STAY HOME IN MASS
1/16/10-by Paula Brooks
As Republican Scott Brown’s surge continues in the days leading up to the Massachusetts Senatorial Special Election, President Obama has finally weighed in on the race to succeed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy…
“Our Fierce Advocate” has put out an impassioned plea for Attorney General Martha Coakley and said his “very important” agenda depends on her getting elected… “They believe that by defeating Martha and by replacing Ted Kennedy with a Republican opponent, that they’ll be in a position to tie up the senate and prevent a vote on health insurance reform, financial reform and other issues so important for working families,” Obama says. “A lot of people don’t even realize there is an election Tuesday. So I need you to put on your walking shoes again.”
During last years Presidential campaign LGBT’s in large number indeed put on their walking shoes for Mr. Obama… because he promised us change… and most importantly he promised us HOPE.
We had Hope, because, when Candidate Obama was courting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters, he said that he would support repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions.
But for right now however… Mary Ritchie, a Massachusetts State Police trooper and lesbian, who has been legally married to her partner in that state for five years… is having to sue President Obama to get access to federal benefits that other married couples automatically receive when they get married in Massachusetts, such as tax benefits, pensions and health insurance.
Ritchie’s says she and her spouse have paid nearly $15,000 more in taxes than they would have if they had been able to file joint returns…. And she would like it back… as would the other dozen plaintiffs joining her in this suit.
Yet Obama’s Department of Justice lawyers say that the federal government needs to be “neutral” with regard to its treatment of married same-sex couples in order to ensure that federal tax money collected from across the country not be used to assist same-sex couples duly married by their home states and are defending the law with court filings in this Massachusetts case that argue, DOMA is constitutional and contended that awarding federal marriage benefits to gays in Massachusetts would infringe on the rights of taxpayers in the 31 states that specifically prohibit same-sex marriages…. And President Obama says he is committed to “the long followed the practice of defending federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality, even if the Department disagrees with a particular statute…” Notwithstanding the fact prior administrations have declined to defend laws in court they did not agree with.
So Mary Ritchie and her family are still light their 15k.
That fifteen grand would have bought more then a few pairs of LGBT walking shoes in Massachusetts to help advance Fierce Advocate Obama’s other… more important… agendas…
Now I don’t live in Massachusetts, but if I did, I would be telling President Obama I would gladly put on my walking shoes again… if he would only show me the money as it were, and do something about getting Mary Ritchie’s $15,000 back to her a little more expedient fashion… like withdrawing his Justice Department defense to Mary’s case… and to stop betraying my hopes for equality at every opportunity he gets.
However until he does… I would be telling every LGBT I know… come Tuesday… they should send Mr. Obama a loud and clear message about his dicking around with our civil rights and STAY HOME IN MASS on Election Day…
Related articles by Zemanta
- Obama Administration Denies Lesbian Spousal Benefits Despite Judge’s Finding (lezgetreal.com)
- State rep: Obama action on gay marriage “disappointing” (seattlepi.com)
- The Top Five Straight Allies in Congress for 2009 (queersunited.blogspot.com)
- Melanie Nathan Calls for Moratorium as US Citizen’s Brazilian same-sex husband denied asylum .. (lezgetreal.com)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=93f68e2b-038a-45a7-a2c5-fe9405d1c8d4)
Loading ...
Amen! Don’t give money to the Dems. Vote for the Repugs — take all Demos out of the picture. It’s time for payback. We got screwed, now it’s time to give it back.
Obama is weak, his administration is undisciplined when it comes to LGBT issues. Personally, I’ve dropped out. I would rather have no hope under a nut like Bush that false hope like Obama offers.
I am not saying vote for the repugs… I am just saying we should stay home and vote for no one in this election…. that is unless Fierce Advocate doesn’t specifically do something about Mary’s law suit and his defense of DOMA in that law suit before Tuesday.
Gays need to vote and vote for Scott. If they stay home, SEIU and ACORN will cast their vote for them, unbeknown to them. Better to express your opinion than not.
Stay home hell! this Mass gay man will be putting on his walking shoes and will go vote for the hottie and awesome Scott Brown. I will NEVER trust Obama again. Not one iota. Not a dime more to the Democrats. Let me see one one hand we’ve got an upfront babe Brown, on the other a defender of a child rapist and the pompous, bloated widbag Bawhney Fwrank. No contest. Besides it would not hurt one bit to make a few friends and political allies on the other side. Actually its smart., Its stupid for gay people to continually pull the lever for a party that takes the gay constituency FOR GRANTED. Barack Obama REFUSED for years to walk in any gay pride parade in Chicago. He is a liar. We need to send a strong message. Dumping the “Kennedy seat” will shake, rattle and spook every Democartic politician to the bone. And I will be delighted to tell that to Barney’s face the next time he calls and asks for a campaign donation.
I also dont thinh holding money back from dems is going to help at all. Without dems we are mince meat. Even though we have been severley under served in this admin so far, cutting our noses off to spite our faces is not going to accomplish anything and will revert us back to the BUSH,,,, (of the G.W. kind) Look at the Republicans – they dont give a sht what their admin does , they just stick togethere no matter what. Such is the power of the ignorant. Dems and progressives tend to us their brains and they tend to have intellect (Iknow I am generalizing) and that accounts for the questioning of our own reps and admin. This is imperative, but we cannot abandon ship its suicide. We have to find other ways. In South Africa there were bus boycotts and stay at homes from work on designated days and it was powerful. However there the oppressed were a majority and so the numbers truly counted. But imagine if every single State, Fed and private sector employee who was gay or gay friendly stayed home from work on one designated day – ? We called call it DOMA DAY and ALL STAY HOME…. regardless of who what where and how. Sheez I like that idea. The publicity would be huge. It could be sick leave, vacation leave whatever. Paula we agree on almost everything, but we definately need to still vote Dem, We should however find creative and productive ways to protest. We need to build our numbers in the Senate and Congress – and we need to start adding progressives. What do you think?
