Rec if you think Obama should rescind the Warren invitation.

This was, as nearly everyone on DU can agree, a tragically ill-advised pick.

Although I have only passing familiarity with Rick Warren's 'career', he is, as Old Crusoe seems to have aptly described him; a "disingenuous opportunist". This was, although I believe unintentional, a slap in the face to the GLBT community, and anyone who envisions and works for equal rights for every American.

I highly doubt that Warren will deliver a divisive invocation, nor do I believe that his selection signals a declaration of war on the GLBT community and equal rights. But it is fair to say that it sets an unintentional tone of exclusion.

So, If you think that Obama should rescind the invitation to Warren, rec this thread. Then post suggestions for action, including blogs, LTTEs, an phone numbers to make it happen.

At the very least, we can show the Democrats in power, including Obama, that equal rights is a serious enough issue that no such decisions should be taken lightly.

A Congressional committee planning the inaugural picked him. Sure we can ask Obama to uninvite him but I doubt he will.

I just hate the ability of so many to wash their hands of these mistakes.

The fact that Obama has deniability isn't the best excuse. The GLBT community is one of the most active political forces in the past few decades. For the Democrats not to take them seriously is just stupid.

Blaming the committee is purely about giving him deniability. If the incoming POTUS said "Hell, no! Not at my inauguration," the issue would be taken care of.

Warren has acknowledged that he is a controversial participant. A phone call, and Warren could likewise be given the opportunity to look like a hero and bow out because he cares so much that so many americans would feel excluded.

rather than one individual. However someone must've had the idea to invite Warren in the first place.

Source: http://www.americablog.com/2008/12/feinstein-reportedly-had-nothing-to-do.html

Who talked to some people who knew some folks?

Frankly, I'd like to know from Obama himself.

I'll find the statement.

was not listening to Barack Obama before the election. He made it plain as day that he would reach out to the evangelical community. Such a task would be impossible to accomplish without such a move.

I understand that the GLBT community may not be pleased with the decision to have Warren speak at the inauguration, but some of the vitriol aimed at Obama is unwarranted hyperbole. No one is denying the GLBT community "a seat at the table". And giving up that seat is self destructive.

I see this as a master stroke, one in a long line of strategic moves that will benefit the GLBT community in the long run.

Yes. Warren is a bigot. But he's not a full Palin. And he has opened the door for Obama to inject change into the evangelical community at-large. This is an opportunity to wrest a huge chunk of moderate evangelicals from the clutches of the most venomous aspects of the theocratic fundamentalists that run the rightwing. Believe me, their are way worse (Hu-hm Hagee Parsley hmm hmm) out there.

He is one of MANY SPEAKERS at the inauguration, and will not be the only pastor to offer prayers at this event.

And let us not forget, he just nominated an openly gay man, William White, to be the Secretary of the Navy. Not some honorary cabinet position, not some back up singer, an openly gay military leader. Something impossible to even concieve before Obama.

Barack Obama is showing the GLBT community that he has not forgotten them. I just hope that they are so to blind to the bigger picture that they ruin everything because they have inherited their enemy's worst traits: blind hatred, and an unreasonable sense of moral certitude.

You don't change minds with hammers, you just make bloody messes.

post, ingin.

I would mistrust her l-o-n-g before I mistrust Obama.

But politicians are at best, politicians. Including The President Elect

that's where I read it.

...to UNINVITE him.

After all ~~ it IS Obama's party, right?

I think maybe he has something else lined up though.

Congress WITH the president elect and vice president elect picked the people.

And you can't have it both ways-either he is a leader or he is not. He would be a piss poor leader if he had NO say in his inauguration. Though I know "HE's NOT EVEN PRESIDENT YET." So maybe he can't make decisions yet either.

"Hey guys - Warren is unacceptable to me." The congressional committee can rescind the invitation, with a mea culpa, everyone saves face, and the message goes out loud and clear that those actively working for discrimination will not be granted honorary roles at the inaugural table.

You can't seriously think Obama didn't have the first & last say on this thing, did you?

Even if someone else had the idea first, Democrats are the party that says "the buck stops here."

if he could rescind Wright, he can rescind Warren. Or else ,invite some other bigots to speak as well, to reach out to even more people.

Let the inauguration committee rescind it.

Adult behavior like that would be somewhat reassuring, especially after 8 years of Bush/Cheney.

