice today, so I was done. Then I saw your last post about KKK and the T-Road blog and figured I had to. I'm going get all crazy-deep here, but bear with me. So much of what we see is not what is, it's a projection. And when your community, like T-Road, is made up of folks that in many cases have race privilege, gender privilege, class privilege, you can have a BIG disconnect.
The prism that you (and I) use to look at the world is different. Think about it. You got people going bat-ish crazy because a pastor based in CA made some comments. We're in fight for gay marriage when most gay people can be fired for being gay. Now think about who's running the gay movement and you'll understand why these issues resonate. If you've got race, class, & gender privilege, what's your issue? Your issue is that as a gay person you're not treated fairly. For a lot of gay white men in particular (and this is a generalization), the Prop 8/Warren issue may be the first time that water has REALLY been thrown in their face. It's the first, closest, most bitter taste of discrimination many have gotten.
Look, I have random white guys in the building I work thinking I'm part of the support staff. (I'm not.) I don't live in the ghetto, but can't get cabs to take me home. I've been stopped for driving while black. (One officer stopped me because I had a radar detector in my car. I told him I didn't, but that he could search my car if he did not believe me. After that, he let me go. I did have valid temporary tags on a nice car.) And, I've had to hire a lawyer and proved, via statistics, that I was discriminated against at a place where I worked by my white bosses.
My dad shined shoes as a kid. White people called him the n-word. He could not get served at restaurants. With that experiential backdrop, I cannot help but look at Rick Warren differently. I mean, I'm just not that pressed. (I am not saying that other people should not be pressed.)
It goes deep. I didn't realize how deep until I actually dated a couple of white guys. The critical race theory stuff I learned in classes became reality.
I'm not saying that a black perspective is helpful or better. Black people can be prisoners of race. (See pre-Mecca Malcolm who thought that all white people were devils because of his experiences in America.) Anyway, I'm just saying that our experiences are different and you're trying to have a dialogue via the internet with a bunch of gay white men and can't understand what you're hearing? (Wake up 6!-- Said with love.)
I think the key, and I know it's hard, is to acknowledge that folks come at things from different places. When you do that, you can be more open and you can have constructive conversation. Otherwise, you're just beating your head against a wall. I don't know anyone who can, via blog postings, surmount the differences in perspective that race, class, gender, etc. cause in how we see things. Don't let it get you down. Keep it real and keep going. B
Posted by: Brandon | Dec 22, 2008 6:27:35 PM
DC8
Yawnnnnnn
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Dec 22, 2008 7:07:25 PM
It's gonna be almost as fun to watch people post here when the Obama administration moves on DOMA and DADT and ENDA as it was watching FOX the night of the election.
Except I suspect like Hannity that night most people will be completely AWOL.
Still, I can't wait! Or rather I can -- at least until after he's really President, and maybe even a few months after that.
Posted by: KevinVT | Dec 22, 2008 7:16:44 PM
Keep up the pressure.
Obama was callous and insensitive to the GLBT community. I mean what do you expect from STRAIGHT MALES? Biden doesn't rate any better.
Posted by: FunMe | Dec 22, 2008 8:15:34 PM
Derrick - No one here is seriously ASKING for a racist to be allowed to speak at the inauguration. It's called sarcasm. What they're suggesting is that if, in Obama's quest to unite the country and reach out to people of differing views, he sees nothing wrong with inviting anti-gay Rick Warren to speak at the inauguration, then why not also a member of the KKK or an anti-Semite or Fred Phelps? Why does Obama find it OK to ask a very vocal homophobe to speak, but not someone with bigoted views toward another minority group?
Posted by: Sam | Dec 22, 2008 8:22:44 PM
When Obama chooses somebody like Warren's ilk for a seat on The Supreme Court as a way of "reaching across the isle" remember this:
I TOLD YOU SO.
Posted by: glennmcgahee | Dec 23, 2008 8:31:05 AM
I know this is an incredibly unpopular sentiment, but I could care less about gay "marriage". I think the correct political tact would be to go for civil unions. It's all about semantics and it's the word "marriage" that freaks the wingnuts out so much. As part of the political process if we got civil unions first then we could work on "marriage" from a place of having rights already.
Oh and for what it's worth I've been in a ltr for 21 years. And as Canadian could move back with my American bf and get hitched and he could get residency anytime we wanted.
This doesn't change the fact that I feel betrayed by Obama and that I think Warren is a huge mistake that has already cause a lot of ill will towards a popular president who hasn't even gotten into office yet.
Yes, I suppose we will see, but I will do so without a single drop of glee or interest.
Posted by: Nick | Dec 28, 2008 1:50:48 PM
I know this is an incredibly unpopular sentiment, but I could care less about gay "marriage". I think the correct political tact would be to go for civil unions. It's all about semantics and it's the word "marriage" that freaks the wingnuts out so much. As part of the political process if we got civil unions first then we could work on "marriage" from a place of having rights already.
Oh and for what it's worth I've been in a ltr for 21 years. And as Canadian could move back with my American bf and get hitched and he could get residency anytime we wanted.
This doesn't change the fact that I feel betrayed by Obama and that I think Warren is a huge mistake that has already cause a lot of ill will towards a popular president who hasn't even gotten into office yet.
Yes, I suppose we will see, but I will do so without a single drop of glee or interest.
Posted by: Nick | Dec 28, 2008 1:51:23 PM