We pause now, for another edition of What Atrios Said…

The Audacity of Homophobia

I could spend all day unpacking this Obama statement, but I’ll try to stick to my usual terse self.

Part of the reason that we have had a faith outreach in our campaigns is precisely because I don’t think the LGBT community or the Democratic Party is served by being hermetically sealed from the faith community and not in dialogue with a substantial portion of the electorate, even though we may disagree with them.

Aside from the adoption of right wing frames, this kind of statement is incredibly insulting to both the LGBT community who are apparently "hermetically sealed from the faith community" and to the "faith community" which is apparently defined as nothing more than a bunch of anti-gay bigots. Not to mention the Democratic Party, which apparently includes no actual religious people.

Obama gets smaller and smaller every day doesn’t he?  Of course, this statement wasn’t directed at the gay community, but at the so-called ‘faith’ based voters.  You know…the ones who keep insisting that the United States is a Christian Nation.  No.  It’s a nation where everyone, Christians included, have freedom of worship.  And that’s precisely because the government isn’t supposed to take sides in matters of faith.  Which is just what the religious right wants it to.  So the only freedom of worship Americans will have, is the freedom to be a right wing Christian.

I guess Obama thinks he can woo enough of these away from the republican ranks that it won’t matter how many gay voters he slaps.  He did it there again, speaking to the religious right, in the terms it understands.  If we’re talking about people of faith, as opposed to the people who wear the label "People Of FAITH" on their sleeves along with "I’M A GODLY PERSON BOW DOWN BEFORE ME YOU HELLBOUND HEATHEN YOU", then of course a good many, if not most gay people are also people of faith.  Never mind how often and how loudly the religious right bellyaches that homosexuals are anti-Christian.  When I was working the Weekly Community Events board at the Gay and Lesbian Information Bureau BBS (GLIB), about half of all the notices, and there were tons of notices, were for gay accepting, gay friendly, religious worship services.  Every, and I want to emphasize that, Every denomination was represented.  There were Catholics.  There were Baptists.  There were Quakers.  There were various Mennonite sects.  There were Mormons.  There were Unitarians.  There were notices from various gay friendly Synagogues.  In addition to a host of non-Judeo-Christian faith services listed.  Don’t tell me that gay people are not a living part of that all embracing rainbow colored body that compasses people of faith.

And don’t tell me that Obama doesn’t know this.  When he adopts a right wing frame for the issue of religious faith in America, he knows exactly what he’s doing.  And I don’t believe for a second that his taking on an ex-gay gospel singer was an accident either.  My hunch is Obama thought he could dog whistle to black homophobic conservatives.  It didn’t work and now he has to take a stand and he’s Still dog whistling to them.

[Update…] from the New York Times report on the concert…

COLUMBIA, S.C. — At Barack Obama’s gospel concert here last night, more than 2,000 black evangelicals were singing, waving their hands and cramming the aisles _ most enthusiastically when Donnie McClurkin, the superstar black gospel singer, decried the criticism he has generated because of his views that homosexuality is a choice.

…

He approached the subject gingerly at first. Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, Mr. McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support.

And the gay white minister Obama invited to the concert after the controversy errupted…?  Ah…yes…

The Obama campaign had appeared to be caught off guard by the reaction to inviting Mr. McClurkin in the first place, and it may have been surprised tonight by the degree to which the singer focused on himself. The other speakers and singers had avoided referencing the controversy. Even an openly gay minister whom Mr. Obama had invited after the fact to try to appease his gay and lesbian critics spoke so early that few people heard him.

CNN said the white gay preacher, Rev. Andy Sidden, gave a short prayer at the beginning of the concert when the auditorium was less then half full, and then he left.  I wonder if his prayers were answered.