Rick Warren and Prop 8 -- He Knows Better

by Randall Balmer - Randall Balmer is a blogger for Beliefnet's Progressive Revival, an Episcopal priest, Professor of American Religious History at Barnard College, Columbia University, and a Visiting Professor at Yale Divinity School. He is the author of a dozen books, including "Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America" and, most recently, "God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randall-balmer/rick-warren-and-prop-8_b_137908.html

Warren has done a great deal to recast the social agenda of evangelicals to bring it more into line with the teachings of Jesus as well as the noble precedent of nineteenth-century evangelical activism, which invariably took the part of those on the margins of society. Warren is no fan of the Religious Right, and he recognizes that it is inappropriate for people of faith in a pluralistic society to impose their will on others simply by majoritarian fiat.

So that is why I found his announcement on October 23 that he supports California's Proposition 8 so disturbing. Proposition 8, a ballot initiative, seeks to overturn the California supreme court's ruling that gay marriage is constitutionally permissible.

Warren has every right to his views on the definition of marriage, which he insists (not without foundation) is mandated in the Bible. Millions of Americans -- a majority, I'm sure -- agree with him. "If you believe what the Bible says about marriage," he declared on his website, "you need to support Proposition 8."

Warren goes on to note that, by his reckoning, gays and lesbians make up only 2 percent of the population in the United States. "We should not let 2 percent of the population change the definition of marriage."

Warren, a Baptist, knows better. The cornerstones of the Baptist tradition are adult baptism (as opposed to infant baptism) and the principle of liberty of conscience and the separation of church and state. Baptists inherited these ideas from Roger Williams, the founder of the Baptist tradition in America. And, at least until the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979, Baptists have always been watchmen on that wall of separation and fierce guardians of liberty of conscience. Thankfully, Williams's ideas were incorporated into the United States Constitution, both in the First Amendment, which forbade a religious establishment, and in the recurring principle of respect for the rights of minorities.

These have been the guiding touchstones of American life for more than two centuries. We Americans have sought, at times better than others, to live up to the principles articulated in our charter documents, especially in safeguarding the rights and the interests of minorities -- though not perfectly, by any means. The scourge of slavery and segregation and discrimination remains an indelible blot, and our treatment of women has been cavalier. But we Americans eventually rise to our better selves and come around to recognize the claims of legal equality for those who, for reasons of gender or race or religion or sexual orientation, cannot number themselves part of the majority.

And if we needed further warrant for this, the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of "equal protection under law" codified that into the Constitution itself.

Many Americans, myself included, understand the California supreme court's decision (and similar rulings in other jurisdictions) as an expression of that principle, an expansion of civil rights to those who have been denied equality for a very long time. It's not at all at odds with fundamental Baptist principles of liberty and protection from a majoritarian ethic that imposes its standards on the minority.

I challenge Rick Warren, my friend and fellow evangelical, to reconsider his support for Proposition 8. Warren and all people of faith have every right to hold to their religious views about homosexuality. But to insist that those standards must be observed by everyone in a pluralistic society is -- well, it's not Baptist.

Rick Warren knows better.

............

Barack why not let Randall Balmer give the invocation? He is more in line with most of your base!

interesting how the two of them look so much alike.

http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact

It was NC_Nurse who gave us the perfect Warren description -- "disingenous opportunist."

I would loved to have come up with that one, but it was NC_Nurse who scored big.

I'll rec your post because in this instance regarding Warren, I think Obama should reconsider and rescind the invitation, or at least extend the invitation to a far wider and more diverse group of spiritual celebs.

I got it backwards.

If Obama rescinds the invite, it will be a show of good faith. Unfortunately, it will be spun as 'caving to political pressure' or 'giving in to the Gay Agenda'.

The media really is that predictable.

chose him, Obama or committee-had to know what a lightening rod he would be and also that there were many, many other more suitable choices.

in which Warren was selected.

I'm going to watch and see how "fundie" Warren is after standing on the stage with a president for a Inaugural.

To date anyway, Warren's no liberal and even less a Christian.

he's clueless, but at least he's not malicious....

that struggled together to accomplish this amazing historical event and I am willing to bet that MOST of the Rick Warren congregation voted for McCain. Let's reach out and open new dialog between opposing opinions after the party!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/18/openly-gay-man-backed-for_n_152027.html

Yes, Warren is a crappy choice for a single engagement. Does that mean that long-term appointments suddenly don't count?

It's just whacky that one small wrong is always so absolute that a larger right 'doesn't count'.

Will that happen?


