Reply #32: Thank you very much for acknowledging fellow GLBTs distrust of either candidate [View All]

[kdpeters]

More important to me than being united as Democrats is being united as GLBTs and allies. A lot of gayfolks have come to decide on the other candidate with no less legitimate logic and facts. It means everything that you would respect your fellow GLBTs viewpoints over a temporary partisan disagreement. First, we are allies on the issues. We hurt ourselves when we filter each other through the lens of which candidate one another supports at this moment in history. Speaking for myself as a gay man who at this point has chosen Obama, I really take offense when other GLBTs here take up the banner of speaking for the gay community to only make sweeping broad brush accusations of Obama supporters and dismiss fellow GLBTs who have just as valid reasons to distrust Clinton.

I find the issues you raise of concern and importance that can't be ignored or dismissed -- or ever forgotten even if Obama should be the next president. To be honest with you, I probably wouldn't have listened if you hadn't given a nod to Clinton's lack of a pro-equality stance to get excited about. I'm sure I'm far from the only person who has long since stopped listening to double-standard outrage at Obama. It's quite obvious when some fail to praise Kucinich for being the only candidate supporting marriage equality, but instead savage only Obama out of all the rest who take the same stance opposing marriage equality.

I don't believe in making candidates into heroes and I don't believe in placing any amount of trust in elected officials. I trust myself and my fellow citizens. I trust the power of the US presidency to be a corrupting influence like no other on even the best of all candidates. I believe in our civic duty to hold all accountable. The issues you raise about Obama should transcend support for his candidacy. It does to me.