Posted on 10/24/2007 12:11:48 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
The nation’s biggest gay rights group is trying to force Sen. Barrack Obama (D-Ill.) to cancel presidential campaign event with a controversial preacher who claims he was homosexual but has been cured.
The Human Rights Campaign has expressed its strong reservations to Obama over his campaign-sponsored tour that features gospel singer Donnie McClurkin.
The influential organization, representing a powerful Democratic constituency, let Obama’s campaign know that it would issue a public demand if Obama did not immediately cancel the event, said a person who had been briefed on the exchange.
Obama will not be present on the so-called Embrace the Change Tour, but public denouncement by the Human Rights Campaign could damage him in his quest for the White House.
McClurkin is notorious among gay rights activists for fighting what he calls the “curse of homosexuality,” for saying sexual orientation is a choice, and for claiming that homosexuality can be “cured” by prayer.
Obama has drawn intense fire from gay activists and liberal bloggers in recent days for recruiting McClurkin and other gospel singers for a statewide tour of South Carolina beginning this week.
By threatening to weigh in strongly, Human Rights Campaign has elevated what began as a controversy in the blogosphere into a full-fledged dilemma for Obama’s campaign.
Senior Obama aides had planned to hash the issue out Tuesday evening and discuss it in a conference call with gay supporters advising the campaign at noon Wednesday, said sources in contact with the campaign.
An online posting Monday by John Aravosis, a prominent left-leaning blogger, characterized the growing discontent.
“Funny how Obama is a big supporter of civil rights when blacks are being maligned, but not so much when gays are the victims,” Aravosis wrote on AMERICAblog, one of the most widely-read liberal blogs online. “I really like Obama. I’m from Illinois. But this is despicable.”
Earl Ofari Hutchinson wrote on Huffington Post, another popular liberal blog, that Obama should cancel the “gay bash tour.”
A count done late Tuesday morning found at least 17 political blogs that had sounded off on the flap, ranging from americablog.com, to dailykos.com, to perezhilton.com, a popular celebrity gossip site.
On Monday, Obama issued a statement in an effort to quell the growing uproar but stopped short of canceling the campaign-sponsored tour.
“I strongly believe that African Americans and the [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT)] community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as president of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division,” Obama stated.
The senator also said that he has “spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists” so that together they can confront HIV/AIDS and other issues facing African-Americans.
The statement failed to appease Aravosis, the founder of AMERICAblog, and other activists.
“That’s nice, senator,” he wrote. “You strongly disagree with the bigot who thinks I need to be cured, and who has declared ‘war’ on me and my people…”
One active member of the LGBT community who is supporting Obama said that his e-mail inbox has filled with complaints about the controversy.
“I think Barack Obama is between a rock and hard place and I imagine it will get worse not better over the next 48 hours,” said the supporter who declined to speak on the record because he had not made up his mind whether to criticize Obama publicly. “I never heard about [McClurkin] until 36 hours ago. Someone sent me an e-mail of a blog on the Huffington Post. God bless the Internet. Things spread like wildfire.”
The Obama backer said that better staff work could have avoided the political brouhaha.
“It shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “Someone should have known there was a red flag.”
Jimmy Williams, an openly gay Democratic lobbyist who supports Obama, said the media were unfair to criticize Obama without scrutinizing other candidates.
“If the press is going to hold Barack Obama to a certain level of criticism for his ‘anti-gay’ associates then I hope you would do the same to Sen. [Hillary Rodham] Clinton [D-N.Y.] and the Republican candidates,” he said. “For example, Clinton touts a guy named Harold Mayberry who is an African American minister who has publicly said that homosexuality is comparable to thievery. There are plenty examples.
“Why is the spotlight on Barack?” he said. “Let’s play a fair political game.”
I am more afraid of a wolf in sheeps' clothing than a wolf in wolf's clothing. Hillary is a wolf in wolf's clothing. I know what to expect, as most people should, from a wolf who is a wolf. It's the one that acts like a sheep that I fear.
There you go, Hillary paranoia. People are either for or against Hillary. There is no gray area and that’s a fact. What is there that would change a pro-Hillary voter to an anti-Hillary voter? Nothing. There isn’t anything else that Hillary could lie cheat or steal to get that hasn’t already been done by her. Therefore, the votes she would get, if she is the nominee, are already set in stone. I, nor you, have any way to prevent her from stealing the election. So, we might as well just concentrate on putting our best conservative candidate forward and supporting him.
You may not be far off base there. We do know that Hillary is connected at the hip with some very unsavory people in Arkansas. We know she hates our system of governance. We know she’s taking money from the Chinese government.
I do believe Osame could be a problem, but he’d have to graduate the University of Treason to be as bad as Hillary IMO.
For that reason, I don’t agree with your take, but I do understand where you are coming from.
On the contrary, we can raise the public awareness that this is her intention, and encourage citizens to police, document, and report theft of votes. Documenting is the most important thing. Anything less is complicity in her scheme.
So, we might as well just concentrate on putting our best conservative candidate forward and supporting him.
That goes without saying.
I don’t share your confidence in our election inspectors or in our FBI to do anything about liberal voting crimes. It happened in the State of Washington and the courts were complicit in it. I read that it also happened in other states and nary a thing was done about it. The Federal Election Commission is a joke. Nothing would be done by them and even if anything was it would so slight we wouldn’t even notice it. The FEC is in the backpocket of the liberals and the FBI will only investigate inequity charges by liberals against conservatives. So I don’t share your confidence in investigation of voter fraud by the liberals.
He has not distanced himself from the Koran or Islam. Even if he did, would he be lying since this is acceptable in Islam? That is what I mean by a wolf in sheep's clothing. I do not trust him. At least with Hillary I know what she is, as does the populace. She is a socialist but I believe, if she were elected, this country could at least place roadblocks in front of her. I can't say the same about if it turns out that Obama is a dedicated muslim in sheep's clothing.
I’m sure a lot of people would agree with you. I can’t.
You take care.
He's TOAST.
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