Election lightening rod: Obama comes out in favor of gay marriage

[epitome]

First it was Biden the other day and now Obama comes out in favor of gay marriage rather than just having views that are "evolving"

WASHINGTON ? President Obama on Wednesday ended nearly two years of ?evolving? on the issue of same-sex marriage by publicly endorsing it in a television interview, taking a definitive stand on one of the most contentious and politically charged social issues of the day.

?At a certain point, I?ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,? Mr. Obama told ABC News in an interview that came after the president faced mounting pressure to clarify his position.

In an election that is all but certain to turn on the slowly recovering economy and its persistently high jobless rate, Mr. Obama?s stand nonetheless injects a volatile social issue into the campaign debate and puts him at even sharper odds with his presumptive Republican rival, Mitt Romney, who opposes same-sex marriage and favors an amendment to the United States Constitution to forbid it.

continue reading...

Will be interesting to see what it does to this election, if anything.

[2intense]

duplicate thread

[CurrentlySober]

https://gfy.com/showpost.php?p=18938370&postcount=9

[gleem]

who gives a fuck.

I am against it before I was for it once I learned I need to be to get elected.

that what that all translates to.

wish gay marriage was legal when I was a college kid, could have married my roomate to get his killer insurance benefits from his job.

[Rochard]

After Biden made his remarks yesterday I read an article saying that Obama wouldn't comment on the issue until after the election. I sort of agreed and didn't expect anything. So this came as a nice surprise.

It's nice to see the White House grow some balls and come on the right side an issue that seems to be somewhat unpopular in some states - namely NC after yesterday and California.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by Rochard

After Biden made his remarks yesterday I read an article saying that Obama wouldn't comment on the issue until after the election. I sort of agreed and didn't expect anything. So this came as a nice surprise.

It's nice to see the White House grow some balls and come on the right side an issue that seems to be somewhat unpopular in some states - namely NC after yesterday and California.

[epitome]

Originally Posted by 2intense

duplicate thread

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

https://gfy.com/showpost.php?p=18938370&postcount=9

[ninavain]

Originally Posted by epitome

First it was Biden the other day and now Obama comes out in favor of gay marriage rather than just having views that are "evolving"



Will be interesting to see what it does to this election, if anything.

yea...he will win.'nuff said

[Bladewire]

Originally Posted by epitome

First it was Biden the other day and now Obama comes out in favor of gay marriage rather than just having views that are "evolving"

Obama has always known his position. "Evolving" view was cowardly. Hispanic & black voters will punish him for backing same sex marriage as the majority of them vote against Gay equality every chance they get. Pathetic






.

[$5 submissions]

Originally Posted by Squirtit

Obama has always known his position. "Evolving" view was cowardly. Hispanic & black voters will punish him for backing same sex marriage as the majority of them vote against Gay equality every chance they get. Pathetic






.

Interesting comment.You raised minority voters. These were the same groups that helped vote in Prop 8 in California. Another interesting dynamic, a Mormon will be the GOP standardbearer. In California, Mormons got denounced for funding Prop 8.

Should be interesting how this all pans out

[Sly]

Originally Posted by Squirtit

Obama has always known his position. "Evolving" view was cowardly. Hispanic & black voters will punish him for backing same sex marriage as the majority of them vote against Gay equality every chance they get. Pathetic






.

I'm thinking the same thing, I don't understand why he is coming out with it now. I can only assume it's for political posturing of some sort, but I can't figure out what the angle is. My first thought is that it's going to hurt him, but at the same time I can't figure out why he would make this statement without having a beneficial angle.

[arock10]

Biden fucked it up

[Wizzo]

Its actually a pretty smart political move as a doubt anyone that was planning to vote for him is now going to switch to Romney, but there very well could be some that weren't planning to vote at all that will step up now.

[Bladewire]

Originally Posted by Sly

I'm thinking the same thing, I don't understand why he is coming out with it now.

This is an interesting article on the possible tactics of sending surrogates like Biden to gauge public reaction on the presidents behalf.

