Obama's wife says he'll fight for gay equality

[babylonsister]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MICHELLE_OBAMA?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Obama's wife says he'll fight for gay equality


NEW YORK (AP) -- Michelle Obama says her husband will fight for equality for gays just as he fought to help working-class families overcome poverty.

The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke Thursday night in New York City at a fundraising dinner for the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council.

She spoke about her husband's record pushing for workplace discrimination legislation in Illinois when he served in the Legislature there.

Barack Obama has said it should be up to individual states to decide whether to allow gay marriage. Michelle Obama says he wants equal treatment for any relationship recognized under state law.

The DNC says the dinner raised more than $1 million.

[blogslut]

1. Ya think John McSame would fight for equal rights?

For anyone's equal rights?

[polmaven]

2. John McCain will fight

for equal rights for white male Republicans. What more could you want?

Does anyone else really, really matter?

:shrug:

Oh, yeah...just so it's not totally misunderstood (because of my avatar).....:sarcasm:

[gateley]

13. A Hillary avatar is fine --

If you had a McCain avatar, THEN you'd be shredded! :) :hi:

And you're right on about McCain's equal rights criteria. :grr:

[Bluenorthwest]

4. McCain? Hell no!

Toward the end of the Primary, HRC's magazine Equality set a set of questions to Obama, Clinton, and McCain, to be answered in writing. Hillary gave wonderful replies. Barack said some things I really liked, first interview on the subject that I could show to other people to promote Obama. He mentioned the 14th Amendment, in terms of GLBT rights and equal treatment under the law. That particular anwser delilghted me, and won my Primary vote for Obama. The 14th, good answer!
John McCain? According to the magazine, not only did not answer the questions, he did not even acknowlege he'd gotten them, he did not refuse to answer, he ignored the whole thing. No reply. Of any kind. Silence.
That says it all about McCain.

[Raster]

14. John McShame will fight for the right for Rethuglican men to solicit in airport bathrooms.

The Minnesota Pee Party!

[jody]

3. Obama "fought to help working-class families overcome poverty"? What significant bills has he

created or sponsored to "help working-class families overcome poverty"?

What bothers me is not that his track record is sparse on such issues, he is after all a junior senator with assignments to:
- Senate Foreign Relations Committee
- Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
- Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

but making claims that lack credible accomplishments keeps open the taunt about his lack of experience.

[blogslut]

5. Do tell

What about Johnny McSame's stance on those issues?

[jody]

8. I don't give a dam about McCain, Obama will be the Dem candidate and I'm tired of losing the WH. n/t

[blogslut]

And so...what?

If you want him to take a stronger stand or care to get involved, how about you join his site and start blogging about it? Write some letters? Do something other than sit there and worry?

[jody]

10. Have a nice evening. n/t

[babylonsister]

6. He worked on tax relief and housing for the poor, for starters:

* Tax Relief for Low-Income Working Families: Obama created the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families in 2000 and successfully sponsored a measure to make the credit permanent in 2003. The law offered about $105 million in tax relief over three years.

* Housing: In the Illinois State Senate, Obama championed multiple pieces of legislation to help low-income families find adequate affordable housing.

Also, his community activism has to count for something; look how he applied that experience to his fantastic ground game during the primaries.

There's plenty more at the link if you're that interested... I like the fact that he acknowledges what's wrong and has plans on how to start fixing it.


http://www.barackobama.com/issues/poverty/

[jody]

9. Did Obama actually create those bills or did the IL senate leader attach Obama's name to them to

create a record for Obama?

[babylonsister]

12. I don't know; maybe if you googled a bit you'd find your answer. nt

[jody]

15. I've already googled and I know the answer as do you. There is no record that Obama created any

significant bills to "help working-class families overcome poverty".

[babylonsister]

16. No I haven't but I'm not about to research for you. Quit yer whining. nt

[jody]

20. So the truth really hurts. I'm not sorry. n/t

[SemiCharmedQuark]

22. So the very informed voters are going to choose McCain because he has written so much anti poverty

legislation?

[jody]

24. I repeat, I don't give a dam about about McCain. I simply point out that Obama's campaign director

better make certain that claims about Obama's accomplishments are credible.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

26. Here's a WAPO article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303303.html

[babylonsister]

19. So 'sponsoring and helping pass legislation' isn't good enough for you?...

http://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2007/12/14/fact_check_on_milbanks_claim_t.php

REALITY: OBAMA EXPANDED HEALTH CARE IN ILLINOIS IN A DIFFERENT BILL

Obama Passed Bipartisan Legislation That Expanded Health Care Coverage To 154,000 Residents, Including 70,000 Children. As a state senator, Barack Obama sponsored and helped pass legislation that expanded and made permanent Illinois' KidCare program by raising eligibility from 185% to 200% of the federal poverty level. The legislation provided coverage for an additional 20,000 children and 65,000 more Illinois adults in the first year, and by 2007 had expanded health care to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In its endorsement for his Senate race, the State Journal--Register wrote, "Obama brings similar common--sense views to improving health care in America -- for example, as a state senator he championed the successful KidCare program that assists thousands of children of the working poor." The bill was sponsored in the state House by Sandra Pihos, a Republican and passed 42--13.

Look at this link, too, and I'm done. You can kvetch all you want.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=4578207

[jody]

21. "Obama Passed Bipartisan Legislation"? I hope he can back that up in the dirty GE because if it's

not true, the claim of lack of experience will stay open.

[Cha]

38. The primaries are OVER so you can stop

your hypocritical bullshit right there.

Obama is our nominee and if you don't like his stances then join his website and state what you don't like and what questions you have.

Stop taking your nasty swipes at Obama.