NO Mel what we need to do is send a message to President Obama… we still have power and if he won’t do for us… then we wont do for him
Mel I know Equal Immigration is near and dear to your heart…. well yesterday he did something for Haitians… with the stroke of his pen… that he could just as easily done for LGBT’s with bi-national partners as well…. and end their deportations too…
with the stroke of his pen… he could put an end to the DADT discharges under his authority as a war time commander in chief…
with the stroke of his pen… he could end the Defense of the DOMA suits and honor the judges order in California that the OPM give legally married same-sex employees of the court… equality access to the benefits everyone else gets
he has that power… but he WILL NOT use it for us.
And your statement that we definitely need to still vote Dem, is just what they expect you would say as an LGBT… but when the rubber meets the road and after you have vote one more time for the Dems…. they will just once again forget who we are.
We LGBT’s need to say in this election if you are not going to support us and our families… too bad about your messed up- watered down health care bill going down the toilet Barack…. it is all these types understand.
STOP! THIS IS NOT ALL OBAMA’s FAULT! HE IS NOT A TOTALITARIAN DICTATOR! If you stay home in MA, another Republican will take office in the Senate and the quagmire will deepen. It will after 2010 mid term elections anyway – most likely. Unless democrats WAKE UP and continue to support change, everything we have worked for will halt – FOR YEARS! We do not need another George Bush. And yes, Obama has not done everything that he said – tell him (but not by voting for a Republican!). Tell him by marching! Write letters! Make phone calls to your representatives. If we stop putting pressure on the right, the Republicans will arise again. Vote against the Republicans!
Bryan Reinhard… you have truly drunk the cool-aid haven’t you?
But lets be clear about Obama’s record… it is not that has not done everything that he said… it is in fact he has done nothing he has said he would, and in fact he has done just the opposite and has defended DOMA in court….
so unless there is a new development on the DOMA defense before Tuesday… let there be gridlock… this will the price of Obama’s betrayal… and it will a message to the democrats that we as a community have had enough of their bait and switch tactics when it comes to our rights
What exactly does CHANGE mean?
Obama has signed Federal Hate Crimes Legislation that a Republican administration would have vetoed, he will also sign the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, if Republicans do not block its passage. I’m fairly confident he will also be able to repeal DADT this year. He has been vocal about benefits to LGBT Federal Employees even advocating their benefits by decree, though some in the right wing of our courts are still holding onto DOMA and blocking our rights. He is also bringing our families into the dialgoue. And while LGBT Americans mentioned at innauguration, the Easter Egg roll and a meeting of gay and lesbian leaders is “token” – it is still good exposure for our movement. Not a quite a camera in a Federal Court telling our story, but an executive that recognizes that we exist! Far less than a Republican would do. Yes he could do more – a lot more. My frustrations with an unjust immigration system keeping me separate from my bi-national partner and the lack of the UAFA in the House Comprehensive Immigration for a start – but, again, allowing a Republican senator to take Senator Kennedy’s seat because he hasn’t done everything in one year for our movement is shameful. Yes, I have drunk the Kool-aid. In fact, I love Kool-aid way more than Republican poison.
I understand and agree there is a lot of merit in Paula’s strategy. Because it seems that the LGBT community has been used and abused and if we cannot get Obama to change DOMA after assisting his campaign and despite his promises, maybe we have to hit harder and this would hit hard. Another point in favor of Paula’s argument is if even OBAMA wont do it, then wtf – no one ever will so what does it matter from an LGBT perspective who is at the wheels of the admin.
However I think MASS is a critical seat that we cannot lose. In fact it may be a seat where the Senator would sponsor UAFA, Repeal of DOMA etc. I think we should go like bats out of hell, the opposite and show our muscle in voting DEM for MASS. The bigger point, but not one which motivates my dissent from Paula on this, is people look for any excuse to blame the gays. I would rather be blamed for electing the Dem than be blamed for a losing DEM. HOWEVER, that does not make Obama’s failure in our eyes remotely acceptable. I think we need to come up with a solid and purposeful strategy to down DOMA. Part of the problem is our own organizations failing to get behind Ralph NAdler. Also the idea of piecemeal legislation as not done us any good. Imagine if in South Sfrica they took apartheid and kept it, but strated freeing up a few restrictions. Same thing. Paula we disagree here, I ove your passion and you are an amazing voice in LGBT politics. So your opinion is valued. Keep us on our toes. I think mass stay aways is a threat that Obama may already feel. Lets see.
Bryan Reinhard… Obama simply signed a defense reauthorization bill that the cowardly Democratic Senate attached the Federal Hate Crimes Bill to…
I have seen who he is bringing our families into the dialgoue… by inviting us to an easter egg hunt… while yesterday he did something for Haitians… with the stroke of his pen… that he could just as easily done for you and your with bi-national partner as well…. and ended the deportations and let you reunite… something he could do today with a stroke of that same pen….
We want or rights…. no more excuses… and no more kool-aid drinking pink cloud BS…. now is the time to say… End the DOMA defense TODAY and begin keeping the rest of of your promises to the LGBT community or we stay home Tuesday
DADT will not be repealed for a long time. Military barracks have communal bath showers and diseases are easily passed that way. Homosexual men have high infection rates for STDs, remember what AIDS did?
The Armed Forces comes primarily from Conservative upbringings and it is going to create a lot of hell if what goes on in the streets of San Francisco happens in the Communal Showers. The Military votes about 60-80 percent for the more conservative Candidate in National Elections.
