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Barack Obama is the next President of the United States of America
In a sweeping early victory, Democratic candidate Barack Obama has earned the electoral votes necessary to win the Presidency of the United States of America. Congratulations, people. This is beyond historic. CNN is also stating that the Dems have taken control of the New York State senate (for the first time in 34 years), giving Democrats control of the governor's mansion for the first time in over 60 years (and given Governor David Paterson's progressive views on same-sex marriage, this is incredibly good news for gays in NY). Here in my neighborhood there are literally people dancing in the streets, I'm not kidding. In more sobering news, we still do not have word on Proposition 8 in California, but we will update in the morning. For more information on other important votes, check out coverage at our news sister site, 365Gay. Submitted by on Tue, 2008-11-04 23:53. |
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Obama did well but if Prop 8 Passes
I think...
...that's a very negative thing to say. It implies that our country is so ignorant that we vote for race, not for values. I, for one, know that I cannot tolerate such thinking. It is essentially the same as saying we vote on the basis of sexuality, not because someone is worth a position, but because of the position they take in bed. And that is no different than succumbing to being second-class for the rest of our lives.
I hope, more for this than for many other things, that Proposition 8 fails. Its defeat will be a massive step for our rights as gays and an equally massive step for America itself, helping to end the barriers of hate an discrimination that divide us. Barriers that we have seen crumbling tonight right before our very own eyes.
When President Obama gave his speech tonight, he mentioned us. He mentioned me. Hearing him say that one word--gay--made me certain that even if Proposition 8 should pass, we are already on the way to full equality for all of us, and perhaps that is not as direct a step as I could hope for, but it is a step in the right direction nonetheless.
Vale v'shalom.
It's built into our country's civil rights legacy
Bayard!!
You can say it's a negative thing...
But the pre-election polling showed that as support for Obama rose in CA, those same people supported Prop 8.
Tonight's election was symbolism over substance. Even in victory, the focus is on skin pigment. But now those creepy soviet-like posters, the teleprompters, the slick logos and foam columns are gone. The campaign is ended. Despite all the talk of hope and unity, he failed to convince 48 million voters. He promised to represent all Americans.
Will he?
The only thing that matters now is governance. Will he deliver? I hope you all remember your votes so you can look back in one year, in two years, in four years and look hard at substance of policy, of action and inaction and set aside rhetorical flourish, skin tone, age or gender and make decisions on the facts and performance, not hype, scare mongering and more empty promises.
The Democrats will have a unified government for the first time in 16 years. Do not let them scapegoat the minority party with silly claims of obstruction and misdirection. It's all on them.
Will they overreach and underperform as they did in 1993?
DUDE, PERSPECTIVE MUCH?! THE EFFECTS OF JIM CROW LAWS WERE
STILL ALIVE AND WELL WHEN I WAS BORN IN JACKSON MISSISSIPPI WHERE I LIVED FROM AGE 4 - 14 (and might as well still be)
Could we just like take this moment in before we discount how remarkable these election results are?
I'm 40 Year Old Black Dyke and Even I Never Thought I'd See the Day.
African American "Culture" Isn't anymore homophobic and any other ethinic group. African Amerian People (Just LIke Every Other Kind Of People, can be rabid homophobes and totally progressive gay rights' proponents (um, some of us are gay...).
I don't support black folks who don't support me and the issues I believe in as an activist and a lesbian anymore than I'd support any group or individuals who don't support the issues I believe in.
But I there just simply are not enough black folks in the entire state of California (compared to other groups) that would justify blaming the loss of No On 8 on the supposed "Black Community" .
It's just divisive and inflammatory to do so.
Barack Obama Pro Abortion and has been very clear that he believes that Gay couples should have exactly equal rights under the law as straight couples and he was very clear about Opposing Prop 8 (even though he's said he doesn't believe in gay marriage)
If these so-called "less-tolerant" black folks are going to follow Obama's lead, I would hope they'd also oppose Prop 8 and other measure like it.
Wish it wasn't so
Blacks are a MINORITY group
Blacks are a MINORITY group in every single state. They alone cannot pass anti-gay measures. It takes a majority of the people - white, black, Latino, et al. - to pass these things.
Therefore, to blame it on one group of people, especially when you do so with a racial tinge, says more about YOUR prejudices than those of the group you're demonizing.
Plus, you FAIL to acknowledge the contributions of plenty of blacks who have fought against Prop 8.
Shame on you.
Florida's Ammendment 2
California wasn't the only state dealing with the gay marriage debate. Florida's ammendment 2 which defined marriage as one man and one woman passed by 62%. Crazy.
I know other states had ammendments to block gays from adopting anyone know what the results where?
Are you really surprised?
It's not official yet, but
As a Canadian...
...you can't imagine how glad I am at the way this election turned out. I know I speak for many, many fellow Canadians. I'm still anxiously awaiting to hear the outcome of Prop 8. I'm with you all the way.
I say we take the warning labels off everything and let nature take it's course.
But Obama is Pro-Gay Rights
He's stated many times in many speeches that he's pro gay rights. I think if prop 8 fails to pass then Obama should get partial credit since he's likely influenced many african americans to be pro gay rights as well and against homophobic legislation. :D
God if prop 8 passes there will be many stunned people across the nation. Not as bad as McCain winning but close.
