And Seriously, as Long as You’re Naming the Dog “Bo”, Why Not Add “Bee” in Front Of It?
I haven’t talked much about politics since Obama got elected. This is partly because I wanted to give him a break and partly because I needed to take a break.
He’s had some time to settle in now, and I have to say, anyone who thought this guy was going to work miracles must be getting back down to Earth about now.
I’m not talking about the economy. The situation with that is so huge it’s taking a lot of guesswork to navigate, and it’s a huge ship to steer. That’s something that is going to challenge anyone who takes hold of it.
However, there’s the issue with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT). It’s worth pointing out that these anti-gay measures are not holdovers from Bush, they are both products of that amoral, anything-for-a-laugh far-left liberal, Bill Clinton. His signature is on both of these things, and DOMA was voted “yea” by such folks as Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Sam Nunn, and a guy named Joe Biden — where is he now, I wonder?
Obama has recently shrunk from both of these odious laws, despite campaign promises to repeal them. In the case of the latter, he (and his “11-Dimensional Chess” defenders) have made the excuse that he wants to repeal DADT as a Congressional Act, not as an Executive Order. In other words, his big solution is to pass the buck to Congress.
There are plenty of polls to show that most Americans — including a majority of Republicans — don’t agree with DADT. There are certainly points to be made about how valuable a policy it is in light of stop-loss and getting rid of essential Arabic translators because they happen to be gay. But of course, the shrill voice of the Conservative Christians is heard over the voice of reason, and we are thus powerless to do anything that might keep us from treating gay people as second-class citizens — or citizens at all.
Meanwhile, just as we celebrate states allowing gay marriages we still maintain a policy that makes these marriages — the only ones in the country — nullified in other states. It’s absurd, but the current administration nevertheless defends the act with a statement talking about how cost-effective it is, and of course comparing homosexual marriage to incest.
This is “change”.
“But,” I hear folks saying, “how about the health care reform bill he’s working on? Surely that’s something we can be proud of!”
Unfortunately, not only did the Democrats inspire the story of the Little Boy Who Cried “Health Care Reform”, but when your plan starts by asking the insurance companies if they could maybe perhaps think about some changes that might not disrupt them too much, if they have the time and it’s not too much trouble, pretty please? then I am just as skeptical about getting true health care reform as I’ve always been.
I’m not trying to give Obama a hard time, I’m just holding him to the same standards I’d hold anyone to…keeping the promises he made and was elected on the basis of. It’s not like the economy suddenly collapsed without warning on January 21; he knew of that situation while he was still making the other promises. Believe me, if he ultimately repeals DOMA or DADT or gives us a non-ridiculous health care policy, I’ll be cheering him as loud as anyone. I know how hard it is for a Democratic president…you can declare homosexuality illegal, bomb Mecca, make it mandatory for all citizens to carry handguns at all times, and pave the entire Yellowstone National Park but you’ll still be called “the most liberal President in history” by the wingnuts because your anti-abortion law ONLY gives the death penalty to the doctor and not the woman involved. But you know, as long as you’re going to be accused of being far-left no matter what you do, howabout just going ahead and doing some moderately left things?
I will say this: I do still get a little thrill when I see him on TV and think, “Dude, that’s the President!!“
---Tags: Obama, the_growing_gay_threat, whining
