Gay and Voting For Obama? Read This First!

Gay And For Obama? Heres Some Facts For You!

1.) Obama stands by ‘ex-gay’ minister despite protests

The move angered some gays who have supported Obama’s campaign, including Rick Garcia, a longtime gay rights activist who helped start Equality Illinois.

McClurkin remains part of campaign event over HRC and donor objections Sen. Barack Obama angered some of his gay supporters when his presidential campaign refused to drop an anti-gay minister from a fundraising tour, despite protests from the Human Rights Campaign.

Senior members of Obama’s campaign talked with a handful of the Illinois senator’s prominent gay donors, according to sources who spoke to the Blade on condition of anonymity. But that meeting — and HRC’s protest — failed to persuade Obama to drop Rev. Donnie McClurkin from the gospel event in South Carolina.

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

2.) Did You Know Reverend Phelps (God Hates Fags) Is Part Of The Democratic Party?

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. Phelps' son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser, which Al and Tipper Gore attended, at his home in Topeka. Fred Phelps, Jr. served as a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.


3.) Obama Refuses To Talk With Gay Media

The Philadelphia Gay News is hammering Barack Obama for what they say is his consistent refusal to speak to gay media outlets.

In its latest issue, the paper features a front-page interview with Hillary Clinton and a large blank space under a photo of Barack Obama, with a banner headline reading, "Clinton Talks, Obama Balks.
"
Once again, Democrat Barack Obama has shown his contempt for gay Americans. 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. 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."

Despite concerted efforts, Senator Barack Obama has not granted a formal interview to the Philadelphia Gay News. PGN, now in its 32nd year and the nation's most-honored LGBT newspaper, is taking the unusual step of displaying Obama's lack of communication to the local LGBT press, leaving blank space on the newspaper's front page where Obama's interview would have appeared, illustrating his lack of accessibility to the local gay press. Obama has not granted a formal interview to any local gay press in 1,522 days, when he spoke to the Windy City Times during his Senate race in 2004.



4.) Obama Refused To Be Photographed With Pro-Gay Mayor

Just four years ago, current Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declined to have his picture taken in San Francisco with Newsom, who was then at the center of a national uproar over his decision to allow same-sex marriage in San Francisco.

"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."

Today, of course, Obama's people are backpedaling away from that account like crazy. "Barack Obama gets his picture taken with gay people all the time," Hildebrand said. "Including me, his deputy campaign manager."

But 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 gay-marriage mayor. "I would guess that is part of the rejection of the Obama campaign."

Though same-sex marriage is still a hot-button issue in 2008, it is no longer the shocker that had the country in an uproar four and five years ago. Until you go back and look at the news stories from those days, it is easy to forget how radical and unpopular Newsom's stand was.

On a side note Obama is no more for gay marriage then McCain is. They both share equal stances.