"Frantic" efforts by Obama staff fails to quell row over anti-gay singer

[Bluebear]

A frantic effort by Senator Obama to defuse a row over the appearance of a homophobic gospel singer at a fund-raising concert appears only to have made matters worse.

Mr. Obama's presidential campaign hurriedly added to the concert program yesterday an openly gay white minister, the Reverend Andy Sidden, to counteract the bad publicity generated by its decision to invite the Reverend Donnie McClurkin, a gospel singer who has described homosexuality as a "curse," to headline a fund-raising event on Sunday in Columbia, S.C.

The incident reflects the need for Democratic candidates to juggle the often conflicting demands of their supporters. Mr. Obama stands accused of trying to win the support of socially conservative evangelical Christian African-Americans, who make up half of the registered Democratic voters in the early voting state of South Carolina, at the expense of gays...

Mr. Obama's campaign went into crisis mode yesterday, with his advisers on the homosexual community at the center of the storm. The senator personally fielded complaints from prominent gay donors and urged the president of the powerful gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese, not to condemn him.

http://www.nysun.com/article/65297

[aquart]

1. The Sun? Not even used for wrapping fish. They have to give that rag away.

And half the time even then people won't take it.

[ruggerson]

2. But he's healing us

he's bringing together the godly, good people of the faith community with their opposites: the heathen, evil sinners of the gay community.

Don't you understand?

[calteacherguy]

7. Yes, I do understand. I wish more people on this board did. nt

[NMMNG]

11. Please, explain it to us

Tell us how bringing us together with people who despise us, think we are a "curse" and want to eradicate us is going to do any good. You seem to have all the answers.

[DemFemme]

3. This from far rightwingnut rag NY Sun? What's next? Quoting Rush Limbaugh?

:rofl:

[Name removed]

8. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

4. From that bastion of journalistic excellence, the NY Sun

Nice try. :eyes:

[madeline_con]

5. So, Obama's shot to the socks...

Hillary is hated by too many.


Can we unite behind John Edwards like we should have in the first place?

[AndyTiedye]

6. PLEASE RUN, AL! WE NEED YOU!

GORE 2008!

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. That first line is the most succinct summation of the situation I've seen

In local terms this also works:

A frantic effort by Senator Obama's online supporters to defuse a row over the appearance of a homophobic gospel singer at a fund-raising concert appears only to have made matters worse.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

10. There's an easy way to solve the question of "faux" outrage

Since the Obama campaign is spinning this (grotesquely) as being about two different communities, the gay community and the faith community, why don't we just defer to gay people of faith to say whether their outrage is real.

Oh, that's no good. They would chose the "wrong" answer because they're gay.

Okay, maybe it's about the black community and the gay community, so why not defer to gay blacks... oh, fuck. That won't work either. They would also chose to can McClurking in a heart-beat.

Okay, why not exclude gay people from the process entirely? Aha... Unity!!!

McClurking stays!

[AtomicKitten]

12. You must be exhausted by your sustained outrage.

Seriously. Are you done grinding Obama's ass into the ground yet? Didn't think so.

You are overplaying your hand, sir.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

15. That's assuming that the outrage is 1) fake, and 2) tactical

Speaking for myself (and I have been almost as vociferous as bluebear), I've always kind of liked Obama and never had any agenda to grind Obama into the ground before this week. I am not interested in Obama doing poorly to benefit another candidate--Obama fading would be a boost for John Edwards, who is the only candidate I really dislike.

I now want Obama to do poorly primarily as an example to all future candidates to not play cute wink-and-nod approval games with the most dangerous forces in American politics. If Obama doesn't pay a price for this strategy it will be validated, and will occur more and more.

For some people here this is a serious big deal, like the way you feel about Hillary and war.

I don't doubt that some Clinton supporters have piled on out of political motivation, but some of us leading this "fake" outrage movement are actually quite sincere.

Kids get sent to religious re-education camps to psychologically destroy them in hopes of making them un-gay. It's a real thing.

There are people at DU who have been involuntarily treated with "aversion therapy" to cure their gayness. You can imagine what that entails. The LGBT forum is full of disturbing, and very sincere stories.

[AtomicKitten]

18. I understand what you are saying ... however

... that is interjecting a broad-spectrum personal vignette analysis into a very narrow issue here. McClurkin isn't writing policy or advising Obama. McClurkin will be singing with others in ONE venue, and Obama isn't appearing at any of them. Entertainment, not advocacy.

I rather like Obama's approach of inclusiveness because in my opinion that is where change begins. There is nothing more effective than peer pressure, and Obama is approaching head-on the issue of bigotry in the black church-going community.

You obviously disagree, but the concerted drive to sink his candidacy doesn't play well overall particularly coming from people that never supported him to begin with.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

20. Here's the simplest way to look at it

Imagine a generic Dem candidate. He/she schedules a fund-raiser featuring a performer who has a track record of saying, "the extent of the holocaust is exaggerated."

When it came out, that person would be off the schedule in less than ten minutes.

Imagine a generic Dem candidate. He/she schedules a fund-raiser featuring a performer who has a track record of saying, "blacks are, on average, less intelligent than whites."

When it came out, that person would be off the schedule in less than ten minutes.

Imagine a generic Dem candidate. He/she schedules a fund-raiser featuring a performer who has a track record of saying, "gays are killing our children."

When it came out, that person remains on the schedule. Why? Would any campaign say in the first two instances that it's okay because the person doesn't represent the candidate's views, or that we need to reach out to every viewpoint? It is unimaginable that any Dem campaign would offer such a denfense. In fact, no republican campaign would even say that about the first two.

But when gay people are the target, it's a whole different standard. Why? What accounts for the difference?

Some of us maintain that whatever accounts for the difference, it is something very bad.

[AtomicKitten]

21. Here's an even simpler way to look at it:

If you don't agree with him, don't vote for him.

Done and done.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AtomicKitten]

19. Better question:

Who the f*ck cares what you think?

We've all born witness to your abject negativity on these boards and the fact that you will trash anybody and everybody, alternately, doesn't matter to you, for the sheer purpose of being contrary.

I will continue to speak the truth here because I am not intimidated by your jack-booted routine.

[BlueStater]

13. The way he's handled this has been horrible

Why won't he just drop the bastard already? What's with his loyalty to this guy?

[Capn Sunshine]

14. see, THATS the Hillary supporters I'm talking about!

WHY are you guys at 10% here with your press releases being devoured whole by the Post?

Beats me.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

17. If you had a comprehension of moral sincerity you wouldn't

stumble into a thread on a meaningful issue to spew around some partisan candidate bile.

If you confuse "sympathetic to the humanity of GLBT people" with "Hillary supporter" then you are in a dark place. (And what does that equation say about your candidate?)

[IndianaJones]

22. the OP is not a Clinton supporter. nt.