The White House is in the midst of a series of high-profile gay rights initiatives. Taken as a whole, the moves fit well into the sales pitch Obama’s 2012 campaign is ready to make to the gay and lesbian community: "We’ve done more for gay rights in our first three years than most administrations do in eight — and we’re not done yet".
POLITICO.COM
Barack Obama preps pitch to gay voters
By JOSEPH WILLIAMS
December 19, 2011
Barack Obama preps pitch to gay voters
Some excerpts :
The repeal of the ban on gays in the military and dropping the court fight to preserve the Defense of Marriage Act, Moulton said, were major items on the gay-rights agenda. And Obama also signed a tough new hate-crimes law, mandated equal treatment for gay patients in the health-care system and made big-dollar commitments to HIV-AIDS research and patient care.
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And towering over the other issues is same-sex marriage.
Among gay activists, the Obama administration’s recent actions — including what they perceive as a signal from someone like Donovan — have fueled speculation that Obama may finally take a step they say would energize a core constituency and strengthen a largely positive but occasionally strained political relationship.
“The initial question the president faces is, does he come out for same sex marriage now or after the election?” said Richard Socarides, president of Equality Matters, a gay rights organization. With polls trending toward public acceptance of gays and lesbians tying the knot, he said, “it may be riskier to wait.”
Endorsing gay marriage now, Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus wrote recently, could help Obama win back skeptical moderate voters and rekindle flagging enthusiasm among young people, who broadly support marriage equality.
“Mr. President, what better moment will there be? [Next year] you might lose,” she wrote.
Advocates argue that support for gay marriage could be Obama’s secret weapon for the 2012 election.
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“I think we’ll achieve marriage equality regardless of where this president is or isn’t,” Polis said, adding that he doesn’t know precisely where Obama stands. But, he added, “having the moral leadership of the president can only help.”
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The White House, in turn, pointed to Obama’s “strong record of support” for the gay community, including ending sexual-identity discrimination in federal hiring. The president, a spokesman said, “is proud of the accomplishments he and his administration have made to advance the rights of the LGBT community, and we look forward to continuing to make progress on these important issues.”
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Still, even his critics agree that Obama has done more for gays and lesbians in one term than any recent two-term president — for example, hiring a record number of gay administration staffers along with ending sexual-identity discrimination in federal hires and in publicly subsidized housing. Just months before his reelection campaign begins in earnest, the president and his surrogates have highlighted significant new initiatives aimed at promoting equality.
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That strategy, he added, has largely paid off:Gays “have fared much better” under Obama than any other president, doubt has subsided about whether he put his muscle into the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and his support in the community is strong.
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But Socarides and others suggest Obama could galvanize the base and overcome “a little bit of an enthusiasm gap” among gays if he stood for same-sex marriage. “It’s an issue that excites a lot of voters, particularly with young people, and it can be a good issue for [progressive] Democratic voters,” he said.
In April, The New York Times reported, a CNN poll showed 51 percent believe marriage between same-sex couples “should be recognized by the law as valid.” It was the fourth credible poll in two years to show an outright majority of Americans untroubled by gay marriage.
Aravosis, who founded AmericaBlog, said Obama should go all-in and support marriage equality, particularly because Christian conservatives and others who adamantly oppose it probably won’t vote for him, anyway. Underscoring the point, Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently launched an ad slamming the president for allowing gays to serve openly in the military while maintaining a federal ban on prayer in schools.
Nevertheless, Aravosis and others doubt Obama would risk his political future on a surprise endorsement. One political activist and Obama supporter said the president’s empathy and support for the gay community is sincere, but his reluctance to stand for same-sex mariage — the holy grail in gays’ decades-long quest for equality — hints at a missed emotional connection.
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