Activists to Picket Obama at Human Rights Campaign Dinner
Activist Andy Thayer of Chicago's Gay Liberation Network is planning a picket of Saturday night's Human Rights Campaign dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, at which President Obama is scheduled to give a keynote address.
Said Thayer in a press release: “The time for talking is over. This President
promised to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), he promised to
repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, he promised to pass the pro-LGBT
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and a whole host of other
things. Instead, he’s delivered on nothing while embracing anti-gay
bigots Rick Warren and Donnie McClurkin. The last thing we need is
more flowery rhetoric in front of rich, self-effacing gays and lesbians
dressed up like penguins.”
Added Queer Liberaction co-founder Blake Wilkenson, whose group is co-sponsoring the picket: "The Obama administration has likened LGBT relationships to incest and bestiality. He cited his ‘Christian beliefs’ for the reason why he now opposes equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. He refuses issue a stop-loss order to prevent purges of lesbian and gay soldiers. If we are going to get real change out of this White House, we need to make demands of this President. As the great anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass put it, ‘Power concedes nothing without a demand.’”
More at LGBT POV.
This seems counter-productive to me and it might be viewed as giving the conservative right exactly what they want; a house divided.
Posted by: fernlaplante | Oct 6, 2009 12:08:25 PM
Love it!
Posted by: Smokey | Oct 6, 2009 12:08:51 PM
"The last thing we need is more flowery rhetoric in front of rich, self-effacing gays and lesbians dressed up like penguins.”
Exactly!
Posted by: Will | Oct 6, 2009 12:13:10 PM
We are a house divided. Enough with the fake love, we need to show our politicians we're tired AND hold the gay "leadership" accountable.
Posted by: DR | Oct 6, 2009 12:22:10 PM
Ugh. Being familiar with Thayer's antics for many years, my first thought is "the professional Angry Gay is at it again". My second thought is, "he's absolutely right".
Posted by: Timmyweb | Oct 6, 2009 12:36:11 PM
being nice little queers gets us nothing. obama only spends his political capital when people make noise.
Posted by: psgoodguy | Oct 6, 2009 12:48:54 PM
75% of the Congress would vote against the repeal of DADT and DOMA. Please explain how Obama can possibly change that?
We need to get 26% of the Congress to change their "religious" minds. All we have is an angry protest at the White House? A March of tiny proportions the next day?
Sorry, that won't matter. Not a bit.
Posted by: ThinkRealHard | Oct 6, 2009 1:04:48 PM
@ Timmyweb: EXACTLY!!
@Thinkrealhard: 75% of Congress would vote against repealing DADT? Where the hell did you get that random statistic?! Almost 2/3 Americans support lifting the ban, including a majority of "Conservative" Americans and a majority of Iraqi vets. I'm not saying it won't go without hurdles, but, the chance of the repeal is quite high.
Posted by: Chicago88 | Oct 6, 2009 1:22:22 PM
I'm all for a march or a protest but I do have questions.
I am not familiar with Mr Thayer.
Has he been active or did he cast his vote and then sit back and wait for one man to fix everything on his own?
I ask because I know many people who voted for Mr Obama and then thought that all the problems would be fixed just like that.
Mr Obama repeatedly said throughout his campaign that we all needed to work together.
We still need to.
IN MY OPINION. In MY opinion. In my OPINION: I'm still not convinced that DADT and DOMA are the MOST IMPORTANT issues. I still have to put them behind WAR, HEALTH CARE, THE ECONOMY.
I do think that DADT and DOMA are major concerns. I think it's a shame that we have to fight for them at all. But we do. And it will take time. And we have to prioritize.
I'm all for his protest but I hope it's productive and not a foot stomping whine fest. Sorry... I've seen plenty of poorly organized protests that are not productive.
Posted by: JimmyD | Oct 6, 2009 1:29:49 PM
@THINKREALHARD: "75% of the Congress would vote against the repeal of DADT and DOMA."
