Obama Breaks Gay Press “Silence” ... This outta be good!

[cboy4]

Apr 8, 2008

What perfect timing! Just days after Philadelphia Gay News‘ Hillary Clinton-donating publisher, Mark Segal blasted Barack Obama for not talking to the press, The Advocate announced that it’s about to publish an interview with the presidential candidate that it conducted yesterday. Via Dallas Voice:

Michelle Garcia, an editorial assistant for The Advocate, told Dallas Voice on Tuesday that the interview will be posted on the magazine’s Web site Thursday. It marks Obama’s first interview with a gay publication since October, when he spoke to The Advocate in response to the controversy surrounding Donnie McClurkin.
…
A spokesman for Obama’s campaign said Tuesday that the interview with The Advocate was scheduled prior to publication of the PGN edition and was not done in response to , which drew widespread media attention.

http://www.queerty.com/obama-breaks-gay-press-silence-20080408/

[FrenchieCat]

1. You hate him.

Now "hope" he says something you don't like so you can be happy.

[cboy4]

9. Actually I do not hate him...I just don't trust him.

Maybe he'll surprise me and say:

"Listen here's the deal. The McClurkin thing was a fiasco. I admit I ignored the concerns of the LGBT community because it was politically advantageous at the time...when the fact of the matter is I was already doing very well on the campaign trail, and I would not have lost very many votes had I pulled McClurkin from the line-up. So it was a ridiculous thing to do.

"I support tolerance, and Donnie McClurkin goes against what I believe. Therefore, he should not have been on the stage talking about homosexuality that night at my fundraiser. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dUp16hFzY8).

"I'm deeply sorry and I won't allow myself to make such an insensitive mistake again...especially when a minority group is begging me not to do something. Being a minority myself, I should know better."


See how open and honest that would be Frenchie?

It would be a breath of fresh air.

I might even start trusting the guy if I heard such an apology and promise.

But I'm not going to hold my breath.

[WillParkinson]

11. Sums up my feelings perfectly...

I don't trust either candidate to look out for my interests. If that equates with "hating" them then so be it.

[David Zephyr]

19. No. I agree with FrenchieCat. I think you do hate him.

I wish you didn't, but I think you really despise Barack Obama.

And you'll be combing through his words to find something, somehow that you can twist to continue your hate.

Barack has lectured in black churches against homophobia. No white presidential candidate in American history has ever once lectured within white churches against homophobia.

[redqueen]

34. "Barack has lectured in black churches against homophobia"

That seems pretty big...

Maybe only a personal apology will do.

:shrug:

[alteredstate]

41. I agree.

I doubt anything he says will make you happy.

[newmajority]

23. Barack Obama has repeatedly mentioned homophobia in his speeches.

Actually, the words he used are "fear of gays", in the context of one of many fears that we need to get over in this country, and that certain people have used to divide this country.

He has raised the subject in Black churches, and that is no easy task. And he has condemned McCloset's comments every time someone has asked him the question.

I look forward to reading the interview, and I hope it puts this whole "McCloset" thing to rest.

[Hieronymus]

28. I personally don't see why so many gays appear to dislike Obama. Hillary

has lied about so many things and her husband instituted don't ask don't tell.

[Spiffarino]

40. Don't forget DOMA

That was a real win for the LGBT community. :sarcasm:

[TheWraith]

66. Not to mention she has more and stronger dubious ties than Obama.

Frankly I don't think that people should judge the candidates based on the fact that Clinton is in a prayer group with Tom Coburn, or that Obama invited an "ex-gay" singer to perform at an outreach concert. You can't throw a rock in politics without hitting somebody who has dubious views. But to bash one candidate for it while conveniently ignoring the other is hypocrisy.

[Spiffarino]

38. This has always been my one concern about Obama

The McClurkin business is why I supported Edwards over Obama early on. I didn't trust him on LGBT issues as long as that jerk hung around.

I hope he addresses such concerns with conviction and compassion. He comes across as a candidate for all Americans...time to prove once and for all that he means it.

[alteredstate]

39. It wasn't a "fundraiser".

The money generated by ticket sales didn't come close to covering the cost of renting the venues.

[TheWraith]

67. He also wasn't talking.

He was invited as a performer, not a speaker. The only thing he said, which was off-script, was asking people not to call him a bigot, because he'd felt gay impulses too. Which is stupid, but hardly the tirade that people have hyped it as.

[alteredstate]

71. He performed at one concert.

[ruggerson]

70. Frenchie, I'm curious

what is your husband's church's stance on gays and lesbians?

