Now I Get It! Revisited

Andrew Sullivan has a blistering and spot-on post in reaction to Joe Solmonese's e-mail that I quoted yesterday. He not only nails Obama but Solmonese and the HRC, in a post titled "The Battered Wife Syndrome of the Human Rights Campaign":

What HRC have now done is give away any leverage or bargaining power the gay community has with the Obama administration. They are doing what they did with the Clintons: essentially apologize for being a burden and prostrate ourselves to the Democratic party in the hope that they will be kind to us in the very, very long run. And since at a federal level, almost everything is a Congressional act, there's absolutely no guarantee that Obama will even be able to fulfill any pledges past 2010, let alone 2017. And there's no guarantee that he will be re-elected in 2012.

You know, it took me years of getting to know myself and realizing that I am indeed a gifted and worthy human being. I was fortunate to have strong reinforcement from some very good people who were able to take me as me and not as a "gay man." Maybe that's one reason I resent so thoroughly the tack that HRC and the "wait and see" wing of the movement invariably take. I didn't get this e-mail for some reason. Probably because I don't donate to HRC. Even if I had money, I wouldn't. Sullivan gives credit where credit is due, but I would be more willing to cut some slack in the absence of oily, self-serving, spineless actions like this e-mail. Sullivan includes the full text of Solmonese's letter, and it's appalling. This particularly jumped out at me:

More importantly: today, and for the next seven years and three months, Barack Obama is the most powerful person in the world, with the largest bully pulpit, and the most power to effect change. To do the work, we have to work with our supporters in Congress and with the Administration. Whatever you think of the Administration's first nine months, you don't pass laws by sitting out. You pass laws by sitting at the table.

"You don't pass laws by sitting out." That is exactly what Obama has been doing on DADT, DOMA, ENDA, and the HIV ban -- nothing. Sitting out. "It's Congress' job."

But when the President signed a memorandum providing family protections and an inclusive non-discrimination policy for federal employees—policies for which HRC and our sister organizations had advocated—I was proud to be present. Our disagreement about DOMA did not require me to ignore a step forward for transgender federal workers and for same-sex partners. In turn, the President invited me because he recognized HRC's accomplishments in promoting those fair policies, and because he would not exclude a civil rights advocate for speaking up about our community's rights.

I wish he's stop making a big deal about Obama offering protections that already existed -- and that after Hillary Clinton had already made them mandatory in the State Department. (Now there's someone who has a very full plate and managed to pull off a victory for gays without a hitch.) Yes, Obama made them mandatory across the board. He could have done that on Day One and not after getting pinned to the wall because of that atrocious DOMA brief. (But then, of course, he would have been forced to come up with a substantive response on that issue. I guess it makes sense to keep something shiny and sparkly in reserve for those sorts of occasions.)

I'm with Sullivan, Aravosis, Andy Towle, Dan Savage, and Pam Spaulding. Even Jeremy Hooper, who's about the gentlest of gay bloggers, raises an eyebrow -- not at the specific content (and Hooper does make a good point that it can be interpreted not as a free pass, but as a "when we look back" message), but at the timing and tone, which I think are what offend me the most.

Now, is Joe right to be so optimistic? Well, that's a separate question. And in my humble opinion, this was not the best type of message for the head of the biggest, most oft-criticized LGBT rights group to send at this, a time when most LGBT activists want to see more of a crystal clear plan than a crystal ball. But I do think it's a little disingenuous for any of us to pile on to HRC simply on the basis of the wording of this one email message. Especially when we can criticize HRC for that ivory tower that they call an office. ;-)

Jeremy does know how to twist the knife, doesn't he?

Spaulding has an update: Solmonese "clarified" the message.

And here are Solmonese and Cleve Jones, organizer of the March for Equality, on Hardball:



Frankly, as I've noted here before, I have reservations about the March, but it turns out that the president is in town and Congress is in session after all -- except for Barney Frank, who doesn't seem to be in favor of gay civil rights this week.