Michele McGinty: December 2008 Archives

Because he came out against gay marriage:

"Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans," the president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote Obama Wednesday. "[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination."

The rapid, angry reaction from a range of gay activists comes as the gay rights movement looks for an opportunity to flex its political muscle. Last summer gay groups complained, but were rebuffed by Obama, when an "ex-gay" singer led Obama's rallies in South Carolina. And many were shocked last month when voters approved the California ban.

The rapid, angry reaction from a range of gay activists comes as the gay rights movement looks for an opportunity to flex its political muscle. Last summer gay groups complained, but were rebuffed by Obama, when an "ex-gay" singer led Obama's rallies in South Carolina. And many were shocked last month when voters approved the California ban.

He thinks it could hurt minority businesses:

Al Sharpton: Yeah, the outsourcing, well I'm all for, and as well for those who don't believe in the right to organizing, clearly I'm for any legislation to give any state the right to organize, but I'm talking about specifically where workers are not protected from coercion, in terms of these card-checks that you talk about, and as arbitration because explain, Charlie King, to me the whole question that you raised, if you have a federal arbitrator who says that this is the deal, even when the union only established out of card-check, is the deal for two years, and there's nothing you can do about it, I mean, a lot of the business that we afford for the African American community to get contracts and sub contracts and all. They could face some very serious problems here.

Charlie: They could face incredible problems with it. Number one, it divides small businesses so that the employer and the employee can't even really talk about what this contract is, and the second piece of it, going back again to the secret ballot is, and Sylvesters exactly right, is that the civil rights movement was predicated on the right to be able to go in and say what you honestly believe without fear of reprisal. That's why we have the secret ballot in electing our president, our elected officials, and it's a critical component of what we've fought for.

Al Sharpton: So let me get this very clear because I'm going to have a debate on this, we're going to really get into this as we get toward the inauguration, but you're not against organizing unions, you're not saying that workers don't need unions but we're saying that these two items are going too far. That's your position, Sylvester.

Sylvester: Yes sir.

Al Sharpton: That's mine, and I think that we need to debate it and be real clear about it as this campaign is launched, we'll do it starting next week. Thank you, Sylvester, we're going to kick off and we're going to have you tell your legislatures how you feel about it one way or another.

BTW, he's not the only one on the left who has come out against it, Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln might be against it as well. If Sharpton can get a campaign going, maybe he'll sway more of the Senators on the left.

What? Rev. Wright wasn't available? :-)

Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues. This move is also classic Obama because it is a signal to religious conservatives that he's willing to bring in both sides to the faith discussion in this country. Obama has never shied away from that.

I bet Time magazine is so happy to finally be able to pick an actual person this year and one that makes since instead of pretending that the obvious man of the year didn't exist (Bush). This year the obvious person of the year is Obama, so they can be praised for their choice.

Now that a pro-abortion Democrat is about to take over the presidency, abortionists are waiting to get their piece of the federal pie. They've submitted a 55-page plan outlining their list of demands:

The plan was signed by groups which include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and International Planned Parenthood Federation of America. It was also signed by a group which calls itself "Catholics for Choice."

Writing in the plan, abortion advocates call for the abolition of restrictions on taxpayer funding for abortions:

"The President's budget should strike language restricting abortion funding for (i) Medicaid-eligible women and Medicare beneficiaries (Hyde amendment); (ii) federal employees and their dependents (FEHB program); (iii) residents of the District of Columbia; (iv) Peace Corps volunteers; (v) Native-American women; and (vi) women in federal prisons."

It asks that funding be restored to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whose funding was rescinded under the Bush administration after private and governmental investigations revealed that the program cooperated with China's coercive population control programs.

The abortion advocates' plan calls for an increase in the budget of the Title X Family Planning Program to $700 million, reportedly a 133 percent increase, while providing $1 billion for international "family planning" programs.

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