[tishaLA]

2. It makes sense to address a national publication

Instead of Mark Segals's newspaper, which has done an awful job of covering LGBT of color issues (in a city that is 50% African American), but is great for middle and upper middle income white gay men. I won't repeat what I have already said about its treatment of the LGBT activist community, particularly groups like ACT-UP and Queer Nation.

[Maven]

3. I saw that this morning.

I'm waiting to see what he says in the interview, and I hope it's more encouraging than what I've seen in the past.

[MadBadger]

4. Widespread media attention my ass.

[Sadie5]

5. O will tell them what they want to hear

Then walk away and do what he wants. It's only a formality.

[FrenchieCat]

6. You mean like Hillary and trade deals? Oh......Ok.

[jackson_dem]

7. You're confusing her with Obama-Goolsbee

[Sadie5]

12. Or like O with the trade deals?

Obama's cult calls the Canadian government to let them in on why O has to say NAFTA is no good. They just need to disregard what he says about NAfta, it's all politics ya know.

[FrenchieCat]

13. It is obvious that you arrived early at the party and left early and only heard the first half

of the story.

It wasn't a call. What the advisor reportely said, was not what he said. It was a Hillary trick, again.


Report: Canada PM Aide Said Clinton Campaign Gave Assurances On NAFTA
March 6th, 2008 by JOE GANDELMAN

One of the late breaking issues that hurt Democratic Senator Barack Obama in recent Texas and Ohio primaries involved allegations that his campaign gave winking private assurances to Canada not to worry about his anti-Nafta campaign rhetoric — a controversy the Clinton camp used to it’s advantage. But now it turns out that the allegation focused more on Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Yet, the pre-Ohio primary stories only focused on the Obama campaign, not the Clinton campaign — which used it against Obama in Ohio.
http://themoderatevoice.com/at-tmv/newsweek-blogitics/18232/canada-pm-aide-also-mentioned-clinton-campaign-assurances-on-nafta/

[uberblonde]

16. This was debunked when you posted it yesterday.

Which tells me you prefer your own version of reality.

[AtomicKitten]

43. You can't debunk the truth.

CLINTON was first on NAFTA ‘wink, wink’ to Canada

That’s what Canada’s top paper, the Globe and Mail, says:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20080305.wharpleak0305%2FBNStory%2FNational%2Fhome&ord=42096303&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true

Ian Brodie, chief of staff to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, supposedly talked about Clinton staff back-dooring on NAFTA to a CTV informal press backgrounder:

”He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt. . . That someone called us and told us not to worry.”

And, CTV was looking at the Clinton angle first:

CTV News President Robert Hurst said he would not discuss his journalists’ sources.

But others said the content of Mr. Brodie’s remarks was passed on to CTV’s Washington bureau and their White House correspondent set out the next day to pursue the story on Ms. Clinton's apparent hypocrisy on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

However, CTV coverage focused on Obama, for whatever reason. ***

http://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2008/03/clinton-was-first-on-nafta-wink-wink-to.html

*** a wink-wink phone call from the Big Dawg kinda like his smooth moves in Colombia perhaps?

[redqueen]

49. Well... but you can ignore it...

and there is lots of stuff being studiously ignored... like that stuff, for instance.

[Sadie5]

64. This is a lie

I never posted ANYTHING yesterday. nice try.

[jackson_dem]

8. Yup. He has proven he prefers homophobic votes to standing up for GLBT folks

If he did it before what makes folks think he won't drive GLBT under the bus in the future when politically convenient?

[donheld]

10. Yes indeed, this ought to be good

No wonder Barack wouldn't talk to the PGN. Hillary's buddy runs it. Anybody think Barack would have gotten a fair shake? The comments that go with the article gave me some good laughs.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Smart Campaign......

Won't let the lakeys of the opponents twist his words. After that NAFTA trick by the Hillary campaign and her friends in Canada, I don't blame them.

[anamandujano]

15. A fair shake? You can't be serious. They would have printed

his exact words. It was to be an INTERVIEW.

I think it's funny that it got arranged so fast, it has to make it's appearance on a web site. It's even funnier that he felt compelled to say that in was not in response to his blank space.

[cboy4]

17. Obama could have insisted on a transcript-printed

interview -- and his people could have recorded to make sure it was accurate.

Some of these Obama supporters make it sound as though Pravda was going to be printing the story. :eyes:

[AtomicKitten]

18. You vilify him when he doesn't give an interview and ridicule him when he does.

You have no credibility whatsoever.

[cboy4]

20. How am I ridiculing him?

I said, "this outta be good", because I haven't heard him do an interview with a gay publication since last fall.

