Clinton Stands Tall On Gay Rights

As regular readers of this blog know, I don’t want Hillary Clinton to become my party’s nominee for president. She enabled President Bush’s illegal and immoral war in Iraq. Hell, she even echoed many of Bush's false arguments about al quaeda and Iraq. Both Clinton and John McCain are guilty of not reading a ninety page National Intelligence Estimate in 2002 which contained evidence undermining Bush's rational for war and we still don't know if Clinton learned from her mistake.

I’m also offended by the subtext of Clinton's efforts to persuade the super delegates that Barack Obama can’t win in November because he’s black. No matter how you slice it, that's what "he can't win" means.

However, I must give credit where it is due. Nedra Pickler reported in the Associated Press earlier this evening that Clinton promised to be a strong advocate for gay rights. Noting how both Massachusetts and New Jersey have expanded rights for gay couples, Clinton said,

"and the federal government should recognize that and should extend the same access to federal benefits across the board. I will very much work to achieve that.”

Clinton also deserves credit for making a point of opposing a measure in Pennsylvania to ban gay marriage. Keep in mind that Clinton’s core constituency in Pennsylvania is older more culturally conservative working class voters and their high stakes primary is just nineteen days away. Nevertheless, the Associated Press quoted Clinton as saying,

“I would be very distressed if Pennsylvania were to adopt that kind of mean-spirited referendum and I hope it won't happen,"

I was especially gratified that Clinton told the Associated Press she would be “very strongly outspoken” against foreign governments that execute gays and use America’s economic and diplomatic leverage to prevent such atrocities. As I wrote in a post two years ago, gay rights are human rights. To believe anything else is immoral. Clinton assertively putting this issue front and center is a reminder of why I vote Democrat.

I remain a Barack Obama supporter. However, if Clinton can be a positive voice of conscious on such issues and in turn constructively push Obama, then perhaps she can earn back a measure of good will. Sadly, it’s impossible to reconcile someone who is so passionate advocating for gay rights while simultaneously telling skittish inside the beltway white elitists that America isn’t ready for a black president.