You also have the problem of Discipline. If there is even a hint of a gay officer or non-com abusing his power or trading favors for sex, and in a war zone, that officer or non-com will not have the absolute trust of those under his command which can get good people room temp. The easiest way to prevent that trust from every breaking down is to have heterosexual men leading heterosexual men.
when you get sober. we can talk.
You are telling MA residents to not vote a pro marriage equality woman into the Senate? Wow. Let alone, yes, health care reform and jobs creation matters and require support from the future MA Sen. But, as a dyke, I quite adamantly plan to do everything possible to get Coakley, an active pro-LGBT rights advocate, into the Senate.
Yeah Nena… and what are you going to get after get that “active pro-LGBT rights advocate”, into the Senate….. except put up with more more Democratic spinelessness in relation to those LGBT rights and live with that betrayal of womens rights called a health care reform bill… which benefits no one except the big insurance companies, the Catholic Bishops and those same spineless Dems if you don’t stand your ground NOW?
Their track record says… you do for them before the election… and they say who are you? after the election ….
You have power the NOW, because they need you NOW … tell them to put up or you will stay home Tuesday…
Nena I will ask you… what would be the harm in telling the Dems just that… and see what they have to tell you… BEFORE you hit the bricks one more time for them?
she’s mouthing you. she will do as she’s told if elected. She’s not as pro as you think.
Well, you know, there is the fact that she was pro-LGBT rights before becoming MA AG. And then, once that election was over, she sued the federal government over DOMA. So, in fact, reality points to her continuing to be a strong advocate post-elections. Failing to elect such a strong pro-LGBT candidate doesn’t make the LGBT community look politically powerful. Analysis will show all the other reasons the election was lost. In fact, our failure to elect pro-equality candidates into high offices is much more a striking representation of what power we can or cannot wield. (i.e. If we always had the power to elect pro-LGBT Senators, and used that power smartly, we’d be in a much different world right now.) Also, I’d like 30+ million more Americans to have health coverage, including many LGBT individuals. So I guess I just care more about tangible outcomes than throwing a fit no on else is paying any attention to.
Nena–one of the biggest hoaxes around is that the Democrats give a rat’s a$$ about LGBT rights. They don’t. They will say anything pre-election, when talk and promises are cheap, to get our vote; but once elected–”oh, sorry. My heart’s in the right place but my hands are tied.” Are you old enough to remember the excitement–bordering on hysteria–in the LGBT community over Bill Clinton’s campaign for President in 1992? He was going to fight for gay rights in the military and we were all on Cloud 9–finally, someone cared about us! And we worked hard to help elect him and what that got us was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In other words, “sit quietly in your closet so you don’t embarrass us and we can continue to pretend you don’t exist.” And in the 18 years since then, as homosexuality has become far more of a non-issue to most people, LGBT rights have not advanced much. What ever makes you think a lock-step Democrat like Coakley will do anything for LGBT rights? This is a woman who refused to prosecute a man who RAPED HIS 2-YR-OLD NIECE WITH A HOT CURLING IRON because the man’s father was a union boss who was supporting her bid for Mass. Attorney General. WTF? This woman is a monster who should be in prison–along with the rapist who was put there by her successor, not by her–NOT in the US Senate.
It’s time to wake up and stop drinking the kool-aide! For starters, I recommend reading an excellent blog called HillBuzz (http://hillbuzz.org) written by a group of gay guys in Chicago who are rabid Hillary Clinton supporters. They are former Democrats who give a very clear analysis of how the Democrat party has shafted the LGBT community and will continue to do so. Go there with an open mind and learn something. Martha Coakley is no friend to LGBTs. An “active pro-LGBT rights advocate”? As demonstrated by what, exactly? She will give fawning obeisance to the socialist triumvirate of Obama-Reid-Pelosi and do precisely what they tell her to do. Revoking the Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will not be on the list. If you can’t bring yourself to vote for Scott Brown, who is BY FAR the better choice, then yeah, stay home.
Paula, this is my first visit to your blog, and I applaud your efforts to get our LGBT community to open their eyes and do some honest thinking about what knee-jerk liberalism has done for us–which is nothing. When I came out as a lesbian in 1972 (yeah, I’m THAT old), it was universally accepted in the gay community that of course you had to be a Democrat because they were the enlightened ones who recognized and appreciated our value as good people and who would help us as gays and help women in general achieve first-class citizenship status. Thirty-eight years later I’m still waiting. It’s way past time for the LGBT community to stop automatically pulling the Democrat lever. Instead, we need to look critically at a candidate’s actions, not believe empty campaign rhetoric, and demand results before giving him or her our allegiance.
Interesting Tundra that you should post here as i begin to do so. I have been a HillBuzz regular from the get go and post regularly there. Nice to see you.
and lose Coakley’s voice as our representative in the Senate. This, a knee jerk response that plays right into the hands of the right wing. Don’t advocate for the right.
Bryan Reinhard…. You have power the NOW, because Obama and the Dems need you NOW … tell them to put up or you will stay home Tuesday…
I am not advocating for the right… I am telling you we have three days to show our power and to MAKE the Dems finally do something real for us NOW.
Dude… you need to find your backbone… because it appears to me you have misplaced it
She will not be your voice. she will be the voice of the party establishment and apparatchik.
Paula,
I couldn’t agree with you more. The President has no excuse whatsoever for his failure to advance the rights of the LGBT community. I question the motives or veracity of anyone who gives him or the Dems any excuse. What’s happened this past year is a disgrace. I still hope for change, but neither the democrats nor the republicans will ever get my vote again unless they earn it big time! Even if the Uniting American Families Act passes for instance, or if DOMA is repealed, I still have years to wait before I can live like a human being with the person I love. Obama’s lack of honesty has already destroyed American LGBT families. NO EXCUSES!! NO EXCUSES!!
I’ll show you; I’ll hurt me!
