The entire debate about Obama not standing up for gay marriage is a bit of a red herring. In spite of his failure to make a symbolic declaration of support, he is pretty much doing all that he can in this arena by trying to overturn DOMA.

Although he touts his “leadership” on DADT, he was actually late to the party and bit detached. His signature on the repeal bill was symbolic since it affirmed what the federal courts had already declared. Plus you can’t overlook the fact that unlike DOMA, the justice department worked diligently to get the DADT court ruling overturned and Obama didn’t use his executive powers to suspend discharges during the appeal process.

The ENDA executive order was nothing short of a train wreck and a big failure by Obama to deliver on LGBT commitments. He is no fool and clearly understands that the odds of an inclusive ENDA bill reaching the floor of what he has deemed a “dysfunctional Congress” are slim to none. If you’re going to huff and puff as he did back in October about “Where they won’t act, I will” and promise that his administration “will look for actions they can take without Congress,” then I’m not sure “lame” is a strong enough word to describe Carney’s explanation.

Don’t worry Peter, I’m going to vote for Obama, same as I did in 2008. The only difference is last time I did it gladly and this time I will do it grudgingly. What I find ironic is that Obama’s strategy with gays looks and feels a lot like Romney’s strategy with Southern Whites. Both candidates know that their opponent is not a viable alternative for that demographic so you don’t really have to give them much.

The only miscalculation Obama makes is that this time my money will not come with my vote. I am shifting my contributions to help keep control of the Senate, just in case…..

Did Obama promise to sign ENDA legislation or an Executive Order? Given the President was a Constitutional professor, I suspect it was the former. The latter, an EO, would be but a band-aid approach covering Federal contractors only and would provide Congress a reason to continue to do nothing. We need to be pressuring our Congressional leaders to get legislation on the President’s desk so he can sign it and make good on his promise.

Executive Orders are only valid and effective so long as the President agrees with the Order. I can’t imagine a President Romney continuing with this assessment. Just as Arizona provided domestic partner benefits to State employees through a State-type EO, one of Governor Brewer’s first duty was to issue her own EO to strip those benefits away overnight.

We need laws and lefislations, which are permanent, not Executive Orders, which are temporary feel goods.

Obama is GWB’s 3rd term in the assault on civil liberties, war, the drug war, drones, environmental destruction, and government secrecy + killing US citizens, supporting indefinite detention, and the attack on the internet.

Obama was never a 100% pro-equality candidate – the only candidates who were back in 2008 were Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

If we can elect a black President and openly-gay candidates then we can certainly use the power of Occupy to overturn the 2party tyranny.

Stop Voting For Democrats & Republicans
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2012 Presidential Debate Of Alternative Parties
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I’m a former Republican from a mostly Republican family. So outside of LGBT matters, I am repeatedly surprised at the number of issues to which I find myself in agreement with the president’s very considerable judgment– both domestically and regarding national security and defense matters. I will vote for President Obama, again, of course.

That said, no issues agreement, nor even a cute ‘Bo effect’ is going to keep me and other LGBT citizen advocates from “barking” when the WH stumbles on LGBT civil rights.

In an era of Citizens United, I suppose its tolerable for a president to ‘study’ an issue for some months more– notwithstanding the breadth of its support and its general non-controversial status among the electorate. But to flatly reject an Executive Order on federal contractor ENDA, was as boneheaded a decision, on a number of levels, as the Obama White House has ever made.

The president has lost both credibility and votes due to this decision.
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“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”
–Frederick Douglass