Political Shifts on Gay Rights Lag Behind Culture

[Swede]

For 15 minutes in the Oval Office the other day, one of President Obama’s top campaign lieutenants, Steve Hildebrand, told the president about the “hurt, anxiety and anger” that he and other gay supporters felt over the slow pace of the White House’s engagement with gay issues.


But on Monday, 250 gay leaders are to join Mr. Obama in the East Room to commemorate publicly the 40th anniversary of the birth of the modern gay-rights movement — a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. By contrast, the first time gay leaders were invited to the White House, in March 1977, they met a midlevel aide on a Saturday when the press and President Jimmy Carter were nowhere in sight.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/us/28stonewall.html?ref=global-home

[Kurovski]

1. Older people always can be relied on to vote.

As they die, and the old attitudes go with them...then pols won't be so fearful.

One of the reasons Obama got in was because the young'uns came out in droves to vote, and many an oldster racist is now napping on the starlight express. Or is it "dirt nap"?

May we always have a candidate that brings out the young vote.

[mitchtv]

2. so does the democratic party

and many in DU

[NYC Democrat]

3. no surprise Washington tends to lag at least 10 years behind the public.