I personally think it's possible there could be a rift between Obama & Biden and that Biden was forcing Obama's hand on this issue to demonstrate his ability to affect Obama's presidency. But who knows really.






.

[VS_Jeff]

Originally Posted by gleem

wish gay marriage was legal when I was a college kid, could have married my roomate to get his killer insurance benefits from his job.

[VS_Jeff]

Originally Posted by Sly

I'm thinking the same thing, I don't understand why he is coming out with it now. I can only assume it's for political posturing of some sort, but I can't figure out what the angle is. My first thought is that it's going to hurt him, but at the same time I can't figure out why he would make this statement without having a beneficial angle.

It's no coincidence that Biden said that he was for it the other day and now Obama did. I would guess that he had to do it after Biden's comments.

[Robbie]

First off...he set it up nicely by saying that he THINKS it should be legal, BUT it should be a STATES rights issue.



In other words he played to his gay and lesbian constituency and at the same time championed STATES rights which conservatives can't really argue against.

Now the ball is in Romney's court. The LAST thing Romney wants to get caught up in is stupid social issues that the President doesn't really have any power over anyway. No, Romney wants to talk about the economy...which is the LAST thing Obama wants to discuss.

But guess what? Obama just did to Romney the same thing that Santorum did to Romney. He is forcing Romney's hand to have to take a position against gay marriage.

Look at what Santorum did to Romney in the primaries. He forced Romney far, far right...even though it's pretty clear that Romney isn't a far right guy at all.

Now Obama is doing it too.

I have to say that once you really look at it...it's a brilliant campaign strategy by Obama. He doesn't lose any voters he already had, the conservatives can't argue about States rights, and now Romney is forced to come out against it.

[Young]

Originally Posted by Squirtit

is an interesting article on the possible tactics of sending surrogates like Biden to gauge public reaction on the presidents behalf.

I personally think it's possible there could be a rift between Obama & Biden and that Biden was forcing Obama's hand on this issue to demonstrate his ability to affect Obama's presidency. But who knows really.

Biden is a gaffe machine. Everything about his history tells us that. Are you telling me that we're going to attribute his latest gaffe to some kind of sudden stroke of genius? Or power grab?

Doubtful.

Originally Posted by Squirtit

Obama has always known his position. "Evolving" view was cowardly. Hispanic & black voters will punish him for backing same sex marriage as the majority of them vote against Gay equality every chance they get. Pathetic

Minorities aren't going to vote against their self interests because Obama doesn't care if Bob and Bob get married. Even if Republican's make a huge deal about it - it will be forgiven come election day when Romney the magical underwear Mormon rich guy is sitting on the ballot.

Oh and blasting your shit to 99 font size doesn't make it anymore right

[raymor]

Originally Posted by Robbie

Now the ball is in Romney's court. The LAST thing Romney wants to get caught up in is stupid social issues that the President doesn't really have any power over anyway. No, Romney wants to talk about the economy...which is the LAST thing Obama wants to discuss.

Yeah politically speaking, Obama's best strategy is to turn the conversation to anything but his record. In '09, he said that if unemployment wasn't below 8% by now, we shouldn't re-elect him. ANYTHING that distracts from that reality is good for Obama.

[bronco67]

If people will use their vote based on one issue alone, then there's really no hope for this country. This is an issue that could be filed under the "non" issue category.

There's the east and the west coast. Then there's everything in between. Basically a large mass of mouthbreathing shitkickers who think that 2 gays getting married will soil the sanctity of marriage, which in itself is a stupid idea to begin with -- and then there's the whole black president thing. They throw up when the thought pops into their head.

[DBS.US]

[kane]

Originally Posted by bronco67

If people will use their vote based on one issue alone, then there's really no hope for this country. This is an issue that could be filed under the "non" issue category.

There's the east and the west coast. Then there's everything in between. Basically a large mass of mouthbreathing shitkickers who think that 2 gays getting married will soil the sanctity of marriage, which in itself is a stupid idea to begin with -- and then there's the whole black president thing. They throw up when the thought pops into their head.