I'll be damned...
ARIZONA PASSES ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE AMENDMENT
Arizona voters OK amendment banning gay marriage
By BOB BAUM – 22 minutes ago
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona voters have approved a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
The amendment approved Tuesday was a stripped-down version of a proposal narrowly rejected by state voters two years ago.
State law already bans gay marriage, but the measure's supporters wanted to amend the constitution to prevent any judge from overturning the statute.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jNbSV6pukrmaX7EWJp6-Q83CkVJQD948J0GO3
Arkansas Bans Adoption/Fostering By "Unmarried" Couples
Ark. voters OK unmarried foster, adoption bans
By JON GAMBRELL – 32 minutes ago
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas voters have approved a measure banning unmarried couples who are living together being adoptive or foster parents. The vote imposes a ban that the Legislature balked at authorizing.
More than 56 percent of voters supported the ban, said by its proponents to be aimed primarily at keeping gays from becoming foster or adoptive parents. The measure's sponsor, the Arkansas Family Council, tried to paint its as a battle against a "gay agenda."
Opponents argued it would make it harder for the state to find the foster parents it needs to take care of children.
The measure grew out of a 2006 Arkansas Supreme Court decision that struck down a state policy banning gay foster parents. A push to enact a ban similar to the ballot measure during the last legislative session failed.
I Honestly Thought....
.... I didn't believe it would happen even with all the polls and the momentum or what not. I felt the other side would find another way to steal the election. But I guess they couldn't overcome that many votes.
It's not just awesome because finally the White House is rid of the scourge of the past 8 years, but we did something historic in the process.
Just STOP!
This kind of delusional divisiveness does NO ONE any good. Bush's two elections were not stolen except in the minds of conspiracy nuts.
Senator McCain earned 48 million votes and Obama has promised to represent all the people and unify the country. You're definitely not helping him do that tonight and each time you bring up these divisive myths.
Pot calling the kettle black
You of all people shouldn't be lecturing anyone about divisiveness.
Or...
...being delusional.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
*siiigh*
I hear things aren't looking so great for the NO on 8 side.....
really dissapointing. hopefully it will change in a few hours or something.....
Comprehensive gay civil rights law
Sadly the U.S. Congress could pass a comprehensive civil rights law covering sexual orientation and enact marriage equality in this next session, but even with Democrats in full control it will never happen - too many of them have repeatedly voted for anti-gay legislation. I don't expect anything positive to pass at the federal level for two or more decades, if ever.
As far as Arizona and Florida, these two states have two of the most corrupt judicial systems on Earth - gay Americans were never going to receive and have never received any justice under these two state governments - with or without the state constitutional amendments.
Also, if Prop. 8 passes in California, it immediately goes to the California Supreme Court, which then has to determine whether the proposition needed to first pass the legislature before being presented to the people for a vote. I know it sounds ucked-up but that is the order in which things go in California when it comes to actually changing the state constitution. So the final say remains with the California Supreme Court.
I think Vermont and New Jersey will pass marriage equality laws next year - and perhaps Maine too.
It's not surprising large sections of the USA cannot sustain Equal Protection under Law, a required element of any democracy. America was considered an experiment in democracy, and it is the nature of most experiments to fail. But at least a few states have been able to maintain the elements of a democracy, including Equal Protection Under Law and a Fair & Impartial Judiciary.
Keep The Faith, Baby!!!
Forty years ago, tonight would have been unthinkable.
Gay marriage isn't a matter of never, but when. . .
Congratulations, Barack Obama & Joe Biden; now make the change reality.
So True
As a student of history, I know that while occasionally humanity takes a step back, our natural inclination is to move forward: progressive, liberal ideas always win out over time. It may take a long time, and there will be defeats, but we WILL get there.
Obama's victory--the election of an African-American in a nation that in the past would have enslaved him, then barred him from voting and denied him access to equality under the law--is just such a triumph on the path of history.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Barack is Captain of the Titanic After It Hits the Iceberg
While I appreciate your philosophical optimism, it is not like Barack Obama was elected head of a grand and shining democracy. 41 of 50 states cannot even maintain the most basic elements of a democracy - equal protection under law, fair and impartial judiciary, etc. It is great Barack was elected, but alas it is more to be the Captain of the proverbial Titanic after it hit the iceberg and is 82% submerged.
There are a few states that are lifeboats still afloat on the sea of democracy, but that's it. And the U.S. Supreme Court... well, it's a double-string quartet plus one on the upper deck of the Titanic serenading the doomed vessel. Look no further than the gay-related cases the U.S. Supreme Court has turned down - letting anti-gay rulings stand.
I agree giving people hope is wonderful. But the hope is to swim to a lifeboat, not remain in the cargo hold praying for rescue after the ship has gone under.
Also, "path of history" in your example gives me chills because it seems to be glossing over the massive Civil War and other subsequent Americans-killing-Americans (including lynchings, gay bashings, etc.) through the years and taking place even now that vastly outnumber any and all Americans ever being killed by non-Americans.
