Barack Obama Is NOT the "Gay Friendly" Candidate

Let's look at the cold, hard facts, as tough as they may be for some of you to swallow:

As a gay man, I have been shocked and downright ashamed of the way so many gay men blindly think that just because they are gay, they MUST vote for a liberal Democrat like Barack Obama. What is even more pathetic is the fact that so many of my fellow gay men do not realize that God gave them a brain so they can think intelligently FOR THEMSELVES about issues completely irrelvant to the gay agenda, such as: abortion, affirmative action, economy, edcuation, environment, national security, offshore drilling, the war in Iraq, etc., etc.
However, even if "gay issues" are all that you care about in this election, let's examine Barack Obama's record in that arena to "clear the air" once and for all (feel free to "fact check" all you want as everything I am about to say can be confirmed 100%):


1.) Despite protests from the gay community, Barack Obama has continued to stand behind an anti-gay minister, the Rev. Donnie McClurkin.


In fact, Rick Garcia, a long time gay rights activist who founded Equality Illinois, went as far to say the following:

“I thank God that the Rev. Fred Phelps doesn’t have a strong political base to follow him. If Rev. Phelps had a strong base, maybe Sen. Obama would hook up with him, as well.
"

*It should also be noted that Reverend Phelps (godhatesfags. com) is no Republican, but a Democrat! Since it is now slightly past the 10th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's murder (remember how Phelps and his forces were picketing at the funeral), it is a very timely moment to bring this up.


Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times.

These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15% of the vote in 1998. In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31% of the vote. Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993 and 1997.


Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election. In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" and stated that homosexuality was not something that "society should affirm". Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments. According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas.



2.) Barack Obama has refused to grant interviews to the gay media.


After courting anti-gay votes through affiliations with anti-gay preachers, and advocating segregation for gay Americans, Obama has refused to speak with the Philadelphia Gay News, one of the largest and most established LGBT papers in the country.


Unfortunately for Obama, the gay press has been operating increasingly independently of the Democratic Party as of late (FINALLY THANK GOD). They struck back and called Obama out on the carpet -- embarrassingly so.


Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News, said, "Senator Obama's lack of dialogue with the local gay press is disappointing. The local gay press often is to the LGBT community what churches are to the black community.
"


3.) Barack Obama refused to be photographed with San Francisco's gay-friendly mayor, Gavin Newsom.


"I gave a fundraiser, at his (Obama's) request at the Waterfront restaurant," said former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. "And he said to me, he would really appreciate it if he didn't get his photo taken with my mayor. He said he would really not like to have his picture taken with Gavin.
"

Insiders at City Hall, both current and former members of Newsom's staff, recall the incident well. And you can bet that Newsom hasn't forgotten it either. "He was pissed," said one former staffer.


In fact, early last year, Newsom alluded to the incident in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking to Reuters on Jan. 26, 2007, Newsom was asked about three potential Democratic candidates: Obama, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore.


"Barack Hussein Obama will not be photographed with me, will not be in the same room with me," Newsom told Reuters, "even though I've done fundraisers for that person - not once, but twice - because of this issue.
"

Obama was reluctant to be seen appearing in San Francisco altogether, much less side by side with the pro-gay mayor. "I would guess that is part of the rejection of the Obama campaign.
"


*On the other hand, being born and raised in John McCain's home state of Arizona, I recall that McCain's attitude toward a gay mayor was quite different. In the late 1990's, then Tempe, AZ mayor Neil Giuliano came out as a gay man. When the religious right started to attack, McCain was the first one to tell them to "back off" and that it did not make a bit of difference.



ELECTION 2008: It's your choice, but I hope you understand that with the right to vote also comes the responsibility to make the best decisions for this great country we live in.
Let's get real: Do we really want someone like Barack Obama as our next president? Just remember that if he wins this election, we're stuck with him the next four years whether we like it or not!