[KingFlorez]

7. She said he fought for those things, she didn't make specific claims

There is a difference and she didn't say anything that wasn't true.

[jody]

11. There may not be a difference to you but there is to many voters. Are you an understudy for

spin tactics?

My point is very simple, the Obama campaign better learn very quick to clean up its talks.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

18. You mean those voters that voted a chronic failure into the WH TWICE because they'd rather have a

beer with him?

[jody]

23. What does voting for the idiot in the WH have to do with claims about how Obama

"fought to help working-class families overcome poverty"?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

25. It means that I highly doubt that "many" voters will actually look at the issue

and vote for McCain. And those that are voting for McCain citing his
anti-poverty work are probably the same people that thought Bush was great to have a beer with.

[jody]

30. I hope you are right but IMO the election will get very dirty and be very close unless one of the

candidates makes a big mistake.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

31. It will definitely be an awful campaign.

And I don't know what's going to happen. But I do believe that Obama is a savvy politician and he has shown that he is not going to take crap from the right.

[KingFlorez]

28. What you are saying makes no sense

No one made false claims, so there is no problem here.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

17. You know, he *did* have a political career before 2004.

[jody]

27. Absolutely and I also know some of his colleagues in the IL senate apparently complained because the

senate leader attached Obama's name to pending bills even though Obama had nothing to do with those bills.

[phrigndumass]

39. So you have a problem with Emil Jones, not Barack Obama

Let Obama win!

[geek tragedy]

36. you sound very CONCERNED. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

29. oh well

I thought this would be a discussion about Obama and GLBT issues, at long loving last, in the positive. But it turns into a family feud again. Charming.
Rhetorically bringing McCain into the thing is just a scare tactic, unless you really wish to discuss it. Boo! McCain! Boo! Facts about McCain are election ammo. Facts.

Obama gave very strong answers at the end of the Primary on GLBT issues. I really like Michelle so I thought I'd take the opprotunity to say something nice about Obama, like I voted for him due to an answer he gave about GLBT rights under the Constitution. My biggest issues with him had revolved around those issues, and he addressed them well enough that I can now promote the man.

[Skip Intro]

32. "he wants equal treatment for any relationship recognized under state law" What does that mean?

Doesn't sound like it really backs up the "fight for gay rights" headline to me.

"Barack Obama has said it should be up to individual states to decide whether to allow gay marriage. Michelle Obama says he wants equal treatment for any relationship recognized under state law."

What exactly does that mean? He'll fight for gay rights in states that approve gay marriage? What about states that don't? What exactly is being said about equal rights here?

[jody]

33. If states approve gay marriage, what is there to fight about? n/t

[Skip Intro]

34. exactly

[Bluenorthwest]

35. The federal law is what to fight about

The tax code and all of that. Social Secruity passed to our partners. I could be married in CA right now, and I'd still be treated uneaqually under the law, by the Feds. Most of my desires for equality revolve around the Federal laws, not the State laws.

[Skip Intro]

37. It's completely rediculous that in a free country we have one group of people, at least, relegated

to second-class citizenship.

It's just flat out wrong, state level and federally. Constitutionally.

You know, I get a lot of guff (first time I've ever used that word) about criticizing Obama. Been called all kinds of names. But it's stuff like this, that stand that supposedly he's behind equal rights for gays but only on a state level and only if the state has approved gay unions as recognizable. It's just pandering, there is no there there. He's being portrayed as a fighter for taking the stance of a calculating politician. And the pretnse is bought at face value by the flock. You know? How can you see that and not say it?

Sorry, that just came out.

But I have to wonder why it's so hard for politicians to just come right out and state the obvious, especially politicians who run on change from the usual bs.

I'm sorry Bluenorthwest, can't help myself sometimes.

[Bluenorthwest]

40. No worries

I've criticized him constantly. I try to be constructive with it as he is our nominee as this point. I took issue with many of his statments in the past, as did many others. His language around GLBT issues has improved greatly, and I think much of that comes from the input they got from the community at large.
He gave an interview to the Advocate that pissed me off royally. The Equality interview was a whole different animal, Obama was far more clear and to the point. As I said, he was asked if he saw gay rights reflected in the Constitution and his answer was " Of course. The 14th amendment..." the answer pleased me deeply, it is the first time I've heard any politician speak of the Equal protection clause as the reason to support GLBT rights. It is the right answer. If not the right anwswer, it is at least my answer, and I was suprised to hear it out of him or anyone else.
He's clearly a politician, and a good one, so I myself never expected him to be all progessive all the time. He was not my first choice or second, and I could have gone either way in the Primary really. Obama got my vote for complex reasons of local alliances, who was standing with him that I need to stand with me, that sort of thing. Politics. And for mentioning that he thought the 14th amendment applies to my family. That is the key really.

One thing I take from Obama's interviews that I'd really like his hard core supporters to pick up on, is that he asks for us to push issues and set agendas. He does not ask that we follow him, or nod in agreement with him, as many of his supporters tend to do. No. He says very clearly that we should force the government to act, that large change only comes when the people insist upon it. So he says, insist. I think the overly rah rah types are really the antithesis of what he calls for. He sort of says 'make me sign a marriage equality bill' he says that what we want with our rights is for us to say, not him. He's right about that too. He thinks civil unions are enough, but he can see why we might not, and if we want the whole enchilada, he correctly says it is us who must order the combo plate.
That is what we should all be doing with everything. Speaking out.

[jody]

41. Skip Intro, I see no reason to disagree with your astute analysis.

I'm reminded of two old sayings, "The more things CHANGE, the more they remain the same" and "When all is said and done, more is said than done".

:hi: