Thursday Reads
Posted: May 10, 2012 Filed under: 2012 presidential campaign, Barack Obama, Civil Rights, Democratic Politics, GLBT Rights, legislation, Mitt Romney, morning reads, Republican politics, Team Obama, torture, U.S. Politics, War on Women | Tags: CIA torture tapes, civil unions, Joe Biden, Log Cabin Republcans, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, racial profling, Reince Priebus, RNC, rural post offices, same-sex marriage, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, waterboarding 43 Comments
Good Morning!!
Yesterday was a great day. President Obama took a clear stance on a very important issue, saying that same sex couples should have the same marriage rights and privileges as every other American. But this really is not about marriage or about LGBT rights. It’s about equal rights for every citizen of this country. The President’s action is a big step in the right direction.
The New York Times has the behind the scenes skinny on how Obama decided to take his stand yesterday.
Before President Obama left the White House on Tuesday morning to fly to an event in Albany, several aides intercepted him in the Oval Office. Within minutes it was decided: the president would endorse same-sex marriage on Wednesday, completing a wrenching personal transformation on the issue.
As described by several aides, that quick decision and his subsequent announcement in a hastily scheduled network television interview were thrust on the White House by 48 hours of frenzied will-he-or-won’t-he speculation after Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. all but forced the president’s hand by embracing the idea of same-sex unions in a Sunday talk show interview.
Obama had intended to state his position on the issue before this summer’s Democratic Convention, but Joe Biden’s statement of his support for same-sex marriage last weekend accelerated the decision-making process.
Initially Mr. Obama and his aides expected that the moment would be Monday, when the president was scheduled to be on “The View,” the ABC daytime talk show, which is popular with women….
Yet the pressure had become too great to wait until then, his aides told him; on Monday, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, was pummeled with questions from skeptical reporters about Mr. Obama’s stance. After the Tuesday morning meeting, Dan Pfeiffer, the president’s communications director, contacted ABC and offered a wide-ranging interview with the president for the following day.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney announced that he continues to oppose same-sex marriage and he also opposes civil unions that resemble marriage. Appearing on a local Fox station in Colorado, Romney
“Well, when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name,” Romney told KDVR. “My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not.”
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus responded to Obama’s announcement by suggesting that same-sex marriage would be an issue in the presidential race.
“While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear,” Priebus said. “We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that.”
IMO, it would be huge mistake for Romney to focus on social issues in the campaign, his campaign knows it. Just look what happened when Rick Santorum did it. But Romney should be forced to clarify his stance on this issue. Buzzfeed offered five questions to help him do so. Check it out.
Oddly, Log Cabin Republicans were enraged by President Obama’s announcement. Here is the press release the group released yesterday:
“That the president has chosen today, when LGBT Americans are mourning the passage of Amendment One, to finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous,” said R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director. “Log Cabin Republicans appreciate that President Obama has finally come in line with leaders like Vice President Dick Cheney on this issue, but LGBT Americans are right to be angry that this calculated announcement comes too late to be of any use to the people of North Carolina, or any of the other states that have addressed this issue on his watch. This administration has manipulated LGBT families for political gain as much as anybody, and after his campaign’s ridiculous contortions to deny support for marriage equality this week he does not deserve praise for an announcement that comes a day late and a dollar short.”
Addicting Info responded to the Log Cabin Republican release:
Here’s the official White House list of stuff the Obama administration has done for the LGBT community. It is not remotely comprehensive. Obama has done more for the LGBT community in three years than every single previous president combined. If that’s “manipulating” the LGBT community, what do the Log Cabin Dummies consider “full-throated support?” Should he divorce Michelle and marry Joe Biden?
As for the claim of “political gain;” what gain would that be? Will moderates suddenly sit up and say, “YES! The hell with the economy! I was only interested in gay rights!”? Will conservatives suddenly feel that their institutional bigotry is misplaced and they should embrace the LGBT community as fellow humans instead of condemning them to burn for eternity as “unnatural?” Will the GOP decide that perhaps gay-baiting is not the way to go and focus on the issues? Hell, gay Republicans can’t even muster any support for Obama. They’re outraged! They’re offended! Not at their own party whose official platform is virulently anti-gay but at that goddamned Obama for not supporting them sooner! Obama gets nothing from supporting gay marriage and only hands the right another cudgel to attack him with.