Some people will always focus on the wrong rather than the right.

or I'm going to burn my Obama T shirts.

Get better camouflage.

So just how much Obama stuff do you actually own?

So much drama over such a non-issue.

Rescinding the invitation at this point would make our new President look like a waffler. I don't believe that's what our country needs.

Use it to garner more television time
Then garner more donations
And then use those donations to expand his operation

Yeah...That's so much better

It's not like it's anything the gang down at Hooters cares about. Right?

...in a long list of ill-advised picks.



"CENTRIST"....Someone who is proud to be 1/2 Republican !

I take issue with this and Gates.

I'm sure plenty of people take issue with Clinton where I do not.

Ultimately, he's the boss, and I will have faith that he will keep his cabinet in line until it is shown otherwise. I figure we should at least let him be President for a few minutes before we impeach him.

No one expected him to make everyone happy, so we'll see.

They won't vote for him after this, I think.

that he's invited pro-gay speakers as well.

If people are so vindictive that they'd throw out our best chance at equal rights over one guy's ideals... one who has nothing to do with policy, then they're really just shooting us all in the foot, errr... feet.

And suppose he puts up William White? What will they say then?

"So what if he appointed an openly gay man as Secretary of the Navy? He let a homophobe speak at his inauguration!"

Seriously, some perspective is in order here.

Depends on a lot of things. I'm not going to send him anymore money and I've unsubscribed from all the email lists that fill my box everyday asking for money and support for his team. They've made it clear that sucking up to the religious right is more important to them than my support so I won't waste my time and money.

Does this mean I will never support Obama again? Depends on who else is running against him and what happens between now and then.

While this may have not been the best choice this will not push people toward Republicans who are open in their bigotry. The only real effect this will have will likely be to bring over some of those McCain voters who in 2012 will say that Pres. Obama wasnt too bad and wasnt the socialist they told us he was going to be.

Warren spouts Southern Baptist Convention baloney because he is contractually bound to do so (his church, along with he himself, is affiliated with the Southern Baptist, who took a notorious hard-right turn beginning in the late 70's); but, he apparently does so without conscience - to take advantage of the evangelical market in order to sell his books and other crap.

What a digrace he is, and Obama invited him to take part in his ceremony! Vomit!

:puke:

I have a new idea for a book whose title will have fundies buying it in hordes. Oh, thank God they're so slow on the uptake, because it would be at least a couple months before they realized the joke was on them.

Let's just say that for people who cannot distinguish satire, it'll be a fleecing.

:rofl:

he is a pol first

Warren sucks, but he unfortunately speaks for a lot of people. How else do we plan on getting to them...?

:kick:

Obama likes the dude. Thanked him in his book. But I will req anyway because it's the worthless DU thing to do. I wish it was that easy!

Anyway, Obama won't uninvite Warren, so it's a moot point.

The only way to fix this is for Obama to show more respect for the GLBTQ community and everyone who supports human rights from here on out. I hope he does so. I'll continue to request that he do so.

This sucks!

but I would have stepped around this pot hole. I feel sorry for gay rights activists-this stings.

And I just blocked all of their 'send more money' emails and encourage everyone else to do so as well.

The people who supported him are being screwed by the folks who did everything in their power to undermine him. If he wants to get screwed by a bigger tent, let him. I'm done with Obama. Call me old fashioned, but you dance with the one that brung ya.

:rofl: :rofl:

who you gonna fuckin vote for you commie hippy?! you guys got your fucking dem president, and i no longer feel obligated to vote for the dem for the sake of voting for the dem. if obama blows this, then yes, i think many progressives will say fuck it. but by all means, continue to be a glib asshole if it makes you feel superior.

important positions.

After all, your ire is God.

I got behind him proudly. I then was for Edwards this time since Clark didn't want to run, then Edwards had to drop out (I understand why), and so I was left with Hill or the New Bill - I backed the New Bill. I am still hopeful, but like you, I became disgusted. I'm just inclined now to realize politicians break hearts, and too often, just like the Original Bill, Obama is trying to be buddies with the side that hates us so much that they call a portion of our democratic base the same thing as people who rape 5 year olds, marry 10 women, and sleep with your brother or sister... Thanks for inviting him to the Inaugural AND giving him the opening prayer! Odd indeed. Still, hoping for the best, but I don't fault you for doing what you did.