I'm genuinely interested in what he might say about McClurkin.

If I was being sarcastic or, in your words, trying to "ridicule" him, I would have put an :eyes: after my sentence about it being good.

The problem with fanatical Obama supporters like yourself Atomic, is you're looking for any reason to lash out against those who don't support the senator from Illinois.

[AtomicKitten]

22. "the problem with ....."

It's not fanaticism, dude, but again nice try with the psyops pretending like you are anywhere in the ballpark of reasonable. We've seen your work.

[cboy4]

24. I'm glad you've seen my work,....I could go surfing or

practice the drums in my free time.

Instead, I use some of it spreading the truth.

I'm happy it's not going unnoticed.

[AtomicKitten]

25. what you're spreading makes crops grow & requires hip boots

[cboy4]

29. Sunshine?

Awwww. :pals:

[IndianaJones]

42. wind surf and duck hunt. nt.

[cboy4]

47. ........

:spray:

Whatever.

[last1standing]

21. This is good. Both Obama and Clinton have been entire too quiet about GLBT.

Any step in the direction of bringing GLBT issues into consideration is good. The truth that most politicians and the media won't tell you is that the vast majority of American's don't object to GLBT equal rights, they object to the media myth that we're looking for "special" rights.

[cboy4]

27. Yes, I absolutelty agree with your point about **both**

candidates.

(Did you hear that Obama supporters? I said both).

[SoonerPride]

26. I trust Obama more on GLBT issues than Hillary.

None of them go far enough.

Dennis was the only one who was on target with GLBT issues. But Kucinich was DOA.

And team Obama is not the fucking braintrust behind DODT and DOMA. I can never square myself with that crap.

[cboy4]

30. How can you trust Obama when he threw the gay community

under the bus giving his blessing for a notorious homophobe to perform at a campaign event?

Donnie McClurkin's comments at Obama's gospel concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dUp16hFzY8

You don't think he'd do something like this again if it's politically advantageous?!

I will agree with you that Hillary doesn't go far enough. Absolutely.

[SoonerPride]

32. The McClurkin thing was bad. No doubt. DOMA and DADT are worse.

In my opinion those two fucking pieces of crap have set our rights back 25 years.

And that is at the foot of the Clintons. Two for one special coming down the track. Woot woot!

[cboy4]

35. And you don't know Obama won't strip down DOMA

if it's politcally advantageous.

Despite what her husband did in the '90 (stop blaming Hillary .. she wasn't in charge then), she's already said she will repeal DADT and one of the two provisions of DOMA.

[redqueen]

45. And you take her word for it?

That's what it boils down to... which candidate do we trust to stay with us after they're elected.

[cboy4]

52. Let's put it this way....I trust her more than him.

And again, I voted for Edwards in the California Primary, so what does that tell you?

[IndianaJones]

54. dude...you're letting a little homophobe pandering cloud your judgement. step into the light. nt.

[redqueen]

56. That you don't trust her all that much more?

Or you'd have voted for her?

I trust him more than her. My sister in Cali voted for her, and wishes she hadn't. I was going to vote for John here, but changed my mind and voted for Obama... I'm glad I did.

Funny how things work out sometimes...

[blogslut]

31. Will you do a favor for me?

An old stage director of mine used to use this trick when critiquing a production he had seen many times before.

He told us, he would imagine he was a person that had never seen nor heard of the production before. He put himself in the mindset of an outside observer. He said:

"I would imagine that I was someone that just walked in off the street."

Will you do that (for me) before you read the interview?

[cboy4]

33. If Obama apologizes for McClurkin, I'm nothing but ears.

However, if he pulls another Scott McClellan at the podium....I'm not sure I can forget.

The problem with wiping the slate clean, blogslut, is it comes down to trust.

Obama probably said some really great things in the interview.

I can already predict that.

The problem is believing him after what happened with McClurkin.

[SoonerPride]

36. So you think McClurkin trumps DADT and DOMA?

Real legislative and administrative actions which were designed to limit gay rights and visibility. Put us back in a closet as second class citizens, deny visitation, death benefits, equal treatment in the eyes of the law, and excusing and condoning instutionalized policies of gay discrimination are somehow LESS troublesome than a "reformed gay" campaign staffer?

I'm sorry to say this, but you are sadly misguided.

McClurkin is a bothersome gnat compared to real injustices done to our brothers and sisters. Those injustices were done with the pen of a Clinton. Yeah, you say she wasn't in charge. Remember, we were told they were a two-fer. I take them at their word. One is like the other. She wants to take credit for "being there" when good stuff went on then she also gets the back of my hand for the crapstains of her hubby's terms as well.

