BRING BACK BUSH or ALL HAIL OBAMA?

There seems to be an increasing amount of anti-Obama sentiment as of late. This is surprising given that Obama remains a hugely popular president. Even Bill Maher was taken aback last week when he offered commentary critical of Obama and the audience actually applauded instead of booed. So, what do we make of all these criticisms? Should Obama be concerned?

Why all the criticism? As Bill Maher said, this is not what we voted for. He said at the end of his commentary that instead of the audacity of hope we could use just some audacity. It seems to many on the left, both progressives and liberals, that Obama is failing them. He is keeping his promises to work on many of the issues that we wanted – the economy, healthcare, energy reform, employee free choice, the wars – but, what we are seeing is not reform as much as it is dicking around the edges. At time when there is a strong Democratic majority in Congress and a new president with a clear mandate it seems rather unnecessary that we would be so concerned about bipartisanship and negotiation. The bottom line is that GOP are not needed and the GOP is so decimated at this point that there is little point in negotiating with them or trying to meet their demands. We wanted a president to go for the gold and we have a president who is content with the silver or bronze.

Here are issues Obama needs to address. In Minnesota the Senate race is still officially undecided. The election was seven months ago and the senator from this state has not been seated. If a couple of Democrats in New York could stage a coup in their state senate, then the Dems in the U.S. Senate should develop some balls and seat Franken regardless of the threats of the GOP. Obama should be seen with Franken and instead Obama remains silent on the issue. The economy is still in need of an overhaul yet all we seem to be doing is throwing billions and trillions of dollars to big corporations to keep them afloat. The Obama mantra is that big businesses are too big too fail while small businesses are too small to save. The trillions given to the financial and auto industries make little sense to even the least articulate folks. These businesses are on the brink of failure (or more correctly, HAVE FAILED) because of poor business judgment and should not be rewarded for these poor business practices. Further, as is the case on Wall Street, these officials acted fraudulently and not one has been indicted. Here, Obama needs to adopt the Nancy Reagan slogan of “just say no.” No more bailouts and no more big business. Healthcare is another issue where we are looking for reform but Obama seems to be settling for the most part with some minor adjustments to appease the medical industry with the general public left holding the bag and still uninsured. Obama was booed during a speech at the American Medical Association which means he will undoubtedly work harder to appease the AMA than he will the general public.

We demand justice! Put Bush and his bastard minions behind bars for war crimes. And, while Sotomayor is a popular choice for the Supreme Court due to her Latino heritage, she is lightweieght and surely there were other Latinas who would have more solid credentials. Gay rights now, gay rights forever. Here we are in PRIDE month and even now Obama is strangely silent about issues important to the queer community. Close Gitmo and get out of Iraq. There was a report last week that Obama has given up on transferring prisoners from Gitmo to US social. Give me a break.

Bill Maher stated that Obama needs to be more like GW. GW did not care about his popularity. He took a razor thin majority and operated like he did have a mandate. He was successful in pushing his unpopular ageneda through the Congress and did so without great comprise. Bush learned earlier on that bipartisanship is a nasty word that should only be uttered outside of DC. He got us into a war with a country that had done nothing to attack us. For as ineffective as he was later in his second term, GW was effective in the early stages of his presidency in getting his way.

Obama, contends Bill Maher, should take on this trait of Bush and be more aggressive. Further, Maher said that Obama needs to get off the front pages with the endless of photo ops. Honestly, I felt it a bit gross to see him touring the pyramids in Egypt, jetting to NYC for a night out, or taking his children on vacation in London. There are many, many people struggling here in the US where analysts finally admitted that the real unemployment is close to 20%. Stop the media blitz, says Maher, and get to doing the business of those that elected you.

For all of the criticisms I do not believe that Obama is that worried. I believe that he sees himself as a transformative figure. And so, what we are seeing is him working his magic. First, with the bailouts of the auto and finance industries he has shored up his support with the trillions of dollars. The Latino and women vote is more secure now with the nomination of Sotomayor. And with the defection of Arlen Specter to the Democrats Obama is working on the securing the moderate Republicans and pushing the GOP further and further to the right and making them more fanatical. Obama can ignore the liberals and progressives for now knowing that they will be there for him when the times comes as there is no other place for them to go. It is anew style of politics and it is the game he played to get to the White House and it is a game he will place to keep him in the White House.

But it is a dangerous game that could backfire. We will know a bit more come the fall when New Jersey and Virginia vote for governors. In New Jersey Jon Corzine could well lose to his GOP challenger. If Corzine loses it will not be because of the economy but because he was not bold enough. He came in as the financial genius from Wall Street who would transform the state’s finances. That really has not happened. He did sign the civil unions bill but that was under duress and he failed to. deliver marriage equality. Now, comes word that his leading candidate for Lieutenant Governor is a white widow woman from north Jersey when in fact it was believed that this number two position would be filled by an African American. I do not know much about the Virginia race other than this was a state won by the Dems last year after many, many defeats. For them to return to Republican rule would be evidence that people are, indeed dissatisfied.

THERE’S A LITTLE WEASEL IN IT!

This morning I was walking in the fields and the woods

and I saw wheat, a-holding up its head, looking very big.

I go up and I take hold of it.

You believe it, there was no wheat there.

I said, “God what is a matter with this wheat?”

And, He says to me, “Sojourner, there is a little weasel in it.” *

The queer community seems all a-twitter over Dick Cheney’s voiced support of marriage equality. Is this hooray, hooray, or boo, boo? I have been surprised that I have yet to read on anyone saying it is the latter. For it is my contention that this is just The Dick being the dick.

