Barney Frank Rips Obama: "Big Mistake" On Marriage Act

Barney Frank rips prez’s ‘big mistake’
Fuming over anti-gay wed filing
By Dave Wedge
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - Updated 11h ago


U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, one of the nation’s leading gay rights champions, blasted President Obama yesterday over a controversial anti-gay marriage court filing and is calling on the commander in chief to explain himself.

“I think the administration made a big mistake. The wording they used was inappropriate,” Frank (D-Newton) said of a brief filed by Obama’s Department of Justice that supported the Defense of Marriage Act.

The DOJ brief, which has touched off a firestorm of anger in the gay community, argued that states should not have to recognize same-sex marriages from other states, just as states don’t have to recognize incestuous marriages or unions involving underage girls.

“I’ve been in touch with the White House and I’m hoping the president will make clear these were not his views,” Frank said.

The controversy has prompted some prominent gay political donors and activists to boycott a gay/lesbian Democratic National Committee fund-raiser being co-hosted by Frank next week in Washington, D.C., Vice President Biden is slated to be the keynote speaker, but protests could mar the $1,000-a-head event.

more...

http://bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/2009_06_17_Barney_Frank_rips_prez_s_%E2%80%98big_mistake_:_Fuming_over_anti-gay_wed_filing/srvc=home&position=6

Frank said he understands the rage but vowed that the fund-raiser - one of the gay community’s biggest of the year - will go on.

“There are a lot of people who aren’t boycotting,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake to deny money to the DNC.”

DNC Treasurer Andrew Tobias, a staunch gay rights advocate, defended Obama, telling Politico, “If this debacle of a brief represented the president’s views, I’d boycott too. I totally understand all the hurt and anger . . . (but I) still personally totally believe in the president.”

Where are other "fierce advocates" in Congress, you know, the ones who also hit us up for money? :shrug:

the reason why milk advocated it had to be us and not our supporters because when times are tough are supporters will sell us out for whatever is their "main" issue. this main issue is never glbt equality and civil right.

(and with that i am off again on my extended du break!)

happy pride gays! happy pride!

...if anyone gave any Dems money this past election cycle, you're still covered by the warranty...demand service!

That is about the lightest language Frank could've gotten away with. Nice editorializing on the part of the Herald there.

And of course, Frank had nothing to say until the money threatened to dry up.

No rest, no peace until DOMA and DADT are on the table.

Anything less is an insult to us.

I was willing to be patient. The DOMA brief blew that out of the water for me.

ENDA should've been on the table months ago. It has absurd amounts of public support. DADT should've been on the table months ago. Even Republicans have a majority supporting a repeal.

Now they're in trouble because we're rightly angry, and they're going after the low-hanging fruit?

No. We've been insulted enough. They have money enough. If they can't do anything without even more money from the gay community, then they haven't been spending the exorbitant amounts we've given them very wisely. It's time we get our money's worth from these people.

I think the community is about to show you what "a blasting" really is, Mr. Frank.

we'll be happy to provide our financial support once the DNC decides to address the issues. In the meantime, why not ask for a nice, big low-interest loan from one of the banks that got bailed out?

How we've been told in hysteric terms that the brief didn't equate our relationships to incest or pedophiles, but almost every newspaper recap I've read mentions this exact same point. Maybe some of our fellow DU'ers never read the paper.

This isn't just about DOMA.

We got ripped off on election day. Democrats voted for Obama and other Democrats and against gay people.

The firemen came out of the woodwork. "It wasn't the blacks." Yes it was. "It wasn't the hispanics." Yes it was. "It wasn't the Christians." Yes it was. "It wasn't the elderly." Yes it was.

And my all time favorite: "It wasn't the Democrats." Yes it was. God damn it yes it was. We don't expect any better from Republicans, we didn't expect Republicans to vote for civil rights. We expected Democrats to vote against discrimination, and because enough of them voted WITH THE REPUBLICANS, we got ripped off. But because we got ripped off by a couple of identifiable groups, each of which would have made the difference, the firemen say, "Don't blame them." Yes I can. And I will.

Oh, and let's not forget the most offensive of all fire brigades- the ones who said, "It's our own fault. We didn't educate. We didn't reach out." Oh bullshit. Yeah, and women get raped for wearing miniskirts. These aren't mental defectives and people with no television sets out there. These are not perceptually challenged people who don't know the gay people around them. These are at best the intellectually lazy who just thought and voted as they always have, and at worst active religious bigots who only cared about winning.

The Republicans, and some Democrats keep talking about gay civil rights like it's all about marriage and DADT. Two minor things. After all, we don't get shot down in the streets with any regularity, and it's no longer a capital crime to be gay, so we should just shut up and be glad that we have come as far as we have.

I'm sick of it. I really am.