Yes, Obama made a mistake and has time to make it right ~ I've emailed change.gov

This person is a Christo-fascist That is what is my gripe!! Nothing for or against any religion But i am against this person! He is a kill 4 Jesus person,or ask the big ? WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB?? THIS PERSON IS NO DAMM GOOD. I recommend a religious person from the 3 major religions. Siple ution an this is no way to star off this presidency

Rick Warren and any Southern Baptist Convention pastor should not give the invocation at the inauguration ceremony. It's not just because of the gay/lesbian issue. SBC churches are notorious for child sex abuse by pastors. There is no way I will support Rick Warren or any other SBC pastor.

I am really concerned about Obama's political/religious path. The SBC is a declining Christian denomination and Obama should leave the SBC to decline as it is. Don't give a boost to the corrupt anti-gay/lesbian, anti-women, anti-children SBC by inviting Rick Warren.

See http://stopbaptistpredators.org/index.htm for all sex abuses and other corruptions by SBC pastors.

Was I the ONLY person who first read the thread title as "Rec if you think Obama should rescind the Warren Commission"?

This closeted homo is not the one I want to see every time we see a video of Obama getting sworn in and see him there. This is history not another rally. This is FOREVER.

if he happened to make any, so this is a golden opportunity for him to admit this dreadful mistake and make it right by rescinding the invitation.

and it probably wouldn't undo most of the damage that was done by issuing the invitation, anyway. :(

Yeah, maybe Lyndon Johnson should have invited to his 1964 inauguration, on the eve of his signing the Civil Right Act and Voter Rights Act - George Wallace or The Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Clan in hopes that they would come along and accept African-Americans as equals. Warren is as the fellow just said on Olberman - "Falwell in an Hawaiian Shirt." I've been saying today in my rants that he is Falwell Incarnate!

Obama is making the political mistake of his life by inviting this evil to share his stage - a day that should be a great celebration of one of the most historical days in human hitory, that after centuries of enslavement and violence and purposeful denial of basic human rights to one clas of people - black people, the inauguration of the first Black person President of the United State of America, how outrageous it is that Obama would give this bigot a platform to spew his hateful speech.

This takes the joy away from this inauguration. It is far more than just the issues important to GLBT people - which would be well enough - but the real issue is that anyone would defend the rights of the majority to vote down the rights of any minority group. The Constitution of the United States of America, despite its early and obvious denial of equal rights to women and black people, was clearly written to protect the rights of the minorities against the prejudices of the majority. This is fundamental to being an American and those who would defend violation of this basic human right are traitors to the United States of America.

Shame, Shame, Shame on you Obama - you of all people ought to know better! God Damm it! You must understand this and act accordingly! Be brave, you have an opportunity to show real courage - recind that invitation now. Face the music, admit, unlike the man you are replacing, that you made a mistake and you are going to correct it.

:bounce: Riverman, I especially like your first paragraph... comparing Obama's invitation of Warren, as the inaugural invocation presenter, to Lyndon Johnson's possible equals, during the time frame of 1964 and the Civil Rights Movement. Bravo!!! Well-spoken!

:-(

like Warren a national stage. Absolutely disgusting.

sw

Since you doubt he will say anything divisive (and he won't) why don't you give it a fucking rest? Obama (or whoever) chose the guy he was comfortable with and maybe, just maybe, it had nothing to do with gay issues? Or sending a "message" to the gay community?

there's no way this guy would ever be invited to this event. So, why don't you give it a fucking rest until you really understand what is going on here?

Understanding comes with knowledge. Until then, I reserve the right not to be offended by him or you. The motivation behind my post was really more that I am fed up wit hall the carping about every little thing that Obama has done before he even takes office that in any way offends some part of the liberal base. NO ONE is going to match every groups idea of ideal actions in every single instance.

So maybe EVERYONE should give it a "fucking rest" until Obama actually DOES something in OFFICE that is offensive. That's all I am saying. I guarantee you he will; being imperfect and all.

Here I've been, all over this site, trying to tell the hysterical chicken littles that the sky isn't falling and to stop assuming that the pick of Warren was a deliberate declaration of war on the GLBT community, then when I suggest that rescinding the invite is a good idea nonetheless, some doofus plunks me in the outrage junkie category. (I mean that affectionately).

Please, could you go tell the rabid GLBTers what you think of this OP? They're convinced that I'm an anti-gay crusader just because I urged reason too.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7996209&mesg_id=7996209
:silly:

FWIW, and if you haven't figured it out already, I agree with you for the most part. I'd actually like to see the Warren invite recinded, but I believe Obama is the smartest mutherfuckier in the room right now, and I think he has a plan.