QueerjohnPA… you need to lay off the Obama kool-aid too…. and look at the true picture and record of what the Dems have done for us in the last year… then you need to get a back bone and stand up for OUR specific interests, just like every other group does for once.
Now is the time to say… End the DOMA defense TODAY and begin keeping the rest of of your promises to the LGBT community or we stay home Tuesday… and tell others to do the same…. and that betrayal of womens rights you call a health care reform bill… which benefits no one except the big insurance companies, Catholic Bishops and spineless, fast taking presidents… will die a well deserved death…
Because after Tuesday, we won’t have another opportunity like this or have this kind of muscle in the cause of advancing our rights for very long time if we don’t stand up in Mass and play hard ball politics NOW
John I will also ask you… what would be the harm in telling the Dems just that… and see what they have to offer us in return… BEFORE we hit the bricks one more time for them… and get betrayed yet again?
How can establishing a gay voice in the republican party hurt? It would help moderate their response to the issues. Divide and conquer. Stop being a “me to” and start thinking smarter.
Yup, fierce advocate my ass. Obama has taken the gay vote for granted and needs to be shown that he cannot.
The gay community forgets that it has power now. That power needs to be used strategically. We need to show how we want things to go and what we will do if they don’t go our way. We need to be a worry when policy is being made, and when legislation is being prioritised. It’s ONE seat. Use a “guaranteed” democrat seat to show the dems they don’t have our vote without us having their support.
Two way street, DNC. We voted for “Change”.
Yes I admire your stance and the fact that you are prepared to play the game the way it is played against us; I know nothing about the Campaign, so I am ready to concede. However I cant stop thinking that its Kennedy’s seat and he was such a true friend. I am wondering though where we can really hit the blow. But now that I think about my family and the pain we are all going through with our relatinships on trial in a Federal Court Room, I think maybe we should be the minority that brings healthcare down!
Mel you are not getting what I am saying … I don’t propose we just blindly subvert the election because we are pissed off… I am saying the dynamic in this race has changed to such a degree that we are in a position to make some demands and place some conditions for our support,,,
NO one needs to lose a thing… excepting they don’t want to do a deal with us… and from what I am seeing lately… doing deals is what Obama does best….
Okay I get it, but how do you plan on doing that with mere hours to go.
Ted Kennedy for years slapped the make on every waitress and barmaid in three states. He was a incorrigible alcoholic and a serial sexual predator. A little known fact that is well documented. He benefitted because sheeple continue to pull the Democartic lever for him without becoming informed. He was the epitome of a self serving, narcisist in the “Fernando Lamas/Billy Crystal” mould. “I look marvelous”. well he wasn’t quite all that. the seat needs to get aired out and turned back to the people.
I”m from Chicago. As such i was privvy to the fact that no one know who that idiot Obama was until he ran for the Senate
That means he rocked no boats while being entrenched in the Glorious Machine of the Cook County Democratic Party. This Party that you all think is so honorable.
He did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING while in Illinois. He certainly was not that Axlerod Rasputin creation that emerged in 2007 to run for President. Mr Hope and Change and Post-Racial this and Post-Partisan that.. and Mr Bright Idea and Mr Bridge Building golden tongued orator and most of all NOT Mr Ethics or Mr Honesty.
HAH
He’s a typical arrogant lying Chicago Democrat.. anyone with critical thinking skills was able to discern this.
Those who believed in him had absolutely no basis to do so. They should be apologizing to the rest of the country.
Aside from the fact that many gay people in Chicago know that he was DL and spent time at Man’s Country.
no, you need to get out and vote for Scott. If you stay at home, ACORN workers and union members will vote for you, whether you like it or not or even know it or not. Don’t underestimate the voter fraud that will go on. You know in your heart that is true
He doesn’t care about LGBT Community. He just wanted your vote. He is a master liar. Sorry you fell for it. Don’t hold your breath. There will be no equality and no $15,000. Not every gay person fell for his pack of lies. Stop being a political party whore. It’s gettin’ you in trouble. Vote for the person not the party. Party voting is so yesterday.
Its fine for you to think that but party ios party when they vote in lockstep regardless of the issue. So sotsf it seems as if the party does indeed count.
Paula Brooks said….”But lets be clear about Obama’s record… it is not that has not done everything that he said… it is in fact he has done nothing he has said he would, and in fact he has done just the opposite and has defended DOMA in court….”
You took the words right out of my mouth!!! I’m tired of this telling me one thing then leaving me out to dry. I will vote Repub come Tuesday, and will feel real good and justified about it!!! nuff said.
Right now, I believe that the concern should be for country as a whole, not just the gay/lesbian segment of the population. The fight for gay/lesbian equal rights is for another battle which will come soon enough. I congratulate you on your decision to vote for what’s best for the country at this time.
Wheres Waldo – Tell me – do you have spouse who is not allowed to enter the USA? Some writing BLOG comments do!
Scott Brown is determined that Massachusetts vot on gay marriage, his website says this:
Marriage
I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. States should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people’s will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.
Reading between the lines it is clear he wants a vote on marriage reflecting the “people’s will” Maine and California have shown the voters won’t vote for gay marriage. If Coakley is not elected Mass. will lose the right to marry
Ah no you wont… Brown will be in the Senate… not the state house
So his position is EXACTLY the same as Barack Obama’s!!! Hell even Dick Cheney has a more liberal position on gay rights than Barack.
Having been a PFLAGer since before the inception of the group and a loyal, active Dem for 35 years, until I went indy on June 1, 2008, after that antidemocratic sham of an RBC meeting, it’s no surprise to me that Pres. Caucus Cheater I Believe Marriage Is Between a Man and a Woman wasn’t going to lift a finger for gay rights. Frankly, I think the State has no business sticking its claws into marriage, and that ALL unions should be civil and ALL consenting adults should be licensed and have spousal rights. Leave “marriage” to the “religious” institutions. But I digress.