Where do you get your statistics? The Glenn Beck Show? Rush Limbaugh?
Neither would be easy, but you're nowhere in the ballpark. DADT repeal bill had at last count over 160 co-sponsors, which is over 36% of the House. 75% of Americans support repealing it, even a majority of REPUBLICANS do.
Let's try to stay in the reality-based community when we talk about issues.
Back on topic: there is a natural inclination to recoil from overt displays of anger. I understand.
But that said, the times we've made our greatest strides as a community, Stonewall, defeating the Briggs Initiative, ACT-UP, is not when asked nicely, and waited quietly for "Change" to come our way.
And Obama picked HRC because he knew they'd golf clap him, the press would run the pictures and say, "See, nothing to see here, everything's fine." Messing with the photo op could really spur some policy initiatives to make the unflaterring press go away.
Posted by: Clarknt67 | Oct 6, 2009 1:40:27 PM
Yawn.
I'm sorry... WHO?
His comments regarding lesbian fashion are sexist and stereotopically outdated and a tad homoloathing--Ah Hell let's say IGNORANT and indicative of a media whore.
Well maybe now Avarosis has some to hold hands with and shreik.
Posted by: mcNny | Oct 6, 2009 1:41:50 PM
And I meant to add:
Some people seem to think that Mr Obama is the new King or something. The Dems are in control and seem to be fighting the President just as much as GOP. It seems to be pretty clear the the GOP is against Mr Obama because hate is their thing. The Dem just seem to be stupid and unaware of the power they have. Someone needs to bitch slap them into action. That Someone is all of us.
How many of us voted and then sat back waiting?
How many of us have been active.
How many of us have been writing to our Senators and Congresspersons? To our Governors and Mayors and local representatives?
WE ALL need to pester all of the above until they do OUR BIDDING.
And if the war spreads and the economy completely collapses, and health care just goes away... I don't think many people, gay or straight, will be getting married.
Posted by: JimmyD | Oct 6, 2009 1:48:59 PM
They should burn that lying s.o.b. in effigy.
Posted by: hadassah weinreb | Oct 6, 2009 1:50:20 PM
Clarknt67: Good point. Then maybe we should be going after the HRC as well.
You mention Stonewall and Act-Up. You're right. We have to just GO AFTER THESE THINGS. It's one thing the gays have in common with the GOP. The Dems need to adapt to the taking-what-we-want way of doing things. But taking and doing things that are for the good of the country, not just for the good of their own bank accounts.
Posted by: JimmyD | Oct 6, 2009 1:53:18 PM
hadassah weinreb: Yes. That's a very productive solution. Take it to Burning Man.
Posted by: JimmyD | Oct 6, 2009 1:55:24 PM
@Clarknt67-Yes, exactly. The HRC are the enablers of the Democratic Party and should be treated as such by our community.
@JimmyD- I know Andy (which is why I don't want to share too much on this thread) and I have talked with him. To keep it pithy, he thinks that Obama is another Bill Clinton more or less.
Posted by: Chitown Kev | Oct 6, 2009 2:07:41 PM
Another meme that needs correction. Somehow the ideas caught on our issues must step to the side for "more important" stuff. That spendiing time on them replaces or supplants other work.
FACT CHECK: at any given time hundreds of bills are circulating Congress. That's why there are 535 reps. It only takes a few to draft legislation and quietly work behind the scenes to build support. Voting process can last only a few weeks while other issues can be attended to simultaneously.
DO NOT BUY THAT "More important stuff BS." It is a lie used to cover coward's asses, who made promises they have no intention of ever keeping. That's because they care about our votes and money but not our lives.
Posted by: Clarknt67 | Oct 6, 2009 2:07:57 PM
So, here we are less than 8 months into the Obama presidency and we don't have everything we want. Clearly then it must be time to throw a hissy fit and attack this administration.
Not to suggest that pressure should not be put on those in power. It is just that those who are employing the strongest rhetoric against Obama do not seem to be willing to live in the real world regarding how things actually get accomplished in congress and the political
process. Health care reform is huge both in demands on congress and the resources of the White House.
Less than 8 months, people.
Posted by: Bill in SoCal | Oct 6, 2009 2:27:02 PM
Yes, and when nothing happens and nothing changes, people like Bill in Socal are going to be saying, "Less than 15 months, people" and "Less than 18 months, people" and "Less than, oops, 24 months, people." Then it will be time for another congressional election, and how much will this "do nothing" administration that was given a large majority in Congress have accomplished? All you need to do is go back to 1932 and look at how much was accomplished in FDR's "First 100 Days". The problem with this administration and Congress is that these sorry asses are still too worried about what the Teabaggers and other minority of screaming conservatives might say about them.
Posted by: marinerotx | Oct 6, 2009 3:24:36 PM
people are SOOOOOOOO impatient. He hasn't even completed his first of FOUR YEARS... go back to your knitting... it's not an overnight process...
Posted by: Drew | Oct 6, 2009 4:57:52 PM
The usual annoying suspects are absent on this thread....Hmmm, I wonder why.
I'll tell you why. They're conflicted. On the one hand, they would support this guy's assertion that the current leadership is too rich and out-of-touch (i.e. white), but on the other hand, he's protesting the MESSIAH, Barack Obama. What's a politically correct queen to do?
Posted by: jmg | Oct 6, 2009 5:39:42 PM
Are there more important things to deal with? yes. Are there frivolous and unimportant things that are going through congress now? yes. Can you spin DADT/DOMA repeal as defense/healthcare issues? yes, if you're good, and some people are building support by doing just that.
@JimmyD
I think it's not congruent to compare the REPEAL of specific, short lived pieces of legislation (DADT/DOMA) to the ENACTING of solutions to extremely complex and longstanding problems (WAR, healthcare, economy).
Also, I don't remember voting for the HRC to be my queer representatives. The organization regularly wants my $$ but rarely solicits my input in any way. Obama is crafty enough to not touch these issues because he knows they can be really polarizing points that mobilize very conservative voters. It won't be easy to reclaim the message and the conversation around these issues and unless we put his balls to the wall he's not going to put out the effort. I don't see HRC as doing any ball-walling in the future because of past issues of not being too pushy about our civil rights.
Posted by: Matt | Oct 6, 2009 5:44:50 PM
Wow. Things aren't fixed in 20 minutes or less and now we're going to start protesting.
Posted by: jakeinlove | Oct 6, 2009 5:52:04 PM
I think there's a difference between 'protesting' and 'being heard.'
I'm all for getting loud and being heard.
But being loud still needs to have focus. If you're just screaming to scream, without actually saying anything, I think that's counter-productive.
I think everyone needs to raise their voice and make Washington hear us.
There are many who seem to think the President can make thinks happen with the snap of his fingers. I use to think that as well. THERE IS A PROCESS. DADT was not created on a whim. It did go through a process. It will take a process to get rid of it.
I am not a fan of the HRC. Or GLAAD.
But I wasn't a fan of the antics of ACT-UP in the early 90's.
If you don't agree with these groups: TELL THEM. Tell them they don't represent you. I have.
I can't stress this enough:
WRITE AND CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICALS!
In the Senate. In Congress. In the OVAL OFFICE. They work for us and needed to be reminded of that.
And YES: THINGS TAKE TIME.
Posted by: JimmyD | Oct 6, 2009 7:13:37 PM
If Obama was speaking to us, he'd be at the March. He's not. He's speaking to The Safe Gays, the good ones (with money). The ones who "speak for us" without asking.
Per DODT / DOMA, W proved the president can do anything he wants and get away with it, because the Congress is full of brownnosers afraid of loosing their jobs.
Bottom line: Obama hasn't even appointed a special prosecutor to LOOK INTO Bush's high crimes. From my perspective, this president is the previous one's protector--which makes him complicit.
Posted by: UGoAndy | Oct 6, 2009 8:37:22 PM