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[Bluenorthwest]

21. It's interesting that you gloss over the process by which LGBT issues made progress

In the context of this OP, I think it is very important to note that when I came to DU, when Obama was first running against Clinton, his stated policy was 'I oppose equality for LGBT' and his style featured lots of right wing hate preachers like McClurkin and Rick Warren both of whom he lavishly praised shortly after each had attacked minority groups they don't like with vicious lies. Called us pedophiles and child murderers. Yeah.
Now the Straights here pretend they always supported equality and so did Obama, but THE reason I am barred from BOG and considered a critic of the President is that I advocated for my own damn rights when he opposed them.
You say 'Obama had some room on that' but you ignore the massive tide of cultural change that provided that 'room' and you make no mention of the endless pressure put upon Obama by LGBT activists and our true allies. We had to force his hand.
If we had sought the approval of those who exploit Obama by claiming to be his 'supporters' and by claiming the right to judge other people's support in his name, we would have gotten nowhere on our issues. The BOG and the 'supporters' have demonstrated this, they have not taken up even one single simple issue to advocate. They echo what Obama does. They stand for what he says, not for any objective for the people or for themselves. They advanced no path even one step forward, in fact they were part of the push back and resistance to progress on equality issues, they were always demanding that gay people just 'wanted a pony' and they demanded that 'civil Unions are the best you can hope for, for at least a generation, so be pragmatic, settle for half a loaf, stop asking for that fabulous pink pony'.
The 'supporters' were of no value to those of us who actually accomplished change during the last few years. The same people who berated and attacked LGBT aspirations now fly the rainbow avatars and claim they were there at Stonewall.....