The Milquetoast Evolution

The day after voters of North Carolina approved an amendment (Amendment 1) which bans same sex marriage, civil unions and some protections for single mothers, the headlines blasted that President Obama supports gay marriage.  My fellow gays, lesbians and our allies cheered with gleeful abandon.  Conservatives had a conniption fit.  All but a few on both sides act as if President Obama came out in full, unequivocal support of marriage equality.

But, in true Milquetoast President fashion, President Obama gave only qualified support for same sex marriage.  Instead of saying, “I personally support the right of same sex couples to marry and I believe the U.S. Constitution does as well”, he said this:

“At a certain point, I've just concluded that-- for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that-- I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. Now-- I have to tell you that part of my hesitation on this has also been I didn't want to nationalize the issue.

… And I continue to believe that this is an issue that is gonna be worked out at the local level, because historically, this has not been a federal issue, what's recognized as a marriage.”

In other words, our Milquetoast President has evolved enough to support same sex marriage, but thinks it is a state’s rights issue and not a civil rights issue.  He doesn’t think that this should be a national issue, but a local and state issue.  This is how the President operates.  He can’t be for something 100%, he has to try and split his support to try and appease everyone.  He could have come out in support of gay marriage before the voters of North Carolina went to the polls, but he didn’t, he waited until the day after and the results were negative.  That’s not leadership, that’s cowardice.

I understand that as President, one has to make compromises on some issues, such as the budget, national security and such.  When it comes to civil rights though, compromise is not an option.  You are either for or against.  There is no fence sitting, as President Obama was previously doing, and there is no attempt to create “separate but equal” constructs such as “civil unions” which leaves a segment of the population as second class citizens.

I understand the desire by my fellow gays and lesbians around the nation and our allies to stand and cheer the President’s “support” of gay marriage.  It’s the desire to believe that the most powerful man in the world supports our equality.  That desire, though, blinds them to the realities of our Milquetoast President and one of those realities is that President Obama will pander just as much as Mr. Romney in order to be reelected.

I thank the President for his evolution in regards to same marriage equality, I just wish it wasn’t such a milquetoast evolution.

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The full transcript and video of President Obama’s interview can be found here.

For further reading, please check out Lyle Denniston’s write up on SCOTUSBlog.

Our Nation Is A Mess

Our nation is a mess.  Our nation's public schools are crumbling.  Our nation's roadways and bridges are falling apart.  Our nation's banks are "too big to fail" and at war with their customers and homeowners.  Our nation's for-profit health care system is a disaster.  Our nation's poor and elderly are under attack as never before.  Our nation's unions are demonized as the source of all our ills and our nation is basically without a leader.  And our nation's elected officials have made pledges that run counter to the Constitution.

Instead of building palaces of learning and fully funding our public schools, we divert precious tax dollars to "charter" schools that can pick their students and to private and parochial schools through "vouchers".  Instead of repairing our cities roadways, replacing bridges and building public transportation we spend billions of tax payer dollars on sports stadiums and entertainment districts.

Instead of breaking up the "too big to fail" banks, we showered them with billions in tax payer funds.  They repaid us by foreclosing on homes they couldn't prove they owned the loans to.  Instead of allowing anyone to purchase into Medicare at cost, we are forced to purchase health care insurance from for-profit corporations.  Instead of expanding our social safety nets that protect our poor and elderly, our elected officials have cut taxes for the wealthy and corporations while destroying the social safety net.

Instead of celebrating the improved working conditions, wages and benefits for their members and non-members, we have elements of our society who wish to blame all of our financial problems on unions and destroy them.  And instead of working toward solutions that benefit all Americans, we have elected officials who have made pledges to Grover Norquist and others that preclude them from honest negotiations and compromise.

Adding to all this we have a president who starts off all negotiations with compromises that mirror what the other side wants.  We have a senate majority leader who couldn't find his spine even if it was placed in front of him.  We also have a Speaker of the House who can't even get 60 members of his own party to do what is right for the country instead of being mired in their hyper ideology.

Our nation is a mess and until we come to a consensus that doing what is right for our nation is better than doing what is politically expedient our nation will continue to be a mess.  I just don't see that happening any time soon.

A Nation Without a Leader

Speaker of the House Boehner has no control over his own fellow Republican congressmen.  Majority Leader Reid has no spine and President Obama prefers that conservatives like him instead of fighting for what's right.  We are a nation without a leader.

Nature abhors a vacuum and our nation's capital is the prime example of that simple rule.  Without true leadership, bad things happen and small groups, such as the "tea party" Republicans, can hold our nation hostage.  Without true leadership our nation can not move forward.  Without true leadership our nation will produce something that will make Japan's "Lost Decade" look like a picnic.

I have made no secret of my disdain for President Obama and his "milquetoast presidency".  His lack of clear and coherent leadership and his desire to start every debate with a compromise that gives the other side all that they want has created a clear and present danger to our nation.  His lack of leadership has allowed 60 "tea party" Republicans in the House of Representatives to fuck with the "full faith and credit" our nation.

Instead of calling in the leadership of both Houses of Congress and demanding a clean "debt ceiling" increase, he only brought in the Republican leadership and offered steep cuts in the social safety net.  This is, of course, President Obama's standard modus operandi: Give the other side everything they want from the start then cry foul when they accept and more.

We need a true leader and I am calling for a primary challenger for President Obama.  One who can not only beat President Obama but also the Republican nominee (whoever that might be) in November, 2012.  But I don't want a Democratic nominee who will be a tool of the right.  I want a Democratic nominee who will fight for Democratic principles of a strong social safety net, sound fiscal policy and equality for all.

Right now, the only person who I believe fits the bill is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  His leadership in getting his state's marriage equality bill onto his desk proves he can get things done.  That is the type of leadership we need.  That is the type of leadership we deserve.   Find me a better candidate and I will vote for them.

Who do you think should be President Obama's primary challenger who can also win in November, 2012?  Put your suggestions into the comments.