In his remarks Cheney says this is an issue to be decided by the states. I could not disagree more and history is on my side. Whenever there has been an issue about equality – women, African Americans, interracial marriages, voting, etc.– the issues were ultimately decided by the federal government. Why? I would guess because that as a union of UNITED states we do not function well with a patchwork of rights available in certain states. Cheney apparently advocates that NIMBY scenario to marriage equality. It is okay if the gays can marry over there just as long as it is Not In My Back Yard. In Cheney’s warped world it is fine that marriage equality exists in New England and equally fine that it does not exist in Texas, Wyoming, Virginia or any of the other states practicing discrimination. This is just ludicrous.

While I agree that states may regulate marriage(waiting periods, charges, venues, etc.) it is the federal government that confers many of the benefits associated with marriage. Further, as in the case in New Jersey, when companies do not want to comply with state laws (civil unions, for example), it is federal law (ERISA) stand behind as they claim their hands arr tied. This is yet another reason why marriage equality is a federal issue.

By saying marriage equality is a states issue, Cheney gets to speak out of both sides of his mouth an d deliver his “Malcolm X” o r “by any means necessary shtick yet again. I am old enough to remember 2004 and the bleak reelection hopes of the Bush/Cheney ticket. What brought about the change in tide? In one word it was fear. It was fear of the boogeyman as we heard the duo speak over and over about national security and even saw them elevate the threat risk. It was just too risky to change leadership at this point was the message the spouted. At the same time Bush operative and no doubt Cheney buddy Karl Rove sought to have as many marriage referenda on the ballots as politicians. The electorate disliked the war in Iraq but they disliked the gays even more. And so, the evangelicals came out in droves to protect the sanctity of marriage and, oh, yea, Bush/Cheney would protect us from the gays. It was masterful and during the whole time never did we hear The Dick speaking up in support of marriage equality. He said nary a word, usually flew into a rage whenever his daughter was mentioned, and his lesbian daughter, Mary, was sent into exile during the fall campaign .

Now Cheney is in effect saying that it was okay that all o f those states added amendments to their constitutions banning marriage equality just as it is okay for those states who have embrace marriage equality. We are to cheer him for his support just as he expects us to cheer him for his tireless efforts that have kept us safe since 9/11. So, yea, The Dick is being the dick. What’s new? Not a darn thing.

Now, I hear talking about the Constitution – the rights of MAN

I come up and take hold of this Constitution.

It looks mighty big and I feel for my rights.

But, there ain’t none there and I said, “God what ails this Constitution?”

And God said, “Sojourner, there’s a little weasel in it.” *

*  Sojourner Truth from Change my Name

SHAMEFUL NEWS

DAMN SHAME!

There were two big news stories this past week. The first was in California where the California Supreme Court ruled that Prop Hate must stand, but that the thousands of gays and lesbians who were married last year in California will remain legally married. The decision is not only a blow to marriage equality, but, more importantly, it is a very severe blow to what we supposedly hold dear in this country – non discrimination. Forgetting that the subject matter was marriage equality, what the California Supreme Court said this past week was that a group of citizens could conspire to deny rights to others and that this conspiracy would be legal with enough votes. That means that if I do not like Hispanics I could conspire with a few people to get a ballot measure that would deny access to Hispanics and that would be fine. Or, if I did not like interracial marriage or African Americans or anybody else. What the California Supreme Court ruled is that it is legal to use the Constitution to deny rights instead of convey them. That is a very chilling ruling that could have deleterious ramifications far beyond just marriage equality.

On the subject of marriage equality, the two attorneys who were on opposite sides at the U.S. Supreme Court in the infamous Bush v. Gore are now teaming up to bring federal lawsuits that would in effect eventually reach the SCOTUS (I like the new journalist’s lingo – SCOTUS, POTUS, FLOTUS). Ted Olson, who later served as the Solicitor General for Bush (and argued in favor of the plaintiff in the Michigan higher education case) and David Boies are now joining forces to advance this issue. Their work is causing controversy in the queer community as the more established groups do not feel that it is yet time to make this a federal case. They favor continuing to build momentum through these state by state battles. That is a worthwhile strategy, but it also creates a patchwork of equality and assumes that time is on our side. Well, I would disagree that time is on our side because there are lives being lost and shattered now that will not recover in a few years or benefit in a few years from the rulings should they even go in our favor. So, I said full steam ahead – let us have a two-pronged approach that goes through the states with a track toward a universal ruling.

In Pennsylvania there is an interesting tidbit that shows why this state is often referred to as “Pennsyltucky” signifying the liberal ends of the state (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia) and the very conservative center of the state. A state legislator from Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia is planning on introducing legislation for marriage equality. Meanwhile, another state legislator, this time from Blair County in the center of the state wants to introduce legislation that would add a state constitutional amendment to continue marriage inequality.

The second big story last week was the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Associate Justice of the SCOTUS. If confirmed Sotomayor would become the first Hispanic to serve on the SCOTUS. I have to admit that Obama apparently hit a home run with this nomination – a woman which he was compelled to do and an Hispanic which is was also compelled to do. Further, Sotomayor has more federal judicial experience as a nominee than any of the current justices when they were nominated. The GOP seems intent now on smearing her good name but trying to deny her place in history, by denigrating her ethnicity, and attacking her intelligence. It is little wonder that anybody wants to be in the spotlight given the intense and overwrought scrutiny that they receive. I mean, step into the celebrity world and see the current stories of Jon and Kate or Susan Boyle. Remember the stories of Britney Spears just a few years ago? It just gets to be ridiculous where we do our best to tear people down instead of building them up. So, to the GOP, you are shameful. And, what is so incredible is that they are attacking Sotomayor for things she said that are identical to what the “conservative” justices on the SCOTUS. When they said it their words were scholarly but her word are contemptible. Oh please, give me a royal break. Let us look into the woman’s record and judge her on that. Let us be proud of her instead of being in contempt of her.