With only passing attention paid to DU post election. I have been recovering from two plus years of intense focus on politics in an attempt to help elect a Democrat to the White House. I simply didn't know your back ground of posts on this (or any other subject for that matter) the latest reason for some part of the liberal house to be pissed at Obama.

And I agree with you that Obama is the smartest motherfucker in the room. Eventually someone will be smarter... but I doubt seriously he/she is on DU these days. I mean after all he did figure out literally out of no-fucking-where, first how to come from WAY behind in the democratic field, to first win in Iowa, then defeat the largest most well connected and richest (until his that is) democratic team in thirty years and derail the Clinton Juggernaut. THEN he went on and did what a shit load of people (including the Clintons and their supporters BTW) said could NOT be done: get his black ass elected President of the United States of America. And he did it by almost a hundred electoral votes. Full disclosure: 18 months ago, I was an Edwards supporter and I didn't think Obama could get past either Clinton OR the electorate. He made me a believer in about March of this year.

So I think we agree that maybe, just maybe, he knows how this thing called politics works. Sometimes the making of the sausage is pretty ugly. But it is the reality of the process. Warren is an asshole. He is a bigot. But lets not put Obama in that category until his proposed POLICIES, call for it as opposed to a speaker chosen for personal and probably political reasons, .

...so to speak?

You've come through!

on issues concerning civil rights. If he wants to set other priorities for his administration for the time being, that's one thing, but reaching out to bigots who have successfully turned back the clock on our struggle and putting them in the spotlight is another. The comparison of Warren to David Duke is an apt one, and one that should make Obama himself sit up and notice.

Prick Warren can take his Ayn Randian mutation of ¢hri$tianity and stick it up his ass!

I was listening to Coomsby late this afternoon -- Air America --

Lately he's sounding more liberal ...

anyway, he mentioned no one is asking Obama about "Rahm's conversations

with Gov. Blago" any more. Was it a deal and how much of a problem is

being projected by this for future of "change" .... ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMf9mPB_nE

This horseshit has no place at the people's house to inaugurate the first black American to the Presidency of the United States of America. To include the kinder, gentler packaging of "pat robertson" legitimizes the ignorance and fear the far right fantasies represents. Rescind the invitation? Nope, that milk (blood) has already been spilled. We progressives never forget.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all PEOPLE are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

i know inclusive means "all", but gee whiz, an admitted homophobe without an opposing viewpoint/presence? Geesh! How is that change?!? How about being more inclusive of LGBT people!??

Having suffered enough....

No more money/partticipation from me. This makes it the second time you've openly dissed LGBT people. You better fix that!

Really, if Mc Palin had won the world would be
a different and less lovely place. Count your blessings
and not your curses.

I agree, it's a non issue . . . Rick Warren is a highly visible person in the Christians community, he has written books and does seminars. He appeals to a good segment of the population too, not everyone that is a Democrat is a non believer, the rest of us deserve a bone here too, so mellow out people. It will be nice to have a President that is trying to be well rounded.

Obama has not deliberately declared war on the GLBT community. Yet so many are treating this as the ultimate insult.

It's not. But I do think that if he rescinded the invite, it would show a lack of tolerance for intolerance.

Fair enough?

By showing a little respect for Warren's
constituency he's showing that you can
disagree with someone on important issues
and still maintain a civil relationship.

Also Warren is in the doghouse with the
FReepers because he's fraternizing with
the enemy.

Read: "ZOMG! How can you criticize our Obama!"

The fact that something worse could've happened doesn't take away the need to speak out against something else ugly and inappropriate. The fight for human rights goes on. If Obama does something idiotic, he needs to be called on it just like Bush would be.

Assuming so much from so little.

Thanks for the tickle.

for a historical candidate instead of focusing on nominating a liberal one. We deserve this.

The corporations will not allow it. There was, and still is, a chance that Obama is a stealth liberal and will create real change.

Otherwise, he really does represent the best we could get.

How sad is that?