There are a ton of one issue voters out there. During the last election I remember seeing CNN in Ohio talking to people. Out of the 5 or 6 they talked to 3 of them said that they thought between Obama and McCain that Obama would be the better president, but that they couldn't vote for someone who was pro-choice so they were voting for McCain.

[epitome]

Originally Posted by raymor

Yeah politically speaking, Obama's best strategy is to turn the conversation to anything but his record. In '09, he said that if unemployment wasn't below 8% by now, we shouldn't re-elect him. ANYTHING that distracts from that reality is good for Obama.

Trying to find the posts on GFY from '04 where you were saying the same about Bush because there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...

[bronco67]

Originally Posted by kane

There are a ton of one issue voters out there. During the last election I remember seeing CNN in Ohio talking to people. Out of the 5 or 6 they talked to 3 of them said that they thought between Obama and McCain that Obama would be the better president, but that they couldn't vote for someone who was pro-choice so they were voting for McCain.

Pro-choicers will be that way to the death. That's probably the major subject that can create a one issue voter.

[kane]

Originally Posted by bronco67

Pro-choicers will be that way to the death. That's probably the major subject that can create a one issue voter.

The funny thing is that you can't talk sense to either side. Abortion is legal, it was ruled legal by the supreme court and overturning that would be an enormous, monumental undertaking. It likely is never going to happen. Pro-lifers would be better served trying to educate and help women so that they didn't have abortions instead of spending their money supporting politicians who will do nothing and political groups that will just pad those politicians pockets.

[raymor]

Originally Posted by epitome

Trying to find the posts on GFY from '04 where you were saying the same about Bush because there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...

I'm not going to dig through threads from eight years ago, but in 2008 I was saying the only significant thing Bush did in two terms was to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. I also said of McCain's choice of running mate "Palin?! Fucking Palin?! What the fuck?"

More recently, you'll see numerous threads in which I've asked "when republicans can so readily admit that Bush sucked, why can't dems see that Obama was also a bad pick?"

I've pointed out numerous times that unemployment under Bush was not stellar. Averaging 5.3% and peaking at 7.3% in December 2008, those numbers kind if suck. What I don't understand is some people's inability to admit that 9.4%, Obama's average, sucks even much worse. There are almost twice as many people out of work, so why can't we look at these plain numbers and say what they mean - Bush sucked, and Obama sucked almost twice
as bad.

James Dyson could name his next product after either one of them.

[mikesouth]

Anyone else see the irony of a black man singing states rights? LOL

It wont be a political hot button, last thing Romney wants to do is attack on this issue....

Matter of fact its prolly bait to see if can lure Romney to attack on this issue

[Paul Markham]

Anyone who elects a leader based on whether he thinks two men should marry, is a moron.

So this could be a bad move for Obama, given all the morons in the Religious States.

[kane]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Anyone who elects a leader based on whether he thinks two men should marry, is a moron.

So this could be a bad move for Obama, given all the morons in the Religious States.

The religious states are going to vote for him anyway.

In a way it can help him with the battleground states that have a decent number of hardcore right wing conservatives in them. The more Romney tries to make himself out as a hard right winger the more he looks like he is full of shit. If the far right thinks he is bullshitting them they won't vote for him. They won't vote for Obama, they just won't vote and that can help Obama.

Both sides will have issues getting their base to turn out for them this election so anything one can do to cause the other's base to lose enthusiasm is good for them.

[KillerK]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

Anyone who elects a leader based on whether he thinks two men should marry, is a moron.

So this could be a bad move for Obama, given all the morons in the Religious States.

I think it's more the butch lesbians like Rosie that they don't want to see marry.

[kane]

Originally Posted by KillerK

I think it's more the butch lesbians like Rosie that they don't want to see marry.

I once saw a shirt that said "I am for gay marriage so long as both chicks are hot!"

