Obama & Biden Oppose Prop 8… and Notes on Political Morality

Barack_Obama

In yet another shining example of moral leadership, the Yes on 8 campaign has just sent out a deceptive flyer making it seem as both Barack Obama and Joe Biden support Yes on 8, the initiative on the California ballot to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

To be clear: Obama and Biden have both been kind of weaselly on the subject of same-sex marriage. But both have clearly stated that they oppose Prop 8. And they’ve just released a statement reiterating that opposition in no uncertain terms. Just so we’re all on the same page.

And now, I want to talk for a moment about the Yes on 8 campaign… and about morality.

The Yes on 8 campaign is pushing — hard — the idea that we need to ban same-sex marriage in order to protect morality.

And to accomplish this goal, they have resorted, not only to gross deception (as in the case of the “Obama agrees with us!” flyer), but to outright lies, blackmail, and an attempt to shut down the website of their opposition.

And we’re supposed to see them as moral paragons. We’re supposed to see them as the protectors of our values. We’re supposed to want this moral world that they’re trying to create.

Fuck that. I don’t want their morality. Even if I didn’t already disagree vehemently with their position, everything they have done in this election has made it clear what their moral values are. And their moral values suck. They are moral values that prioritize defining marriage the way they want it defined over truth, honor, respect for democracy, and obeying the law. They are the moral values of “get our way, at any cost.”

These are not my moral values. If they’re not yours, please support No on 8.

{advertisement}
Obama & Biden Oppose Prop 8… and Notes on Political Morality
{advertisement}

7 thoughts on “Obama & Biden Oppose Prop 8… and Notes on Political Morality

  1. 1

    I will take a moment to plug my site, because the very funny songwriter Mandy Steckelberg sent me an e-mail (not spam, she’s one of my readers) with the link to her new video “I Love The Gays.” While she is playing around with the stereotypes, she is very clear that the discriminatory idea behind Prop 8 is motivated by fear and loathing of gays and lesbians. Here is a shameless plug of my take on the issue:
    I Love the Gays. I include Mandy’s video.

  2. 4

    If these bigots are genuinely keen to see marriage used for the ‘proper’ purpose of procreation, why don’t they ban marriage for heterosexuals who can’t have children? We have tests for that sort of thing, don’t we? Since the dawn of civilization, marriage has been used for political and economic reasons, and not just for producing kiddywinks. Everybody knows that. Why so hysterical about gays? Perhaps because so many religions are a big dressing-up box for sexually confused and/or self-loathing individuals?

  3. 5

    The problem with prop 8 is that we are allowed to vote on it at all. Rights are not things that should be voted on by the majority, and certainly not a simple majority.
    What prop. 8 has shown is that we could have a proposition that outlawed divorce, or marriage between races, or anything that is covered under the state constitution.
    This is a fundamental problem. We probably need to amend the state constitution so this can’t happen, while still allowing the constitution to be amendable. Prop 8 has shown we are one well funded proposition from turning the clock back half a century or more.

  4. 6

    Can non-Americans donate to the campaign? I’m Canadian and I think it sucks my American friends might not be able to marry whomever they love in their own country.

  5. 7

    Can non-Americans donate to the campaign?

    Alas, no. But thank you so much for the thought. If you have friends or family in the US, you can ask them to donate, but you can’t donate yourself. I’m very touched, though.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *