CBS News: 15 gay/lesbian leaders make one final plea to Obama, stop McClurkin's performance, ("No")

[Bluebear]

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign held a hurriedly put together conference call Thursday night with gay and lesbian leaders in South Carolina to discuss the candidate's gospel tour, which includes a singer who says homosexuality is a choice.

Obama campaign spokesman Kevin Griffis refused to talk about what was discussed on the call with Steve Hildebrand, Obama's early voting state strategist, and Joshua DuBois, who runs faith programs for the campaign...

This guy has a reputation. He has a past. It's well known," Snell said. "You guys should have researched this out," Snell said of the Obama campaign.

Snell said the call ended with the 15 gay and lesbian leaders making a final appeal to Hildebrand and DuBois to talk to Obama. "Please ask him one more time to stop Donnie McClurkin's appearance at Sunday's event," Snell said.

Griffis said McClurkin won't be booted from the program.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/26/politics/main3414553.shtml

[Maat]

1. This PFLAGer is sad ..

(Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays) ... THE website that intelligently discusses this disaster is the Truth Wins Out website. Wayne Besen does great work at exposing McPhoney and his friends and their nonsense .... www.truthwinsout.org .

[Bluebear]

3. Maat...

thank you for your support and I hope the fires are not affecting you.

[Maat]

5. And thank YOU for the kind words and caring.

We are fine - the fires are around us, but not threatening us. Our air quality is poor, and the kid's school has been closed this week (probably won't resume until Tuesday). Thanks for caring. Tomorrow I begin to help the victims through our UU church; some of the San Diego County UUers lost their homes. Some have just not been allowed back. It is sad.

We ARE, however, going to drive out to Palm Springs on Nov. 3, and ride in the PFLAG car (we are getting the details together now).

To the GLBT community! We're here to support you (signed, Maat, proud V.P. of our local PFLAG)!



:toast:

[NMMNG]

37. I hope you and yours remain safe

And thank you for your ongoing support. :toast:

[Maat]

41. To BuffyTheFundieSlayer!

:toast:

By the way, I think I need you to come slay some fundies for me ... some nutty relatives that are being a pain (and I'm a believer .... just not THEIR kind of believer - into mysticism/transcendentalism myself, but that's another story ...)!

:)

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Bottom line: pandering to the religious is the higher priority.

Even without the whole McClurkin thing, holding a "gospel tour" has finally knocked Obama off "the candidates I would consider" list.

[varkam]

4. Methinks it crosses the line from sharing one's personal faith...

into pandering.

[emilyg]

6. Agree 100%.

[calteacherguy]

7. Why the fuck do they want the performance stopped??? I don't get this.

This has become silly and absurd. People are making bigger fools of themselves "protesting" McClurkin singing than McClurkin has made by his statements.

[Bluebear]

9. Wow, the outrage really gets in your craw, doesn't it? Good.

[calteacherguy]

11. It's just sad that folks would waste their time like this when there are real issues.

Worse, the "protesting" achieves the exact opposite of what the protesters want to achieve.

[Bluebear]

12. "folks would waste their time like this when there are real issues."

What are those "real" issues? Things important to YOU, no doubt.

[calteacherguy]

19. Real issues like gay rights, for instance.

Why not spend time and energy fighting for that?

[NMMNG]

36. We are fighting for gay rights

By opposing a multi-homophobe concert designed to win votes from homophobes. That sure isn't going to advance the cause of gay rights. Hence our opposition.

[IndianaGreen]

29. Must be so satisfying to be hetero in a hetero society, isn't it?

Many whites didn't feel the pain of those demonstrators being attacked by Bull Connor's dogs in Alabama.

[Tom Rinaldo]

31. It is a very real issue

People in good faith may disagree about what Obama can and/or should do now, but it is a very real issue.

[MNDemNY]

33. You mean the doom of Obamas candidacy?

[MNDemNY]

35. It's to the point, now where I would ask..

Why does BHO waste his time and energy on his now failed campaign when he should expend those energies on something worthwhile?

[terrya]

26. I'm sorry...I'm not sick and I don't need to be "cured"

Which is the message that McClurkin has been spreading. Which is sheer, hateful bigotry.

There's the outrage for you. Since you don't seem to understand.

[terrya]

27. dupe

[Karenina]

28. What you don't GET

is the "ex-gay" thing. It's vile, vicious and has done incalculable harm. "Embrace the Change"+"Ex-gay"= Bleach + Ammonia.