{{Loud, extended applause}}
Can you stand some more good news? Think Progress reports that on Tuesday,
Congress took up legislation that could significantly impact women’s health — and no, it doesn’t limit contraception or force anything into their vaginas.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act aims to protect pregnant women in the workplace from common discrimination — not being allowed to carry a water bottle, for example — that threatens their health and stops them from being productive employees, or from working altogether.
Introduced by Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA), the bill would “ensure that pregnant women are not forced out of jobs unnecessarily or denied reasonable job modifications that would allow them to continue working,”
The Republicans will fight it, and let’s hope lots of pregnant women hear about a new front in the War on Women and punish them in the voting booth.
And here’s just a little more good news from Reuters: U.S. drops plan to close rural post offices.
The U.S. Postal Service said on Wednesday that it is abandoning for now its plan to close thousands of post offices in rural locations and instead will shorten their hours of operation.
The change represents a victory for U.S. lawmakers and rural communities who created a backlash against the cash-strapped agency last summer when it began considering more than 3,600 post offices for closure this year.
Rather than shuttering offices starting next week, when a self-imposed moratorium on closings was set to end, the plan is to cut the operating hours of 13,000 locations with little traffic to between two and six hours a day.
It’s good news/bad news situation, with hours being cut at rural post offices; but it’s a step in the right direction.
And even more good news–can you believe it? The Justice Department announced yesterday that it plans to sue Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona for civil rights violations.
The U.S. Justice Department has been seeking an agreement requiring Arpaio’s office to train officers in how to make constitutional traffic stops, collect data on people arrested in traffic stops and reach out to Latinos to assure them that the department is there to also protect them.
Arpaio has denied the racial profiling allegations and has claimed that allowing a court monitor would mean that every policy decision would have to be cleared through an observer and would nullify his authority.
Justice Department officials told a lawyer for Arpaio on April 3 that the lawman’s refusal of a court-appointed monitor was a deal-breaker that would end settlement negotiations and result in a federal lawsuit.
I hate to ruin the upbeat mood, but I felt I had to include this article from the BBC: ‘Vomiting and screaming’ in destroyed waterboarding tapes. It’s an interview with Jose Rodriguez, head of the CIA Counterterrorism Ceneter, and the man who destroyed the torture tapes. Read it if you can stand it. I think every American needs to know what was done in our name.
What are you reading and blogging about today?
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Poor Romney. He must be finding himself between a rock and a hard place attempting to “define” his ever evolving positions on gay rights.
Coming from a man whose religion was based on multiple wives – and in some quarters is still practiced – how is he capable of standing up for something he once championed against what he actually believes? A double contortionist would have difficulty executing that maneuver.
But it is best to keep in mind that most of his charitable contributions go to the Mormon Church. The same church that heavily financed the repeal of Prop 8. Romney has never once addressed this issue openly.
We all know his postion no matter how much he wishes to dance around the topic. He is against it. End of story.
It will be up to the voter to decide if that position is worth it when it is apparent that “equality for all” is something he refuses to defend.
Agree with everything you said Pat…maybe Romney just needs to sport a mullet? It sure would help him with the “rural” vote.
AAEC – Political Cartoon by Nate Beeler, The Columbus Dispatch – 05/10/2012
Exactly, Pat. Romney’s great grandfather Miles Romney had 5 wives. The great grandfather on the other side had 12. It’s not exactly ancient history.
Not too many people are bringing that up due to Obama’s dad and all his wives. His mom supposedly married him and later divorced him upon learning about his first wife in Kenya…etc…
I don’t think they were ever married. Have you seen the marriage certificate? Besides, Obama never knew his father. Romney is a chip off the old block.
The Mormon Church also worked against the ERA and put tons of money into that effort too.
Bump dakinikat’s remark up to the top!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will never forget nor forgive the LDS for their role in the killing of the ERA.
The LDS church also has done so much to harm guy kids — how many children have been driven to suicide by this dogmatic church???
Morning BB. Great lineup, Great Day.
