Help me get this gay friend to vote for Obama

[AzNick]

Yes, he is gay, and a republican, and he wants to vote for McCain!

He took me a long time for me to get an explanation on why he would vote against his own interest. And his boyfriend is an Arab emigrant who is fighting deportation on ground that he is homosexual and would face hardship over there.

Finally he told me a couple of weeks ago that he was registered in California (we live in Arizona), so that he could vote for his mother, who is a GOP public servant (county level). I swear...

He was even excited about Palin at first, now I feel that he is starting to get disappointed. When we talk about it he changes the subject. When I start a discussion on Yahoo Messenger, it will last until I bring politics.

I am going to have lunch with him. I need to get him to switch his vote for Obama.

What can I tell my friend to get him to change, short of sleeping with him (he let me understand several times I was his type, I swear).

Thanks for the help!

[Hutzpa]

1. You don't need help

your friend needs a BRAIN....


:think:

[rwenos]

2. Ask Him What He'll do When Bowers is Reinstated

Ask him what he'll do when McCain appoints another RW Supreme Court justice. How long before they reinstate Bowers v. Hardwicke?

[jsmirman]

7. Bingo - see my post below also

nm

[Bucky]

3. Your friend is insane and probably beyond help. Just be glad he's voting in California

I can understand people being Republican--honest, I can. What I can't understand is the Stockholm Syndrome Republicans: people who lose their jobs or their health insurance or their civil rights to Republican mendacity and greed yet keep on asking for more abuse.

[jsmirman]

4. Uh, McCain will put people in the SC who would LOVE to deny him any

specific protections as endangered and oft-persecuted class???

They'd love to get rid of everything that doesn't apply to black people, and they're only stuck with keeping that because the 13th, 14th, and 15th Constitutional Amendments specifically relate to black folks.

[SwampG8r]

5. i think you need to go ahead and take one for the team

you will survive!
yes we can

[AzNick]

8. Lol and even I don't think it would work

I also think I would not be the one taking it, but I may be wrong.

[4lbs]

6. How about this?

If you can, replay for him the portion of Obama's DNC acceptance speech where he talked about Gay/Lesbian rights in front of 80,000+ at InvesCo Field and to 60+ million nationwide. In fact, have him watch the entire speech.

Once he sees it, then ask him if he's ever seen a Republican Presidential candidate say that, especially McCain and Palin.

[cboy4]

23. Don't get carried away. Even many gay Democrats are

keeping a wait and see attitude with Obama.

Actions are much stronger than words.

I'm not saying Obama isn't a millions times better a choice than McCain.

He is.

But don't make it sound like he's the MLK of gay rights. Because he's not.

[katandmoon]

9. Obama doesn't need his vote. Devote your time to more productive pursuits.

[AnAnonymousDemocrat]

10. Tell him this:

A gay man voting for a Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders!

[Ioo]

11. Look I am gay and I know Obama is NO FRIEND of ours, but better than McCain.

Do not lie to yourself, Obama and the Democrats just use us gays to get votes, but every time they have been asked to stand up for us on a national level, they have thrown us under the bus... DO NOT LIE TO YOURSELF

THAT SAID: I do not think that Obama is my friend, but I also do not think that he is out to get me... McCain is my enemy, and he is working to take my rights away...

So Obama = Passive bystander
McCain = Evil sack of shit

[jsmirman]

12. I don't know why I'm wading into this, but - I do not think it is fair to say

"they just use us gays to get votes."

I think they fundamentally believe that many rights you deserve are the right and moral rights for you to have.

They just don't believe in or have the political stomach for all the things you want them to believe in.

And if you ask me, it's probably more not having the political stomach. I think Obama and others have a respect for gay people, their rights, and their rights to their own pursuit of happiness and prosperity that the Republicans don't even begin to approach. I think a huge portion of the GOP leadership would like to see all gay people burned alive or forced to leave the country.

[Ioo]

13. DOMA Signed My Clinton.. They will not hurt us, but not help us. Want to let courts do it..

They are not willing to stake their jobs on it. They just want to show support, but not give support.

Look, I am not saying that I am not voting, but I think it is total BS to say that the DNC and the Fed level democrats will ever do anything for gays...

They are going to let the courts and states do it for them, and go about their lives...

[jsmirman]

14. Just out of curiosity

do you think they *believe* in Gay Rights? I'm just wondering where you think their hearts are.

[Ioo]

16. I think they are passive... They are okay if we get them, but not willing to fight for it.

As I said, I do not think that the Dems are out to get me (as a whole) like the GOP is. I think that if the courts gave us the rights they would be happy. I think that if a state voted to allow me to marry my partner of 14 years, they would be okay with that.

What they will not do is ANYTHING to push the issue. The Dems will NEVER push a Equal Rights Bill for Gays. They like us, they like our money, and they like our support, but they are NOT WILLING to put their money where their mouth is.

EDIT: So yes, they Believe, as long as someone else does it.

[jsmirman]

17. Ok

I'm hopeful that in the next four years you will be proven incorrect, but we'll have to see...

[Ioo]

18. Me too! But it will not be from Obama. He has gone on record that he does not support Marriage

Again, I think that if by an act of G*d and Congress a bill were to hit his desk, he would sign it. Do I think that he is going to take political capital and push for it, HELL NO.

Again

Obama = Passive Bystander to the struggle of gays
McCain = Wants to hunt us for sport.

[cboy4]

25. Oh, very, very well said my friend. Excellent post indeed.

:thumbsup:

[TheDonkey]

26. Obama is "no friend of ours" get a grip

that is the stupidest most ignorant thing I have actually ever seen on DU. Well actually just one more example of a stunningly ignorant narrative that Obama is some how anti-gay, which patently false. Wow, just wow. Despicable.

