How Much Does Obama Hate You? The Gays Count The Ways...

John Aravosis and Joe Sudbay over at AmericaBlog are launching a boycott of the Democratic National Committee, Organizing for America and the Obama re-election campaign until "the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is passed, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) is repealed, and the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is repealed."

The boycott has been endorsed by such progressive luminaries as Daily Kos, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Dan Savage, Michelangelo Signorile, David Mixner, Andy Towle and Michael Goff of Towle Road, Paul Sousa (Founder of Equal Rep in Boston), Pam Spaulding, Robin Tyler (ED of the Equality Campaign, Inc.), Bil Browning for the Bilerico Project, among others.

Here is a list of their "beefs" with the Democrats in general and President Obama in particular:

Can you give examples of how the President and Democrats have not been fierce advocates for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans?

1. Asking a religious right activist who claims to have been “cured” of his homosexuality to headline campaign events in South Carolina. Then letting the anti-gay bigot spend half an hour, on stage, haranguing gays at the Obama event.
2. Refusing for months to interview with LGBT newspapers during the campaign, while his opponent did repeatedly.
3. Flubbing question on whether gays are immoral.
4. Inviting anti-gay activist Rick Warren, who helped pass Prop 8 in California, to give the invocation at the inaugural.
5. Inviting a gay bishop to the inaugural festivities, then not beginning the TV broadcast until the gay bishop has finished and left.
6. Refusing to appoint an openly gay Cabinet member.
7. Abolishing the LGBT outreach position at the DNC and never reinstating it.
8. Refusing to re-establish the White House Office of LGBT Outreach and the White House LGBT Liaison (which was a Special Assistant to the President at one point).
9. Continuing to discharge two gay servicemembers a day, even though he could stop it immediately by issuing a stop-loss order immediately.
10. Asking for a study on “whether” repealing DADT would hurt national security, rather than a study on how to repeal it, as promised.
11. Deleting his gay civil rights promise from the White House Web site.
12. Changing his commitment to “repeal” Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to “changing DADT it in a sensible manner.”
13. Repeatedly defending DOMA in court, including just a few weeks ago, even though he didn’t have to.
14. Making jokes about marriage equality, which President Obama claims he doesn't support, even though he once did.
15. Comparing gay relationships to incest and pedophilia in a Justice Department brief.
16. Joking about gay protesters upset about the DOMA brief.
17. Refusing to provide health care benefits to the partners of gay employees, and then claiming that DOMA precludes it, when it does not.
18. Refusing to meet with gay legal groups to discuss how to provide such health benefits within the confines of DOMA.
19. Claiming that health benefits for partners of federal employees were new, then being caught in a lie.
20. Showing visible discomfort when asked about gay civil rights.
21. Suggesting he won’t get to DADT, DOMA or ENDA until his second term, if ever.
22. Refusing to suspend implementation of anti-gay laws, like DADT and DOMA, while suspending laws that hurt others.
23. White House staffers worked against amendment proposed by Rep. Alcee Hasting (D-FL) to defund Don't Ask, Don't Tell investigations
24. Saying won’t repeal DADT until wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have finished.
25. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid had to beg President Obama to help on DADT repeal.
26. A White House official referring to gay civil rights advocates, marching on Washington, as part of “the Internet left fringe” whose opinions don’t matter.
27. Saying he won’t touch DOMA in his first term.
28. Refusing to release list of gay attendees at hate crimes reception.
29. Refusing to mention Maine or Washington state, or anything of substance, in his speech to the Human Rights Campaign dinner.
30. Saying gays are “naïve” for wanting the president to keep his promise.
31. Refusing to issue a statement specifically opposing anti-gay ballot measures in Maine and Washington state.
32. Attorney General Eric Holders flubs question on Maine, twice -- once while in Maine.
33. DNC/OFA emailed supporters in Maine and Washington state, but didn't ask them to vote against anti-gay ballot measures, then lied about it.
34. Senator Durbin (D-IL), a very close ally of Obama, says Senate probably won’t repeal DADT in 2010, as promised.
35. Senior DNC official accuses gays and lesbians of “helping Republicans” by simply asking Democrats to keep their gay civil rights promise.
36. Refusing to publicly endorse marriage equality for gays.
37. Continuing to dawdle over DADT.
38. Refusing to this day to interview with the gay press.
39. Refusing to apologize for any of these slights.

I think most of the above list is petty and trivial. However, while I don't disagree with the motive behind launching the boycott (and I may even endorse it if someone asks me nicely!), I do think the point to emphasize here are the legislative results we seek: ENDA, DADT and DOMA.

I don't give a rat's *ss about Donnie McLurkin (Point #1) or who attended the LGBT Hate Crimes reception at the White House (Point #28). I do think that there should be an official Liaison to the LGBT Community for the White House (Point #8) and Democratic National Committee (Point #7).

As a practical matter, if the Administration does not take action on ENDA, DADT and DOMA before the 2012 election, they will not be getting donations from the LGBT community. I definitely won't be donating to Obama's re-election if ENDA is not law and bills to repeal DADT and DOMA have not made significant legislative traction before the next election.

However, this does not mean that I endorse or want to encourage privileged LGBT activists screaming hysterically at the White House over every perceived or imagined slight. LGBT rights are NOT the most important thing on the agenda right now. Health care reform is. That being said, I do think that the President can do more than one thing at a time and I do think some of the most egregious slights have been happening in the Department of Justice. Jus' sayin'.