“If that’s “manipulating” the LGBT community, what do the Log Cabin Dummies consider “full-throated support?” ”
The Log Cabinites & GOProud are frustrated because they cannot steer their party in their direction. They are excluded from events like CPAC and can’t cope with the reality that their party doesn’t care about their civil rights, their family civil rights issues or their personal experiences as Gay Americans. They belong to a party that doesn’t really want them, period!!!
I expect to see a new Democratic Party Platform Plank at this years Convention, one supporting full marriage equality and full equality in civil law for LGBT. When that happens the Log Cabinites and GOProud will really lash out. Remember I called it.
🙂
I don’t see how any LGBT person can stay in the Republican Party. It’s possible to be fiscally conservative as a Democrat–and Repubs aren’t really fiscally conservative anyway. Look how GW Bush blew up the deficit.
I agree BB. There are 2 sort of L/G who support the GOP at this juncture,
1. Those who hate Obama so desperately that nothing he does in support of their civil rights matters to them. They will kick themselves in their own ass all the way to the voting both to vote for Mitt Romney
and
2. Those who can feather their personal nest more gloriously through their support of or association with the GOP and will not disturb their own nest for the greater good,
To my mind, there is no single issue more important than equality in the law because inequality affects every single aspect of the individuals life. Even those who have found a niche inside the GOP that brings them personal security or comfort are affected in subtle but important ways, if not there would be no Log Cabin Republicans or GOProud.
I remember during the civil rights movement, there were some black people who refused to support the movement because they were personally or financially comfortable in the separate but equal paradigm, even though the majority of their brothers & sisters were not. They came to the party very late, but in the end, most of them came.
They need to wake up and smell the latte. So do a lot of the women in that party as well as any racial minority. There will never be a return to the old GOP until they take care of their christoban problems.
Jon Stewart had his fun with Obama’s endorsement of Gay marriage last night
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/10/stewart-now-straight-people-can-have-the-same-lack-of-rights-same-sex-couples-never-had/
I’ve been tripping around the blogosphere and the comments from some of these “liberal” blogs are amazing in their duplicity.
I don’t much care which POTUS candidate came out and said what Obama did yesterday. They too would have won my thanks for at least one time taking a positive stand on an issue that is really and only about human rights. At least it sends some sort of a signal that as a society we wish to be moving on from divisive issues that have no place in the public square. Biology is biology not politics.
Had Sister Sarah made the same declaration I would have offered the same kudos. The same for Mittens or any other moron who has taken a stand that basically guarantees that equality is not to be shared with everyone we deem to be “different”.
But no, these airheads would rather preach cynicism forgetting that it is their own brothers and sisters of the human race who benefit from someone in authority stipulating their place in society is a shared event regardless of who stands up for the count. No more so in a time when the nation is grappling with the extremists focused on denying just about every segment of society the dignity of just being alive.
So sick to death of these creatures pretending to be liberal but show are essentiall closeted social conservatives who use the opportunity to bash Obama even when it is unwarranted.
Waiting for one GOP flunky to follow the same discourse is another exercise in futilty.
Morons!
I’m also pissed at it but not surprised at all. Their reaction is what I had expected. Personally, they can bite me!
“Their reaction is what I had expected. Personally, they can bite me!”
Me too!!!! 🙂
Mouse, It’s the only reasonable reaction 🙂
Me three!!!
“Personally, they can bite me!”
Ralphb…I think I’m already being bitten. I’m a glutton for punishment!!!! 🙂 Maybe i’ve been hit in the head too often. 🙂
Morons indeed!!!!
No surprise here.
Top Romney Adviser: We’ll Campaign On Constitutional Marriage Ban
Will they TM “Marriage is between a man and a healthy woman, and another healthy woman and…” ala Newt Gingrich?
Evidently, it’s okay to have a series of wives as long as only one of them has any legal status at the same time. Concubines-in-waiting seem to be okay too.
“President Obama’s support for marriage equality an issue this November and that Romney will actively push for a constitutional amendment to take away the right of states to voluntarily extend marriage equality to same-sex couples.”
What???? I thought they were all about State Rights. No, they’re not. Romney signed the pledge to support a Constitutional Amendment banning gay marriage early on in this campaign. He feels he must because, WE, teh Gay, are so frightful that we’re a danger to society. Just the notion that Teh Gay can marry could destroy civilization. I think I’ll go stand in front of a mirror and flex my muscles. 🙂
🙂
The christoban will only be happy when they turn us back into some dystopian iron age mad max world where we all are shooting each other for gas and having to count how many ways they can stone us for not following their list of no nos.
