About sums it up

Today I read a post on Joe.My.God. about how the Obama White House has set-up a new page on its website called “Winning the Future: President Obama and the LGBT Community”. I think that’s a really good thing—can anyone seriously imagine any Republican president doing that?—but the comments to such posts on Joe’s site always degenerate into fights between factions, with nothing to be learned, and no real common ground.

Even so, buried among the nearly 200 comments, many of them flat out stupid (a topic I’ll return to another day), was one that I thought neatly sums up the situation facing GLBT voters—so much so, I decided to do something I’ve never done before and re-publish someone else’s comment here, because I think it’s that good (hopefully, I’m not violating anyone’s copyright; if so, just email me).

Anyway, here’s that contribution from commenter James:

Here's the playing field:

1) Pro-gay politicians who will support gay rights to a certain extent. The line to be determined is how much support will get them how many votes and campaign dollars without costing them anything. This line is called the point of diminishing returns, and Obama has determined his. So have many prominent Democrats.

2) Anti-gay politicians pandering to the anti-gay vote. (JMG covers these).

3) People who don't really care.

4) Racist, wealthy gays who care more about taxes than equal gay rights. They think that they are part of the elite, and don't realize that the part of the elite they are licks the boot of backwoods white evangelical Republicania, then asks if he can use [his] Amex to pay for the privilege of being allowed to do so.

5) Pouty gays who care more about rights than progress, however incremental. These opt out and spend election night in a karaoke bar singing mournful torch songs. Morrissey, mostly, and Tori Amos.

6) Gays who would prefer to cast support behind full-equality politicians who are totally unelectable, and who don't care that people who are unelectable can't speak for us, because they are only visible during campaigns. They spend election night sprinting down K Street in a leather thong with a lit sparkler up their hoo-hah and singing "Anarchy In The UK". (Yay, principles!)

Obama needs to be pushed, but I am unconfident that he can be, pre-2012. But he's the devil we know. So I'll vote for him, and write him letters, along with… others. I'll tell my personal story. I'll ask questions I already know the answers to. And I'll wait… a little longer.

I agree with the conclusion, too, actually, but I’ll have more to say about all this at another time. By the way, if you do follow the link to James' original comment, you'll need to click the link, then click in the URL address space over at JMG, and then hit enter. It's a JSKit thing, apparently.