Who Would Have Thought

that such dry little article would lead to such an explosion:

Aretha Franklin and Dr. Rick Warren, an evangelical minister of the Saddleback Church, are among the select group of people who will participate in Barack Obama’s inaugural swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20. . . .

Dr. Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” will deliver the invocation.

If you want to read some of the explosions, check out Box Turtle Bulletin (which provides contact e-mails for various members of the transition team and inaugural committee), Pam Spaulding (here and here), John Aravosis -- and those are just the first three blogs I checked. From Burroway:

This is the same Rick Warren who recently said that the relationships of his “many gay friends” are no different from child rape, incest or polygamy. He also jumped on the paranoia bandwagon surrounding same-sex marriage by falsely claiming that Prop 8’s failure somehow would have overturned the Constitution’s First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and religion. (It can’t. No law or state constitution can.).

Warren himself has acknowledged that the only difference between himself and Focus On the Family’s James Dobson is just “a matter of tone.” So given President-elect Obama’s stated commitment to bringing the country together, it’s hard to fathom the reasoning behind choosing such a divisive figure.

A couple of thoughts:

Actually, Obama's pick of Warren is not that big a surprise -- we really should have seen this coming. This is, after all, the man who gave us Donnie McClurkin. His heart may be in the right place (and sorry, but I have to emphasize that "may"), but his brain shuts off when it comes to gay issues. He can pick up on the obvious ones, but then, so can HRC.

I said two years ago that I didn't trust Obama -- remember, he was one of my senators -- and I've had no reason to change that reaction. I supported him, which given the alternative was a no-brainer, but I can't say that I get all warm and fuzzy about him. And he's prone to major gaffes with the gay community, I suspect because he sees us as a useful demographic, but doesn't really care aboiut our issues.

Pam's House Blend has published the Obama team's "rationale" for the selection of Warren, which is pretty much the sort of self-congratulatory, CYA kind of blandness that comes out of press offices these days.

* This will be the most open, accessible, and inclusive Inauguration in American history.

* In keeping with the spirit of unity and common purpose this Inauguration will reflect, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have chosen some of the world's most gifted artists and people with broad appeal to participate in the inaugural ceremonies.

* Pastor Rick Warren has a long history of activism on behalf of the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. He's devoted his life to performing good works for the poor and leads the evangelical movement in addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis. In fact, the President-elect recently addressed Rick Warren's Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health to salute Warren's leadership in the struggle against HIV/AIDS and pledge his support to the effort in the years ahead.

* The President-elect disagrees with Pastor Warren on issues that affect the LGBT community. They disagree on other issues as well. But what's important is that they agree on many issues vital to the pursuit of social justice, including poverty relief and moving toward a sustainable planet; and they share a commitment to renewing America's promise by expanding opportunity at home and restoring our moral leadership abroad.

* As he's said again and again, the President-elect is committed to bringing together all sides of the faith discussion in search of common ground. That's the only way we'll be able to unite this country with the resolve and common purpose necessary to solve the challenges we face.

* The Inauguration will also involve Reverend Joseph Lowery, who will be delivering the official benediction at the Inauguration. Reverend Lowery is a giant of the civil rights movement who boasts a proudly progressive record on LGBT issues. He has been a leader in the struggle for civil rights for all Americans, gay or straight.

* And for the very first time, there will be a group representing the interests of LGBT Americans participating in the Inaugural Parade.

Wonderful -- a high-profile anti-gay bigot who worked actively to remove our rights (and still does) gets to deliver the invocation, and we get to participate in the parade. Does that tell you where the balance point is here? Who knows -- maybe Rev. Lowery can pull his ass out of the fire, but I ain't holding my breath on that one.

There's also the fact that it's not just on gay issues that Warren is a devil: he's against all the core issues of the Democratic party and, if we are to believe what we've been hearing for the past two years, of Obama himself. It's all very well and good to invite dialogue, but we're talking here about one of the group of prominent "Christian" leaders (although Warren may be more genuinely Christian than the likes of Ralph Reed or James Dobson) who admit of no compromise. From Kyle at Right Wing Watch:

As we've pointed out several times before, in 2004 Warren declared that marriage, reproductive choice, and stem cell research were "non-negotiable" issues for Christian voters and has admitted that the main difference between himself and James Dobson is a matter of tone. He criticized Obama's answers at the Faith Forum he hosted before the election and vowed to continue to pressure him to change his views on the issue of reproductive choice. He came out strongly in support of Prop 8, saying "there is no need to change the universal, historical defintion of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population ... This is not a political issue -- it is a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about." He's declared that those who do not believe in God should not be allowed to hold public office.

See? God has spoken. No debate allowed.

Anyway, use some of those e-mail addresses in Burroway's post and let them have it. Contrary to what you may hear from any number of sources, it is indeed the squeaky wheel that gets the grease.

Update: Here's Digby with a slightly larger take on this one:

There are those who feel this is a very savvy political move on Obama's part --- by inviting Warren to give the invocation at the most watched inauguration in history, Obama is validating the views of the Christian Right and they may very well be moved enough by that to become Democrats. But it naturally follows that in order to keep their votes, the Democrats would have to honor their agenda and views --- the evangelicals are big voting bloc and if the Democrats become the social conservative party, they could count on their votes for sure. (If they don't make substantial moves toward social conservatism, this won't work, obviously.) It doesn't leave much room for liberals, but perhaps that's a good thing. They are nothing but trouble, defending women's civil liberties, agitating for gay rights and hectoring the government about not torturing and starting wars and all that. It would be a big relief if they didn't need them.

I'm not sure she's right, but then, she usually is.

Update II: BooMan gets it about right:

I care that inviting gay-bashing preacherman Rick Warren to do the inauguration invocation is gratuitous and mean-spirited. This decision is a needless insult to every gay person in the country and to all those that support gay rights.

Donnie McClurkin writ large.