On October 20, it came to our attention that the Obama campaign was planning a gospel concert series in South Carolina. It came to our attention because people got their panties in a wad over the inclusion of Donnie McClurkin.
Who? one might rightly ask. Donnie McClurkin is a Grammy Award winning gospel singer, a preacher, and an “ex-gay.” That’s right — after being repeatedly raped as a child by various male family members, McClurkin believes he was able to pray the gay out of himself. Incidentally, he also told Ebony Magazine in 2001 that prayer cured his leukemia.
Whatev.
I thought Goon theblackw0lf handled this one well:
[Obama’s]also done quite a bit for Rick Warren, because even though Obama believes some of Rick’s beliefs are too conservative, Rick has also done quite a bit for combating poverty and aids, and Obama supports him and helps him in those areas.
Personally, I get tired of politicians having to distance themselves from certain groups because they might hold a controversial opinion. It just seems to me that by doing so we’re limiting our ability to combat certain social ills. Because while there might be groups that believe homosexuality is a sin or even against gay marraige, they might also care about fighting aids, poverty, and global warming.
And that should have been that, as we moved on to filibustering FISA, Mitt Romney being an ass and support from The Butter Cow Lady.
But no. No no no. It had to become a “campaign crisis” as Hillary’s pocket constituency, The Human Rights Campaign, got all grumpy.
According to sources, HRC offered various suggestions to the Obama camp to avoid criticism by the group, among them dropping McClurkin from the gospel act.
Oh, yes, I remember that great line from his DNC speech: “There is not a red America or a blue America, but The United Stated of People Who Already Agree With Us.” Obama stated his position very well on October 22:
“I have clearly stated my belief that gays and lesbians are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to African-American religious leaders about the need to overcome the homophobia that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like HIV/AIDS and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.
I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin’s views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division.”
He then added an openly gay minister to open the show that McClurkin will be performing at.
ArchPundit then made a really good point about all of this:
The real point here is that Democrats have two constituencies that often disagree with one another. One, African-Americans, compose a socially conservative demographic who are more anti-gay than the average member of the population. The GLBT community is a strong supporter of Democrats as well, but they find that many African-American religious leaders who back Democrats have offensive ideas about gay people. That’s true. Lots of black preachers say such things. Does that mean none of them can be associated with a Democratic Campaign?
And no one makes a stink when Hillary Clinton stands with Harold Mayberry.
So here’s the nitty-gritty: The entire point of the Obama campaign is inclusiveness, which includes people he himself and his other supporters may not agree with. If that’s not your thing, he’s not your candidate. But to repudiate him for standing by his matra of inclusiveness is retarded. Since Obama’s central plank is, in fact, uniting the country, is ending the divisions that separate us, we’re all going to have to learn to play nice.
It’s the same thing that happened a few weeks ago regarding Tom Coburn. Yes, Coburn has some despicable social stands, but that doesn’t eliminate the good he has done in government. Yes, McClurkin holds some despicable views, but that does not mean we shouldn’t include him and try to change his mind.
Goon Sub Par adds:
What’s different about Obama is that he will get up in front of a group of southern black Christians and tell them they are wrong on GLBT issues. He will get up in front of gay groups and talk about how they need to work with and educate the black church population, not ignore, ridicule, and hate them. It really is inspiring.
Oh, looky, a Joint Letter from the African American Religious and LGBT Leadership Teams. These guys get it.
We believe that Barack Obama is constructing a tent big enough for LGBT Americans who know that their sexual orientation is an innate and treasured part of their being, and for African American ministers and citizens who believe that their religion prevents them from fully embracing their gay brothers and sisters. And if we are to confront our shared challenges we have to join together, build on common ground, and engage in a civil dialogue even when we disagree.
And there you have it. You can (erroneously) believe Obama is a bigoted gay-hater, or you can (correctly) believe he’s reaching out to two disparate groups in an attempt to get them in the same tent.
This post is long, so I will finish with a final quote from Goon drscience:
As tempting as it is for us to exploit long-awaited political advantage and start our own “agree or fuck you” mentality after languishing under Bush, it’s not the campaign Obama’s going to run. There is a serious divide among the religious black community and homosexuals, and he hopes to establish a civil discourse and start mending the issue through humanization and empathy, rather than taking the easier road by calling Pastor McClurkin a nutball and possibly squeezing a few sound-byte votes out of the conflict. If I wanted that Rovian 51% split I wouldn’t be supporting Obama.