BTW, Donnie's still gay, ask Clay. ;-)

[Cameron27]

8. This is heartbreaking.

[calteacherguy]

10. .

:eyes:

Can you be a little more melodramatic?

[IndianaJones]

13. could you be a little less sensitive? nt.

[Bluebear]

14. Not possible. nt

[Solon]

15. You don't get it, do you?

This isn't a snark, I'm honestly wondering if you do get it. McClurkin is an example of outright hostility to the existence of homosexuality as being normal. Think about how damaging that is to, and yes I'm going to say it, GBLT children. Yes, think of the children, there, I said it. GBLT kids make up about a third of all suicides by children in this country, considering that GBLT people make up, depending on statistics, anywhere from 3% to 10% of our society, this is huge.

Think of the influence someone like McClurkin would have on such children, and their parents, who would view homosexuality or bisexuality as a "curse" to be exorcised from. McClurkin is a proponent of a movement that basically wants to shame these kids straight. In some cases this devolves into outright child abuse. The problem is that it doesn't work, and when it doesn't, these kids could be damaged for the rest of their lives. Basically McClurkin is advocating to violate these kids in a way that isn't dissimilar to how he was violated as a child, even if only confined to the emotional level.

I don't see how you can sit there in front of your computer and say that it is no big deal. Now can you understand why GBLT people are up in arms?

[Bluebear]

17. Look upthread, he says this is not a "real" issue.

[calteacherguy]

18. It's not. I find it pathetic people are making it one.

I wish folks were stronger than that.

[IndianaJones]

20. you beat all dude. party on. nt.

[Solon]

30. Child abuse isn't a real issue to you?

What type of sick fuck are you?

[dsc]

24. Great post

As one who heard, until the cows came home and gave birth to aliens, about the children who would be traumatized by Larry Craig; I find it amazing that we aren't hearing about children now. Well no I'm not.

[Cameron27]

16. Could you be any more absurd.

[CyberPieHole]

21. This is very sad indeed. Obama is pandering to bigots and homophobes...

and it's shocking that anyone would try to defend it and attack the very people who are being hurt by the bigotry. Some of the posts on this thread are really un-fucking-beliable! Bigotry and intolerance are very real issues to GLBT and to anyone who cares about civil rights and social injustice. It will be very sad if McClurkin is given the stage to sing. Perhaps common sense will prevail and it will be canceled. We can only hope for the best.

[calteacherguy]

22. Why do you want McClurkin off the stage so badly?

Obama spoke for gay rights at McClurkin's church. Do you have a problem with that, too?

[CyberPieHole]

23. Because McClurkin is a bigot and a homophobe...

to say nothing of the fact that he is probably also a hypocrite...there are reports of his being a little less than honest about his "ex-gay" conversion. I don't believe that anyone can "pray away their gayness" any more than one could "pray away" one's own heterosexuality. Violence against GLBT is not something that should be accepted, tolerated and coddled. We have all had years of input by "religious" repubs...we know how well that's worked out. By giving McClurkin a stage in which to perform, Obama is giving him his tacit approval, with a wink and a nod. I find it offensive to court votes from bigots. I once felt that Obama was the best chance for the Democratic party come '08. I now feel I can no longer support him. I don't believe Obama is a bigot, hes just courting bigots for votes. At the expense of the GLBT community. That is unacceptable to me.
I'm curious why you want McClurkin ON stage so badly?

[Karenina]

25. Good question!

[MonkeyFunk]

39. Because no Dem candidate

should be giving this guy a spotlight. No Dem candidate should be using a person like McClurkin to raise money.

This IS a real issue, and you come across as a real jerk with your attempts to dismiss it, and us.

[maxanne]

32. bad strategy

but revealing.

I'm amazed that gay folks support Obama/Edwards/Clinton/Richardson/Dodd/Biden all of whom are against marriage equality for
our gay brothers and sisters.

Obama speaks piously about civil unions "with full benefits." So, why can't he say marriage?

I'm sickened by the spineless Democrats who will sell out the civil rights of the GLBT community.

[MNDemNY]

34. This proves that BHO's motives are to pander to the "evangelicals"

This will get him nowhere in the Primaries. He is as good as done. Stick a fork in him.

[roody]

38. Face it. Kucinich is the best choice. Health care too.

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. Obama will never win now. What a stupid freakin' thing to do! WTF? Why the hell

would he do such a thing? Freakin' idiot.