I can tell you from my travels as a PUMA/Indy (and yes, I experienced the ACORN-SEIU caucus thuggery and cheating firsthand; it’s no myth, whether you care or not to investigate it), lo the past year plus, that there are hordes of Repubs & conservatives that actually support gay & lesbian rights. You’d be shocked–shocked!–to discover that, as I was, having been previously entrenched in the uberpartisan rut I’d dug for myself. And if you think it was Mormons who screwed things up in CA, you have another think coming. A little research on the WWW will show, as I’d predicted beforehand (common sense), that it was first-time-voter conservative (i.e., homophobic) blacks in Cali who stuck it to you. Thanks, Pres. Utopia!
You can vote for lockstepper Coakley and by doing so kiss the azz of the One who LIED to you, or just stay home and stick it back. Brown seems like a pretty reasonable guy to me and, at worst, he holds the same Between a Man and a Woman b.s. view as the Prez.
Please, stay the frig home. Hold your ground and thus gain more by doing so! Or, reward the liar and repent at unwedded leisure.
Right ON!!
I’d like to add: BOTH PARTIES ARE FILLED WITH SELF-SERVING PRICKS. Go Indy!
As a gay man who is not enamored with the Democratic party, nor all that happy with the vocal few in the gay community who purportedly speak for the many, I am not going to refer to the Republicans as Repugs because that is simply silly leftist name-calling, unless you would accept me referring to the Democrats and Dimwitcrats. I will go past the gay identity and actually vote for what I consider to be what’s best for the majority in this country. Lower taxes, and less spending is good for EVERYONE, not just those who espouse that view. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be reading a column here about someone who is complaining about having to pay more taxes because they are listed as a single person on their tax returns. Welcome to my world. The issue is really not one about marriage, but about why the government feels that it can discriminate through tax policy against single people. It’s been going on far too long. As for gay marriage, not all gay people support that idea, either. I don’t have a problem with laws enacted to allow for gay unions that have the same protections as straight marriages. But for whatever reason, many (how many I do not know) are stuck on the word marriage. Well, it’s true. The word marriage has been defined as a legal union between a man and a woman for ages. That’s the definition.
Please coin a new word that represents the legal union of same sex spouses, and then move on. The argument is then framed differently. As for the comment about supporting the “right”, since when does anyone with a brain need to be kowtowed into voting for anyone? I dislike the left and its nanny state policies more so than the right which actually espouses the ideals of personal responsibility. I’ve been a solid Democrat since my first votes in 1980 against Ronald Reagan. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that Ronald Reagan was actually a pretty good president in terms of many of his policies. I also liked Bill Clinton very much. George Bush has gained some respect from me, especially since Obama has become president. As what the person above from Chicago wrote, Obama was a nobody with basically no history. Hillary was my choice, and I am so sorry that she did not gain the Democratic nomination. It forced me to vote Republican for the very first time in my life, and every day that goes by with the Obama administration validates my reasons for doing so. I now will continue to vote country over party.
Thank you for thinking this through!
By the way, if I were in Taxachusetts, I’d be voting for Scott Brown. Martha Coakley has a record that people can discern, and it’s not exactly a good one. She doesn’t deserve to be elected, and I don’t base that on her gender, either. I have no problem with females. As I mentioned before, I wanted Hillary Clinton for our president. With Scott Brown, you will get someone who will stop Obamacare, and other big spending, but with little results Democratic bills that will only harm the economy, and hurt your incomes. Do you all want increases of 80% on your electric bills? How about $6.00 dollar plus gasoline pricing? How about higher costs for everything from food, clothes, and other consumables since those prices will rise as energy costs rise? The cap and trade bill will give you that. That’s such a nice gift from the Democrats, especially since inflation is starting to rear its ugly head due to the current policies enacted by the Obama administration. I remember 19% interest rates on my very first car loan under Jimmy Carter’s administration. Expect similar or worse before the end of the Obama administration. If Democrats, as I used to believe, fight for the little guy, then they certainly have a strange way of showing it. Bill Clinton was a decent Democratic president, and the economy relfected that. He may not have been the purist that many leftists preferred, but by working with the Republican congress (that was still trying to derail him even though Bill was just too smart for them), and enacting mostly sane policies, the 1990’s were pretty good for many Americans. Yes, some people continued to hurt, but if you want policies that try to have everyone on the same level, then move to Cuba and enjoy their communist system. I’m sure that you will have second thoughts about such a belief afterwards.
I am sad to read this. I didn’t know that same sex couple were still being discriminated against in the tax code.
I don’t know if you know this, but many MANY conservatives who don’t believe in gay marriage, believe STRONGLY in civil unions, and support equal rights of insurance and taxation for those unions on exact equal par with marriage.
So while we may not agree on all issues, we may have a lot more in common than the extreme pundits would want us to believe.
Thank you for opening my eyes on this issue.
Opus #6… yeah I know there are… my father is a retired Air Force General… and can be pretty conservative most of the time…. to say the least.
But I have twins girls and he firmly believes I should have equal protections for his grand daughters
Paula, that is the part that is surprising me the most. There IS gay marriage in Massachusetts. And there still are not equal protections. I would back equal protections for same sex unions ANY day.
Martha COakley is a STRONG LGBT ADVOCATE. Not voting for her is just stupid. She’s suing the federal govt for recognition of MA same-sex marriages and is a strong supporter of ENDA and the trans nondiscrimination bill in MA. Why the hell would we withhold our support for her. This blog is nuts.
Thomas…. If Coakley is such a strong supporter… then she should tell Obama… hey the gays are staying home… unless you drop the defense against my law suit against you…
But you do what you want … and I can not help it if you have no spine…. but this blog is not nuts… and it is not just another cool-aid drinking Obama-queer blog… is it however trying to send a message loud and clear to Obama and the DNC that it will cost them dearly if they don’t live up to their promises from this point on.