[cboy4]

44. SoonerPride, it all comes down to trust......it has nothing

to do with whether I think Hillary Clinton would be so much greater than Obama.

I don't think she will. But I do feel she's more trustworthy.

I don't trust that Obama will keep his word about DOMA, specifically because of the McClukin incident.

[SoonerPride]

48. OK, fine. We can agree to disagree on this. I trust him more than her.

And I voted for her on Super Tuesday.

[cboy4]

51. Well, I voted for Edwards in the California Primary.

So I have no proverbial horse in this race.

[blogslut]

37. Sigh

Well, I hope you at least try to put your anger aside and read the interview without pre-conditions.

[cboy4]

53. I can tell you I plan on reading the interview without

pre-conditions.

Yes.

[blogslut]

59. Thank you

That is all I ask. :)

[nickpecoraro]

46. Hillary had an interview with the Advocate

I read an interview several months ago with Hillary in the Advocate.
I think that it is great that Obama will also have an interview.

Gays are over 10% of our population and they need to be addressed by the candidates.

Nick Pecoraro

[Usrename]

50. I still don't fully grasp the fetish that some folks have with McClurkin.

I never even knew who he was, nor do I give a crap about him.

It's kinda strange that so many folks let him have so much control over their lives.

[IndianaJones]

58. seriously...homophobe votes count too. its how many you can get, not who you used to get them. nt.

[Bluenorthwest]

63. Control over our lives?

What sort of lingo do you sprechen? You may not know who McClurkin is but millions do, including by the way every American who watched him sing to GW Bush at GOP Convention 2004 on national TV, while people like me were trying to defeat that schumck.
I care about the ignorance people like McClurkin foster, which contribute to real world violence and such wonderful facts that heterosexual African American women are the fastest growing hiv infection group in the country.
But more to the point of DU, I care about the Democratic Party, and do not wish to see Karl Rove style religionist tactics take a foothold in the Party. There should not even be a question, no minority group of any kind should have to endure verbal ridicule and condemnation in the name of anybody's religion at any Democratic event, much less an event that is part of a camapaign for our highest office, being run by a United States Senator. I never thought I would see a Republican up on a Democratic candidate's stage preaching against me and my family, preaching. What the hell is that?
If that sort of tactic is allowed to stand, we are no better than the GOP. If that dispicable sort of politics is allowed to continue, trust me, our Party of inclusion will be Balkanized faster than you can say GOP Majority in 2012.

[mindfulNJ]

55. I think it's spelled "oughta"

not "outta".

:evilgrin:

[redqueen]

57. No, it's "oughtta"

BURN! :P

[mindfulNJ]

60. you sure?

looks weird with 2 ts

[redqueen]

61. Well that's how I like it.

So yeah... even if it's not... that's how it *should be* spelled. :P

:hi:

[mindfulNJ]

68. ok!

I guess I'm alright with freestyle spelling :)

[kdpeters]

62. Cool. Obama has a lot of support in the gay community

We'll be looking forward to reading the interviews.

[Bluenorthwest]

65. I'm looking forward to the interview

He may get somewhere this time. He has been hearing plenty aboout it all, and he needs to win delegates!
Seriously I am looking forward to reading it, his choice of words when he mentions gay people in speeches has improved and that means much to me. He was using a bunch of code speak and it is gone now.
Also, in ways that I'm not sure are generally thought upon, the contorversy surrounding Rev Wright is tied in its way to the issues at hand. Trinity UCC and Wright have been pretty staunch allies, they are a welcoming congregation and support full marriage and any other kind of equality for GLBT people. Gay people are in visible roles in that very large church, and while the Trinity heat went another way, it might have that way blown. That bridge has been crossed well and without note of that aspect of Trinity. And that aspect is important to me, in that I was for Obama after DK because of his being a Tinity member, and then just shocked when he went all Caldwell. I was very much suprised.
So I'll be reading it. I'd like him to put Donnie to rest, once and for all. So easy for him to do and so important for so many reasons. Including, at this point, delegates.

[Neshanic]

69. "Hey you gay guys at the Advocate, we need a favor."

A spokesman for Obama’s campaign said Tuesday that the interview with The Advocate was scheduled prior to publication of the PGN edition and was not done in response to , which drew widespread media attention.

I call Bullshit.

[kdpeters]

72. You should go ahead and write your rant. No need to read the interview.

You're just going to make up irrelevant expectations to go unmet so you can get offended.

[Neshanic]

73. The timimg is soooooooo perfect. He is truly blessed by gay baby Jesus.