Look...
...I said that humanity often takes a step back, and what you're saying is precisely what I mean: the shining "triumph" of American democracy was marred at its beginning by slavery, not recognizing native Americans as citizens and stealing their land, not enfranchising women, minorities and even many men who didn't hold property.
In no way am I denying that our history--and the history of the world as a whole--is filled with bloodshed and horror. Far from it. I'm not "glossing over" the American Civil War--quite the opposite, in fact--it is one of the pivotal milestones on that path of history, as horrific and bloody as it was. Sadly, one of the necessary evils of humankind is that when we exorcize the demons of our culture, people often suffer and die in the process. I wish with all my heart that it wasn't like this. And I do what I can to help progress without causing harm. (I fully recognize that just as conservative extremism can result in mass death--the Nazis, say--so, too, can liberal extremism--the Reign of Terror, for example.)
I also know that Obama won't change our culture overnight, or in 4 years. But he has shifted it somewhat; history also isn't about just one man--despite Louis XIV's insistence, the state wasn't him only--it's a mass of people, with many differing opinions. (Even your comparison of Obama to Captain Smith fails to recognize that even Smith wasn't thoroughly in control of the events of April, 1912; and neither, wholly, will be Obama in the events of the next several years, and even in this election, he was simply the primary element in a movement of millions away from, and forward from, the past.)
Like I say, we're a mass of people with different opinions, but time is on our side: the younger generation is increasingly accepting, even supportive, of GLBT rights. Sadly, not all are: hell, my Mormon nephew, on his facebook page, declared his support of Prop 8. And, even more unfortunately, many people will die as a result of the hate and fear my nephew subscribes to--either through physical attack or suicide. I wish I could reach him and explain to him the harm he's causing. I will try. But I will also know that he's out of step with his generation, and that many years from now we will achieve the rights and equality we're fighting for.
Obama--and Harvey Milk--are right: hope isn't everything to achieving peace and justice, but it simply cannot be achieved without it.
Check out my blog: http://radicalsexy.blogspot.com/
Not just the beginning...
To be clear, I'm not saying just the beginning. I'm saying the entire existence of it. For some reason, people like to romanticize U.S. history - the notion of the bad happened way at the beginning and now the good has taken over. People forget the bad never went away. The bashing deaths of the 80's for example... still happen in the 2000's. The past 15 years, including last night, Americans willingly voted away democracy, unable or unwilling to grasp the larger ramifications of their actions or too ignorant or spiteful to safeguard the elements required to preserve democracy. This isn't early Americans ending democratic principles... it's the purportedly "more enlightened" Americans of the here and now. I think a lot of people - gay people and allies - are simply in shellshock that it is occurring in the 21st century.
As a student of history, you no doubt know that the Founding Fathers declared that this would happen. Ben Franklin gave a speech in which he foretold the ending - saying that liberty would eventually die because men would enfeeble constitutions through majoritarianism to turn America into despotism... the Founders warned that it was human nature for majorities to oppress minorities, oftentimes hating minority groups simply for being different, and cautioned future generations to be vigilant against such an outcome.
We Demand More than Lip Service
afhickman
"The mountain has wings."
In real terms, Barack has two years to make good. It would have helped had the Democrats been able to win a filibuster-proof majority, but he should enjoy at least a brief honeymoon. The press appear to be behind him. The election proves that there is no longer a racist majority in this country, but there remain pockets of reistance, espeically in the so-called red states. The big question for gays, however, is, what has changed for us? Nothing much from the look of it. If we can't win in California, where can we win? Our only hope may be that Barack will hand us more than platitutdes in the next two years. There are several things he can do, including striking down don't ask don't tell. But will he? Stay tuned...
Dancing in the Streets
Prop 8 looking too close too call still
My favorite quote of the night...
I'm french but I am really
I'm french but I am really really happy that Obama is the new president, I really hope he will change things.
I was wondering something (I don't understand most of the French politic so the American politic is just too obscure for me), I checked on CNN's website and I saw that there is still 3 States that are processing votes, why isn't it over yet ?
And I'm still hoping that it'll change for prop 8 !
tabulationg
The lower 48 states are in 4 time zones. Voting stops in New York while people are still voting 4 hours later in California. Sates can not release vote counts until the polls have closed in their state. New York can release their results while folks in California are still voting. If an election is close, some state have an automatic recount, and don't release information untill after that. Some states release partial count information, while I think some others waite untill all of thier votes are counted before they release their count.
Obama name-checked us again
" It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America"
It may seem like a little thing, but it means a great deal for a president-elect to acknowledge us as part of the American body politic in a positive way.
I also thought it was striking the visual difference between the crowds at the McCain and Obama events. McCain's crowd was very white (and very blonde, it could have been mistaken for an Aryan Nation rally). Obama's crowd was very multiracial and I saw at least one Pride flag being waved in the crowd.
Any political progress in the future of America will require assembling broad coalitions across different groups. That includes progress on gay equality. I think Obama's audience was the face of what is needed to improve the future.
As of 7:03 am
Same-Sex Marriage Ban
Disappointing, but not surprising