[Barry-xlovecam]

The official unscientific Google Trends politics poll

Last 30 days ending May 7.
See what it says tomorrow.

healthcare 	
	0.54
  
taxes 	
	0.78
  
obama 	
	1.00
  
abortion 	
	0.22
  
mitt romney 	
	0.18

http://www.google.com/trends/?q=heal...ate=mtd&sort=2

[Barry-xlovecam]

Part Two

healthcare 	
	0.53
  
womens rights 	
	0.01
  
obama 	
	1.00
  
gay marriage 	
	0.06
  
mitt romney 	
	0.19

http://www.google.com/trends/?q=heal...ate=mtd&sort=2

[Barry-xlovecam]

The undeniable winner ? Porn by a landslide

healthcare 	
	0.04
  
porn 	
	1.00
  
obama 	
	0.07
  
gay marriage 	
	0
  
mitt romney 	
	0.01

http://www.google.com/trends/?q=heal...ate=mtd&sort=1

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by epitome

Trying to find the posts on GFY from '04 where you were saying the same about Bush because there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq...

You will find things like that quite often in regards to raymor and political discussions.

Originally Posted by Young

Minorities aren't going to vote against their self interests because Obama doesn't care if Bob and Bob get married. Even if Republican's make a huge deal about it - it will be forgiven come election day when Romney the magical underwear Mormon rich guy is sitting on the ballot.

Oh and blasting your shit to 99 font size doesn't make it anymore right

HOWLING laughter!!!

[Choopa_Pardo]

He did it because of the election.

He's such a populist asshole.

I can't believe how much I've come to hate this two-faced dickhead.

In fact, if you go by his track record of taking a stand on issues I care about, he's most likely going to ban homosexuality, then somehow sell gay people to Haliburton.

[sperbonzo]

Originally Posted by Robbie

First off...he set it up nicely by saying that he THINKS it should be legal, BUT it should be a STATES rights issue.



In other words he played to his gay and lesbian constituency and at the same time championed STATES rights which conservatives can't really argue against.

Now the ball is in Romney's court. The LAST thing Romney wants to get caught up in is stupid social issues that the President doesn't really have any power over anyway. No, Romney wants to talk about the economy...which is the LAST thing Obama wants to discuss.

But guess what? Obama just did to Romney the same thing that Santorum did to Romney. He is forcing Romney's hand to have to take a position against gay marriage.

Look at what Santorum did to Romney in the primaries. He forced Romney far, far right...even though it's pretty clear that Romney isn't a far right guy at all.

Now Obama is doing it too.

I have to say that once you really look at it...it's a brilliant campaign strategy by Obama. He doesn't lose any voters he already had, the conservatives can't argue about States rights, and now Romney is forced to come out against it.

+1 . Right on the button.




.

[MediaGuy]

After all the testicle trading that went on in the White House under the Republicans, this is finally good news....

I mean, Kennedy had his fun, why shouldn't the right-wing masturbators finally have their day, poor guys...

:D

[Bladewire]

Originally Posted by raymor

Yeah politically speaking, Obama's best strategy is to turn the conversation to anything but his record. In '09, he said that if unemployment wasn't below 8% by now, we shouldn't re-elect him. ANYTHING that distracts from that reality is good for Obama.

The current unemployment rate is 8.1%

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(7.5 percent), adult women (7.4 percent), teenagers (24.9 percent), whites
(7.4 percent), and Hispanics (10.3 percent) showed little or no change in

April, while the rate for blacks (13.0 percent) declined over the month.
The jobless rate for Asians was 5.2 percent in April (not seasonally
adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.




.

[baddog]

Originally Posted by Rochard

It's nice to see the White House grow some balls and come on the right side an issue that seems to be somewhat unpopular in some states - namely NC after yesterday and California.

Grow some balls? He was forced into it after Biden made his comment. It was kind of funny to watch evolve.

[CDSmith]

Probably had his hand forced by Biden, but good for him regardless.

Why shouldn't gay people be just as miserable as the rest of society?

[wehateporn]

Stories like this are released as a distraction, most likely to take our gaze away from China's US bank takeover