POLL: US President Obama and SameSex Marriage
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Posts: 264
What do you believe was President Barack Obama's main motivation when he spoke out in support of same-sex marriage?
A. His motivation was the fact that his position had legitimately evolved, he sincerely supports same-sex marriage now, and he will do everything in his power to make same-sex marriage a possibility across the nation.
B. His motivation was strictly political, his position on same-sex marriage has not changed, and he will continue doing very little to progress civil/equal rights for the LGBT+ community.
C. His motivation was a combination of A & B. His position on same-sex marriage may have actually evolved, and he may support same-sex marriage, but he's not necessarily ready to do everything he can possibly do to further the cause.
D. Other. Explain what you believe was his motivation.
A. His motivation was the fact that his position had legitimately evolved, he sincerely supports same-sex marriage now, and he will do everything in his power to make same-sex marriage a possibility across the nation.
B. His motivation was strictly political, his position on same-sex marriage has not changed, and he will continue doing very little to progress civil/equal rights for the LGBT+ community.
C. His motivation was a combination of A & B. His position on same-sex marriage may have actually evolved, and he may support same-sex marriage, but he's not necessarily ready to do everything he can possibly do to further the cause.
D. Other. Explain what you believe was his motivation.
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I'll go with C. I don't think he does anything without political motivation. (I don't really mean that as a criticism; it goes with the job.) I believe his position has evolved but I don't think it's going to be a big priority.0
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Definitely C. It's too perfect of timing to be non-political, but I kinda had the feeling he was never a fan of DOMA or other laws in the states either just based on his previous comments about them.0
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Obama is really great at saying the right things at the right time. He knows his ****.
I'd say C.0 -
I have a feeling he has always supported it and it was timely to announce the "evolution" as Romney was affirming the opposite..0
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I think it was C. Of course there was some sort of political motivation, but he was never super gung-ho about disliking it. Honestly, and this is going to sound crude...his motivation is a meh point to me. Fact is, he has expressly stated he isn't against it in a compassionate way that can't be taken back. So it's like....too bad, so sad, you already said it. NO TAKE BACKS, MISTER!0
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C0
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Truly hoping it is "A", more than likely it is probably "C"...0
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B.
He still hasnt signed the EO for antidiscrimination against LGBT+ as it relates to federal contractors (something he has unquestioned purvue over) and he has point blank stated that he would not seek to have the Democrat party platform changed to include gay marriage or repeal of DOMA. These are things he can either do or can at least publicly state he would like to see included within his partys platform.
I still think he was pushed into this by Bidens gaffe and he is probably furious at having to make such a stand.
As an aside- dont forget that Cheney, love or hate him, was of course the first (former) VP to openly support gay marriage back in 2009.0 -
i think it might be A - at least i hope so - and my reasoning is: all of the pundants, across the board, are saying that this MIGHT cost him the election, b/c it might cost him "the black vote". while it will most certainly GAIN him the "under 35" votes, the "black vote" is historically anti-gay marriage, and is reasoned to believe why Prop 8 passed in CA.
So... i hope it's A. and i truly hope that there is nationwide marriage equality in the next 4 years. civil rights have often come down to presidential support.0 -
I also think B. For example, he did nothing about DADT, and kept saying the time wasn't right to change policy in the military, until after Log Cabin Republicans' federal lawsuit resulted in it being declared unconstitutional. His Justice Department opposed LCR's lawsuit vigorously, saying that DADT was constitutional.
I really don't think he's too worried about losing the "black vote", since 95% of blacks voted for him, compared to 88% for Kerry in 2004, or 84% for Clinton in 1996.
Actually, Cheney was for marriage equality all the way back in 2004, as seen at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5817720/ns/politics/t/cheney-odds-bush-gay-marriage/As an aside- dont forget that Cheney, love or hate him, was of course the first (former) VP to openly support gay marriage back in 2009.
Cheney said that it should be a states' rights issue, just as Obama said.0 -
B0
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What do you believe was President Barack Obama's main motivation when he spoke out in support of same-sex marriage?
A. His motivation was the fact that his position had legitimately evolved, he sincerely supports same-sex marriage now, and he will do everything in his power to make same-sex marriage a possibility across the nation.
A - I think he has evolved. I feel politicians can only do things that are supported by a majority of their constitutes. If we want it we have to make it so it is safe for them to do. In fact we have to make it obvious that that is what they should do. We have to make it possible for any politician to do what we want by getting the majority of the public on our side.
Jeanne0 -
I have to say C. I have faith in him and believe that he truly has evolved but the timing suggests political motivation as well.0
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C.0
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I'm going with B. It came right after he got torn apart, and is a purely political move. There is nothing spectacular about him saying that he supports gay marriage. He's said it in the past. But has he done anything to ACTUALLY support it? No. The GSM community is something that's used as a political maneuver, and Obama just did what every other politician has been doing.0
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D. Other. Explain what you believe was his motivation.
His motivation is a mixture of A & B. He would not show his support for us before because he was a coward plain and simple! He's finally showing his true colors and owning up to his beliefs instead of letting the GOP continue to pressure him.
Here's hoping that he follows through with his words!0 -
"B" comes the closest to my impression. He legitimately supports the right of same sex couples to wed, but let's not be so naive as to believe that President Obama does *anything* without first considering the political ramifications. In my opinion, that's why he was also quick to point out he still believes this is, in his words, "an issue for the states to decide." I would posit that you either believe gays and lesbians deserve equal treatment under the law or you don't. You can't call yourself a true ally and still believe it makes any ethical, moral, or Constitutional sense to allow individual states to put the civil rights of a certain minority to a majority vote. That's pandering to gay voters and their allies while still patting the heads of religious conservatives and assuring them they still get to decide whether to grant or deny other peoples' civil rights - to me, it's the height of hypocrisy. Either he believes it's a civil rights issue, or he believes it's something that belongs on ballots to be decided by majority rule. He can't have it both ways (well, apparently he can - what else are we gonna do, vote Republican? - but he shouldn't!)
Historically, blacks and Latinos are not receptive to the gay rights movement. Still, I do not believe these voters are going to abandon Obama strictly over this issue. In order for them to do so, they'd have to either rank prohibition of same sex marriage as their most important issue or determine that Obama is a weaker candidate than Romney. I0