Good. It’s a losing issue. Obama should campaign on jobs and make Romney’s record in MA common knowledge.
I am not a fan of Obama either but you can carry this “Hillary grudge” just so far.
Even she moved on, accepting a role as SOS and doing a magnificent job. Had I wish it had been differen? Absolutely!
But putting commonsense to the side in favor of a party commited to the destabilization of the nation through their extreme policies is something I just can’t wrap my head around.
It is the most ridiculous argument ever offered as a reason to turn to the radical Right.
It’s self defeating behavior that I’m really loathe to understand. Country first to me means not turning it over to insane radicals. That should get you around any grudge, I think?
I’ve been really amazed at this. You can’t really have very strong principles if you can carry a grudge to the point of actually voting against every one’s interest including your own.
It’s because they spell principle differently than you spell it. They spell it PRINCIPAL.
good point … no guiding morality … only cult of personality
Maybe the support they gave Hillary was just a ruse to install themselves in a position to push the McCain vote, and now the true colors are coming out. I think that some of these grudge holders have proved they can plot and plan and be patient when it is about pushing their agenda.
I’m not voting for Obama this time and that’s got very little to do with a Hillary grudge, and everything to do with a grudge against the Democratic Party using dishonest tricks to hand the nomination to The One.
I’ll vote third party for the top spot and to return Sherrod Brown to the Senate.
You’d better believe my vote counts—this time.
I agree– and after reading this article
and knowing that whoever gets the keys to the white house HE will bring on the Keystone pipeline. (Perhaps even Clinton would do the same thing — after all everything for the politicians is about money.)
Canada’s tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now. That level of heat-trapping gases would assure that the disintegration of the ice sheets would accelerate out of control. Sea levels would rise and destroy coastal cities. Global temperatures would become intolerable. Twenty to 50 percent of the planet’s species would be driven to extinction. Civilization would be at risk.
Cory Booker’s tweet yesterday was great and he was super on Maddow last night.
Cory Booker is a genuinely decent and outstanding human being. It’s amazing he’s in politics.
Booker 2016! would be a fine way to go. For a politician, he’s a superhero.
Maybe he’ll stop dancing when he reads of the president’s refusal to sign an executive non-discrimination order “at this time”, since he prefers a law to be enacted. Good luck.
HONK!! Taking a stand should mean taking action. When I see some kind of action, then I’ll be happy about one of the president’s ‘stands.’ I tie this sentiment to his decrease in ability to get funds for his campaign. Period. He proclaimed to high heaven that he was for the public option til it came time to support its enactment. My praise will come AFTER he does something.
And he is still an Asshat,
Hillary 2012
To be fair, Obama has taken action. He instructed the Justice Department not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act and he ended DADT. Those are actions. I didn’t vote for Obama, but I’m not going to carry a grudge forever. I’m not going to pretend he’s never done anything decent.
With the numbers putting Romney and Obama in a statistical tie, I believe Joe Biden knew what Obama was planning and opened his mouth so that he looked as the trail blazer. For me, I see Joe Biden as the old patriarchy that helped Clarence Thomas secure a seat on the Supreme Court by keeping the women in the hotel during the Clarence Thomas hearings, where Anita Hill was made out to be a liar and the Committee never was informed about the other women.
He got the VIP slot, with next to now support and Hillary Clinton was denied a Roll Call vote for POTUS and VP (which she earned having gotten the most popular vote). So, yup once again Biden sought to take the spot light…I guess the Obama team should keep mum on their campaign ideas, as Joe Biden is out for Joe Biden in his hopes of a run in 2016 with that SAME look on his face.
I’d love to see where this technology goes in the future. Possibilities are amazing.
The Future Is Now: Anything Can Be A Touch Screen Thanks To Disney Research
I just wish it was smart enough to tell the user that watching TV before sleep results in more-broken sleep than without. Oh, and that blood pressure is higher watching TV than when not.
Hope this technology won’t get turned loose to propagate wildly. But then I am a Luddite about some things. It could be helpful for some other uses.