I would be remiss if i did not pass this along. A friend who is a binational UAFA advocate wrote to Martha Coakley re UAFA here is the response:-
“Thank you for your email, and for sharing your story with the campaign. While Martha has not yet had the opportunity to take a stand on the Uniting America’s Families Act, we can assure you that she will be an advocate for the issues that impact your family. As you likely know, as Attorney General, Martha has been a national leader in defending same-sex couples and their right to marriage. She was the only Attorney General in the country to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, which unfairly excludes married same-sex couples and their families from critically important rights and protections. As Senator, she will continue this support, and will work to ensure full marriage equality for all Americans.
Again, thank you for your thoughtful email. Please remember to vote this coming Tuesday!
Cordially,
The Martha Coakley Committee for U.S. Senate
all he does is lie watch him in actio here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfu1_Scgyow
Paula,
I disagree.with what you’re advocating.
In 1994 African American Texans were angry about some minor policy differences with then Governor Ann Richards and sat at home while the energized conservative base came out in droves.
The result? We ended up with Goerge W Bush as our governor and losing every progressive African American and Latino judge in our state judicial system. It also set the stage for Junior’s climb to the White House.
I note that only WHITE GLONBT people across the nation are the ones screaming this ’stay at home’ BS forgetting the fact that the Dems have only had control of congress and the white house since January 20, 2009.
And it’s easy for you white GLBT peeps to scream ‘I’ll stay home’ or presume because of white privilege you have more power than you think you do because no matter what happens, you benefit.
Minority GLBT people don’t have that luxury. Republican policies are consistently hostile to people of color.
can believe that White LGBT people can be so stupidly myopic that they would sit at home and potentially allow the election of a Republican that doesn’t give a crap about them.
But then again, yes I can.
Monica Roberts... this has nothing to do with race… and everything to do with keeping your promises….. Are you saying because our president is Black he is above keeping promises? I am looking pass his color and am expecting him to be a man of his word… I am to assume that you infer by your claiming Black Privilege Mr Obama can be dishonorable? Or are you saying that because President Obama is black is somehow above accountability?
You are also wrong about when the Dem got control of congress … it was 2007 when they got control of the House and they still have not gotten it together on LGBT rights issues… even with a Dem president in office and a super majority in the Senate for over a year now.
I am holding President Obama AND the Democratic Congress to the very same standard that I held Hilary Clinton to in 2008… and because of her well documented history on LGBT rights… I did not vote for her, even thought as a woman, I would have dearly loved to finally see a woman President.
I am also deaf… so I know a few things about challenges and discrimination too… Probably more then you do as a Black person… because as a person with a disability and an LGBT I get it from all sides and from all races… hell it was Ted Kennedy who pushed the ADA through and made it so I am not totally excluded from American life, as I would have been before the ADA was law… but even with the ADA life still aint no bed of roses for me and I have to work twice as hard because of my disability.
But that is not even the point of the whole call to stay home… this is only about the President AND the Dems not honoring promises made to the community and sending them a message that there are consequences for not doing so…. and it was not an easy message for me to put out, because I completely understand what a loss for Coakley means to LGBT’s of all races… and disability status… in the short term. This call is about ACCOUNTABILITY.
And I think you even saying something like this was just as racist as some of the birthers we have had come through here… If you have not noticed Republican policies are as consistently hostile to LGBTs and people with disabilities as they are people of color… so you have no legitimate exclusivity or claim on hardship. Furthermore, your comment has just played into the hands of every birther, race baiter and fear monger out there… You should be ashamed of your self for having made it!!!!!
Actually. if you wanted to be productive, a little prostelitizing in the California black community by black gays may have insured the defeat of Prop 8. But most black folk in that state, despite the record turnout for Barack Obama, voted for it. So Obama carried the state by a large majority and Prop 8 passed by the slimmest margin, no thanks to the black community. Most black straights are still very baptist oriented and quite anti-gay. So really? Who is myopic?
Oh girl, u just goin’ down the tubes. Put that Obama hatorade down now! Stop drinkin’ it chile you’re losing your mind—–and your looks.
Had to give you some blog luv Miss Paula: http://renwl.org/news/lgbt-rights/when-gay-resentment-against-obama-gets-beyond-toxic
Mel they are going to blame us no matter what happens…. if we help and they lose because of the fucked up arrogant campaign Coakley has run… then they will say one of the reasons they lost, was their close association to LGBT’ issues that cost them the election….
Nevertheless, now is the time to say… End the DOMA defense TODAY and begin keeping the rest of of your promises to the LGBT community or we stay home Tuesday… Because after Tuesday, we won’t have another opportunity like this or have this kind of muscle in the cause of advancing our rights for very long time if we don’t stand up in Mass and engage in hard ball politics NOW
I’m gay, though not a Leftist.. and I just shake my head at the narcissism of political activists like yourself. (I dont say that to be rude… just being direct)
The Democrats are driving the country into insolvency,a currency destroying spending nightmare. They are driving all governments into bankruptcy… do you really think the voters, in total, give a crap about your special interest?
As someone who understands what you want to achieve but who isn’t so involved in fighting for it, let me tell you.. you would be better off advancing the issues if you backed off … this country is so angry right now about the insanity in Washington that I think trying to force yet another Leftist policy change that is generally unpopular is just totally misreading the political environment.
everyone i talk to talks in terms of the country not even being sustainable in a few years.. no gives a crap about DOMA.
Reading more of the comments and listening to Sunday TV – it seems gay vote or not Martha may go down. If she doesgo down anyway on her merits and they blame it on gay boycott – I am fine with that because in my own desperation and in effect maybe a bit of muscle is what we need in the big scheme of things. Paula I commend you your guts in putting this out there – brings this conversation into the open and it is in thi instance that we can start to rally so that we can find our real power as a movement. Yo rock, mel
VinceP1974 ,,, In case you were a sleep for the last 10 years it was the Republicans who drove the country into insolvency… by starting wars then barrowing the money from China to pay for them.