[dbmk]

35. Ever thought that actively pushing it is counter productive?

What you see as being passive might be someone who realises that this must be done slowly in order for it not to be stopped completely.

Its not an admirable equation they have to work with, if they want to promote gay rights.

[Phentex]

37. I'm not gay, but I agree with you...

nobody really makes a stand (except Kucinich?) but certainly having Dems in control is a better place than not. I want someone to come right out and say they believe it's okay for two men or two women to be married. Stop dancing around it! I don't care if America isn't ready for it. People won't change if the language remains vague and glossed over for fear of offending others.

[beac]

15. Remind him about Matthew Shepard and show him video of McCain/Palin rallies.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4221621

If his taxes are going up slightly under Obama, tell him to think about it as a donation toward a future of peace and equality for ALL in this nation.

[MichaelHarris]

19. Why can't

he just be a friend? Why the labels?

[Secret_Society]

20. Some things are fundamental

A gay person should vote Democrat. I don't understand how any of us can vote for McCain. There are some issues that are so fundamental that they trump everything else. No matter how you feel about government or taxes or the war, a gay person should vote for Obama. Being treated as an equal is more important than any other issue. Tell him that. Sorry if its a rant.

[arewenotdemo]

21. My diagnosis: your friend is terminally Repuke and cannot be turned.

For some things there is no cure.

[cboy4]

22. Tell your friend he's an idiot and he should be ashamed of

himself for voting for a Republican Party that would outlaw homosexuality if it could find a way.

These Republican gays are some of the dumbest people I know.

Granted, the Democrats don't have a big problem throwing teh gays under the bus, but it doesn't justify voting GOP.

I'm not sure there's much you can say to him with the exception that he's an imbecile.

[Sebastian Doyle]

24. Remind him that Sarah Palin's Dominionazi "Joel's Army" cult might KILL him for being gay

and McCain already wants to kill his boyfriend for being Arab.

[Mimosa]

31. That is TRUE!

Also, it's true that today's Republican Party that 'would outlaw homosexuality if it could find a way.' It's not the Republican Party of Nelson Rockefeller, Edward Brooks, or Clare Booth Luce.

One can only suppose the OP's friend didn't see those repulsive rallies or the Repug convention. I guess he's never gone to a message board where republicans post. Today's Republican party is the home of wannabe fascists.

[FlyingSquirrel]

27. Well, who cares if he votes for McCain in CA... as far as AZ goes,

that state is probably too far gone as well but even if it weren't, is there still time to register there?

I'd suggest if you really want to drum up some votes, don't waste your energy on someone who is so reluctant but instead focus your energy on other people and volunteering to help GOTV

[Beregond2]

28. I learned long ago that there is no use trying to reason with a

gay Republican. They are, by definition, insane. They are exactly equivalent to a Jewish Nazi.

[Smarmie Doofus]

29. Ya lost me. He's afraid Obama will send him back?

>>>He took me a long time for me to get an explanation on why he would vote against his own interest. And his boyfriend is an Arab emigrant who is fighting deportation on ground that he is homosexual and would face hardship over there.>>>>>

He sounds a mite confused. No big whoop if he's really registered in Ca. since that's a lock.

So: 1. Let him do what he wants.

2. Don't sleep with him.

3. Make sure he doesn't try to vote in both places. If he does, turn him in.

[book_worm]

30. I've never understood the idea of gay republicans since their party is so anti-gay

[VenusRising]

32. Ask him if he is going to let them "pray his gay away".

McPalin thinks that being gay is a choice and a wrong one at that. They will never ever do anything to further the rights of gay people. At least with a President Obama and Vice President Biden, two Constitutional lawyers, there would never be anything written INTO the Constitution that would deny anyone rights. Republicans have tried repeatedly to write discrimination into the Constitution. There is a clear choice for President when it comes to being looked upon as a citizen with rights vs an abomination in the eyes of a political party.


I am absolutely boggled by GLBT Republicans. It really makes absolutely NO sense to me at all.

Good luck with your friend.

[Vinca]

33. If he's a diehard Republican, the thing he loves most must be money.

Ask him how that trickle down idea is working for him. A few more years of deregulation and we'll be on the streets begging for a few grains of rice.

[terrya]

34. Both McCain and his sidekick are homophobes.

Hell, Palin's church is fully supportive of the "ex-gay" movement. Did your gay friend see the Couric interview where Palin talked about homosexuality being a "choice"? That alone should convince him not to vote for McCain.

[Essene]

36. Reasoning wont change him. It's like a black republican who hates Obama. He wont budge.

It's like a black republican who insists Obama is a socialist crazy man.

What's going on inside their heads has little to do with reasoning, and you will not "change their minds." Their position and identity is based on something deeper which will not likely budge based on reasoned discussion of the issues or their interests.

[RTFirefly]

38. Log Cabin Republicans are hilarious.

I'm not sure why you would support a political movement that is actively implicit in inciting hate against you.

Your friend is a masochist. The best you can do is make sure he realizes that social conservativism is all the republican party has left. Bush killed any idea that they want to be the fiscal conservative, small government bunch. Once they get in power, they grow the government and spend more wantonly than any democrat ever would.

[Frumious B]

39. At the absolute worst, Obama-Biden will never not recognize his right to exist.

You can possibly make that assumption of McCain if you assume that all of the religious right ass kissing he's done over the last four years hasn't leaked to his brain. However, it would be a fatal error to make that assumption of Sarah Palin. She would probably criminalize homosexuality outright if she ever got the chance. Obama can also be reasoned with and convinced on issues affecting the gay community in a way that McCain and Palin could never be. He will listen.

[BlooInBloo]

40. Fuck him. Let the bigot make his own choices. And own them.