How many folks out there remember wen Mr Obama was against "CHIMP BUSH" an the telecoms eave dropping law suits? Before he voted for it !! I thought there was a political move on that one it let me down for sure but i over came it and moved on. Now i get #2 in my face with The Neo Nazi Christian SOB Warren. Thanks for selling out Obama!!! NOw i get to not watch the Inguration i cant stand that FAT SON OF A BITCH.... Bigot asshole... Reckon it's just going to be more of the same.. Thanks but no thaks. I am hoping the demos come up some one who gives me hope next election.. I will not vote for NO CHANGE Obama again, Fool me once shame on you fool me 2x shame on me... An i am not going to let it happen again

American included. That was just one of the problems with the Bush adm. They always divided people and never wanted to sit and talk with our enemies. That never will work and I'm glad Obama has a new point of view. I don't agree with Warren but I'm OK with him speaking.

The ugly, divisive Fundo-Fascist RW has been destroying democracy and human dignity world wide for ages. The fact that this worthless, arrogant bigot - with his well-known views on gays, women, reproductive rights, his willingness to elevate ancient texts applicable to one subset of humanity over rule of law - has been given pride of place at a major national turning point sickens me and subverts the very reason we originally too heart from the election of Obama. So many Americans of all persuasions and orientation worked SOOOO hard to eject the stranglers of corporatism, militarism, war crimes. Then we get this.

And if I even start to think that Warren and his ilk get to conduct their war against democracy using TAX EXEMPT DOLLAR!!!!****%%%% aaaiieeiiieee..

I don't want to see one on the inaugural stand.

has been measured, almost calculated, in his quest to win the Presidency of this country, that he would fall down so completely on this one thing UNLESS there is a way larger picture unfolding that none of us can see right now because we all are too close to discern it.

In one way, could it be the first steps to viscerally ripping open the right wing 4 years from now in order to neutralize the negative ad/rhetoric of anyone running on 'christian values' or conservative values? It sets up the smoking gun question of "how can(christian values/conservative values candidate) be "one of us" when they received spiritual guidance from the man who gave the invocation at the 'evil-librul-progressive-foreign-born-socialist' Barack Obama swearing in ceremony?"

Something is afoot with this choice... and I tend to believe that Obama is putting elements of the right wing in serious check with the decisions and choices he's made.

Or have you never heard of Rev. Wright?

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Its like with the jooooos!

How did I miss this gem teh last ten days?

WTF?

and throwing a bone to the christian right like this is probably worthwhile overall.

Rescinding the Warren invitation would be received as a true token of appreciation to those who propelled him to office.

Warren is a useful object lesson for all liberals on just how this country operates. All the Republicans and half the Democrats in Congress are conservatives. Every American government since FDR has been politically somewhere to the right of center. Evangelical Christians have become the Brown Shirts of two party, conservative political rule. Liberals, by contrast, are just expendable shock troops for the right of center Democratic Party leadership. The elevation of Rick Warren to high society is merely recognition that government here is of, by and for conservative religious and moneyed interests.:dilemma:

I don't think we should ever give any quarter to bigots or religious extremists (and Rick Warren is both).

I certainly oppose giving them a pulpit or a spotlight.

Anyway, here's a kick. It is disgraceful that that rightwing creep will be saying a prayer at Obama's inauguration. :thumbsdown:

the sooner the better.

Too late to recommend

I will turn my back when Warren speaks when I'm at the inauguration. I disagree with Warren being part of the ceremony. I could repeat that until I'm blue in the face, yet I think people would oddly think I support him due to what I feel about it.

But I think, as some have indicated, that rescinding Warren's invitation not only helps Warren by giving him more unneeded free press, it also turns Warren into a "martyr" for his opinions on gays and thus makes what will be a fairly unremarkable event turn into The Event, which would overshadow Obama's inaugural speech and the full event as well.

Warren will say the invocation, which if you've ever read or seen at an inauguration, is a pretty stale, predictable prayer and announcement that last for about two minutes. Warren knows that if he tries to pull off a divisive invocation that attacks gay rights that he will be attacked by others in the ceremony that follows.

If people want to try to stop Warren from speaking, by all means go ahead. I'm not about to tell anyone to STFU on this. I would suggest that making Warren seem more important than he is only helps him financially, and from a marketing standpoint, is exactly what someone like him would want.

We need more like this! I feel that there is too much pressure to "normalize" Warren when, in reality, he's a homophobic, misogynist, bigoted, creep.

You forgot he's also a gelatinous glob of green goo. :D

Merry Fucking Christmas :hi:

And a Happy New Year!

Anymore than he will rescind decisions he makes as Prez, from pressure from the right.

I don't like it and Warren is a raving bigot, but I do still support Obama. It was a stupid move in what has generally been a brilliant campaign.

I look forward to many more better decisions down the road!