Everybody has their agenda…you teabaggers hate that a blackman is president….
I have been a good and faithfully follower… and have been betrayed on every opportunity by Obama and that is what has me very angry
>VinceP1974 ,,, In case you were a sleep for the last 10 years it was the Republicans who drove the country into insolvency… by starting wars then barrowing the money from China to pay for them
The debt and deficit hadn’t reach levels of true, crisis-proportion concern before 2008. There was absolutely no forecast that predicted trillion dollar deficits to last for a decade.
In fact , before the deliberate destruction of the banking system… the last GOP Congress budget defict was “only” $160 Billion
Year Federal Deficit-fed
2000 -236.24
2001 -128.24
2002 157.75
2003 377.59
2004 412.73
2005 318.34
2006 248.19 * Dems elected
2007 160.70 * Last GOP Budget
2008 458.55
2009 1841.19
2010 1258.44
I studied the economic collapse very thoroughly … you are doing NOTHING but chanting ignorant , baseless political cliches. The war debt was no factor in the current concern about the future solvency of the Federal Govt
And , really, where do you Democrats get off acting you’re actually concerned about what debt accrued before 2006… the spending going on now is worse in so many ways.
In fact the only thing that is lamented by leftists is that they weren’t the ones doing the spending (until 2007 of course)
So spare us the ignorant finger pointing and then your disgusting defamation and stereotyping.
I dare say the Leftists are obsessed with their Identity Politics and their race-oriented point of view.
And how do you know what I do with my balls? A bit presumptuous i think, bigot.
Now that I lashed out defensively at you.. let me offer you this …
The entire political class has betrayed the people of this country. The Republicans betrayed their people and the Democrats theirs.
What we need to be the faithful follower of is the US Constitution and the principles that founded the Republic.
According to you that’s racism.
And you think people are going to be open to be persuaded to agree to your wish list of changes to the law. The hate and contempt that the political Left has towards others has been well noticed. People aint afraid of ur name calling any more.
Actually, George Bush did indeed change a surplus into a deficit, but Obama is doing soooo much worse. So the argument about Republicans is simply moot. Obama’s big money attempts to alleviate a problem are falling flat on their faces. There needs to be some sanity in economic policy coming from the White House right now, and all we get is “Democrats Gone Wild”.
Don’t miss asigning some blame to the Democrats on Freddie Mae and Fanny Mac. Barney went to the mat to get those risky loans made available by the banks. That was the primary cause for the recession. The wars didn’t help. But BOTH parties are responsible for the financial mess.
Actually. It had more to do with the Clinton administration removing regulations for loan modifications on Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae than anything else. Barney Frank was the biggest culprit. Good ole stoned Barney.
VinceP1974… I completely agree with you about both parties betraying their bases….
But you need to know,if you don’t already… Bush came in with a surplus… he left with a deficit… and if he did not like the deficit spending that was going on he could have at anytime vetoed those budgets… and saying the war debt was no factor in the current concern about the future solvency of the Federal Govt is simply you parroting a conservative distortion of the facts…. you can not spend that kind of money and not have it impact the economy.
As for Identity politics… your side also plays quite a few of those too… You Identify with the White Christian Male point of view almost to the exclusion of any other position and anyone who is not a cool-aid drinking teabagger sees that… And as for what a group of borderline white supremacists says the Constitution says and what it really says is always two entirely different things.
No… I don’t support you or Mr Brown… or many of your or his positions for that matter… what I am doing is sending a loud and clear message to the Dems… the days of assuming they automatically have my gay vote are over and that they need to stop fucking with their loyal base… and if it means giving Ted Kennedy’s seat to Brown for them to learn that lesson… so be it….
I look at it this way… there are a lot of parallels between Coakley’s arrogant assumptions she had the base vote locked up and Obama thinking he also has a total lock on the gay vote… But if Coakley should go down Tuesday… Maybe by the rest of the 2010 elections the DNC will get it…. and know they have to start honoring the promises they made in the 2008 election to their base or they will face more revolts from their own ranks if they don’t.
Get over yourself, spaceghoti. My political beliefs are being shaped by what I see around me. You can go spout your orthodoxy and get nothing in return for it. I’ll support what I believe is best for everyone, not just you and your singleminded friends.
spaceghoti… I am a Howard Dean Dem… who is sick of the sell out of the Progressive base
Definitely not a Howard Dean democrat here, but just a centrist democrat who sees that the Obama administration is simply not good for anyone at this time. I believe that political orthodoxy doesn’t allow one to adjust his or her beliefs to changing times. I prefer to make up my mind based on current political realities and how these realities will affect the country as a whole.
That kind of reply is not helpful…. and you know it.. stop with the fucking paranoid birther shit already
Waldo again I will disagree.. as I see that Obama is making the same mistake FDR did and is not putting enough resources into the recovery… all while he continues to spend the big bucks in Iraq like GW did…
But what we need is not hand outs to the big city pols… but good programs that benefit our infrastructure … like Eisenhower’s Interstates or the TVA… a good high speed passenger rail system, would be a capitol idea…. it would put people to work… save energy in the long run… and get us away from our overseas oil dependence… and provide a focused effort the people could see…
Right now everything all so helter skelter
I’m not fond of either Bush, Pappy or Junior, but one thing people seem to forget are the costs associated with the 9/11 massacres AND the fact that hedge-fund operator George Soros manipulated the markets in Sept. 2008 (just as he did in the past in the UK), which added to the problem of Repub overspending. Rep. Kanjorski (D-PA) had a YouTube video up over a year ago (since scrubbed), and he spoke about the crash of Sept. 2008. You can be sure billionaire Soros had his hand in this, both for political reasons and self-aggrandizement, as he admitted making a killing from this crash. Soros, Goldman-Sachs, the non-fed Fed Reserve…all thieves.
The Capital Markets Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, Democrat of Pennsylvania, tells C-Span how the world economy almost collapsed in a matter of hours.
At 2 minutes, 20 seconds into this C-Span video clip, Kanjorski reports on a “tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the United States, to the tune of $550 billion dollars.” According to Kanjorski, this electronic transfer occured over the period of an hour or two.
Kanjorski: “The Treasury opened its window to help. They pumped a hundred and five billion dollars into the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide. We were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts, and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn’t be further panic and there. And that’s what actually happened. If they had not done that their estimation was that by two o’clock that afternoon, five-and-a-half trillion dollars would have been drawn out of the money market system of the United States, would have collapsed the entire economy of the United States, and within 24 hours the world economy would have collapsed.”
“It would have been the end of our political system and our economic systems as we know it.”
Mel… I know you have a phone…. I propose we simply call MS Coakley and tell her what we want for our support…. I know just as soon as my ASL translator gets here I plan to do just that… and if she rejects what I have to say … well my next call will be to Mr Brown.
Opus #6 the fact the marriage equality in Massachusetts is the law… yet Mr Obama is using his Justice department to deny those legal same-sex unions equal federal benefits… is what has inspired this little revolt of mine.
Go ahead and waste a vote. That is the perfect definition of an eyeore. This can’t happen so woe is me. Write someone else in if you must but you might as well stay home and throw darts at the TV.
Then there will be hell to pay. When Teddy was elected in a SPECIAL ELECTION in 1962, he was sworn in the next day. If they collude to change the process many individuals will proceede to file suit. The will be prosecutable under the RICO statutes.
I saw the video too. Alas, this story wont be told for a while, but when it does, there’s gonna be blood on the walls.
BTW, I dont advocate staying home on voting day. Its an honor and a duty to vote.
Rick 554
Juli: I remeber that clearly. Though I think to myself.. what do they mean “the end of our economic system”…
I think someone from the Henry Paulsen – Ben Bernake – Tim Geithner – Larry summers – Rahm Emmauel faction did a fantastic job of scaring the daylights out of idiot politicians.
They have been bank runs in the past.. there have been currency crisis in the past…
I think the situation that Congress has us in now is way more dangerous than whatever someone was doing in money markets.
A good book to read is “Architects of Ruin” it lays out the 30 + year efforts by Alinsky – ACORN – Obama – GSE – Loan Securitization that suggests this is all by design.
Thank you for telling me that I “identify with the White Christian Male point of view almost to the exclusion of any other position and anyone who is not a cool-aid drinking teabagger sees that”
Political bigots like you are so sad. But I think your game is up … the old tactics aren’t going to work anymore.
Kind of the pot calling the kettle black isn’t it?
too bad we did not get to let the crash run it full course then huh? It would have been nice to have seen you unemployed Vince… and asking the government to help you.
socalrobert what pplanet are you on pal? Not LGBT planet earth for sure because tats a place where people are horrobly discriminated against. It cost me $76,000 and took 5 years for my binational same-sex (LGBT)spouse to wade through the mysriad of law before she coul;d remain in the US. A straight person would have paid $1,500 and six months. Get a grip….. there are 90,000 PLUS Americans who cannot sponsor their partners for a greencard and at this time we are not included in immigration reform. If we did not hold out for a repeal of DOMA then what the hell are we doing here Yon this BLOG anyway? We are not here for your selfish issues . you can tickle your apouse’s back while you complain…some cannot.
go to our real time hangout lets talk
Paula: The crash has only been postponed
There are trillions and trillions of dollars on books that have to reckoned eventually… and they will be.. and it will be more painful and more destructive .. the Govt, in its wisdom, has decided to up its debt spending, take direct ownership of the GSEs, take over student loans, in the process of taking over medicine.. nationalizing private industry… this is fascism.
The interest payments on the deficit that the Dems racked up this year will exceed the amount of any of the 2001-2007 deficits.
Conservatives that I know were completely disgusted and angered by what the GOP did to the books… I did have a faint hope that everyone, D and R would have viewed the 08 election as the opportunity to take the national budget crisis with profound seriousness .
And look at what the Congress has done. … it’s outrageous and it’s disturbing.
Congress shows no indication of learning ANYTHING from the disaster we’re going through. We’re simply creating new bubbles to mask the collapse of the one that preceded it.
We should have a experienced a very painful recession in 2000-2002 due to DOTCOM bubble (not to mention 9/11) , but instead the Housing Bubble was created. Now that that has collapsed, we now have two bubble crashes that we have to suffer the correction for.
But instead we’re now having a US Dollar/US Treasury Bond Bubble.
When that one collapses this country will be over.
So they’re either stupid or doing it on purpose. And I choose “on purpose” as the explanation.
And listen to you.. personalizing it and wishing me ill directly. but that’s what you leftists do. You do everything you claim to be against.
And no. I wont be asking the Government for help. My family didn’t emigrate from poverty in Italy to come to America to build a life for themselves for me to become a vassal.
But the person who is defending legal same-sex unions in Massachusetts against the federal government is our Attorney General, Martha Coakley, the very person you are asking us to vote against! Voting against a very LGBT-friendly candidate, who has proven to be so by her actions, to spite the President is crazy and against our own interests.
Jessica Douglas….read the damned post… I did not say to vote against her… I said stay home tomorrow….
what this is… is tough love…. and the same thing a junkie or a drunk has to do if they want to get better… We need to stand up to the Dems… and we need to do it when it will have an impact and they can see we can hurt them if they keep dicking with our rights.