Ed Morrissey
HotAir.com
5/14/2012
Barney Frank told the panel on ABC’s This Week that “I don’t think anyone’s vote was changed” when Barack Obama endorsed the legalization of same-sex marriage — but that might be too optimistic an analysis. The New York Times reports that the White House went on a charm offensive with leaders of faith organizations, including and perhaps especially African-American churches where opposition to gay marriage runs high. So far, the charm offensive has had mixed results:
About two hours after declaring his support for same-sex marriage last week, President Obama gathered eight or so African-American ministers on a conference call to explain himself. He had struggled with the decision, he said, but had come to believe it was the right one.
The ministers, though, were not all as enthusiastic. A vocal few made it clear that the president’s stand on gay marriage might make it difficult for them to support his re-election. …
In the end, Mr. Coates, who supports civil marriages for gay men and lesbians, said that most of the pastors, regardless of their views on this issue, agreed to “work aggressively” on behalf of the president’s campaign. But not everyone. “Gay marriage is contrary to their understanding of Scripture,” Mr. Coates said. “There are people who are really wrestling with this.”
This was the danger of going on the record, a danger Obama’s allies on the Left apparently discounted. Obama drove turnout in 2008 in part through the enthusiastic participation of these very same churches…
The article continues at HotAir.com
Related: Dr. Tony Evans: President Obama Wrong to Support Gay Marriage Christian Pastor Tony Evans says he is ‘disappointed’ by President Obama’s support of same-sex marriage.
Black Pastor Tells CNN His Church Won’t Support Obama, ‘Plan To Stay Home’
…Jones reports that, while some pastors, like Rev. Wallace Charles Smith, support the President with the caveat that “we preferred that he had not weighed in on the issue,” Rev. Burns (also a state legislator) has no interest in voting this year. “People have come up to me, are saying they don’t support this, they don’t like this,” he argued. “They are disappointed with the President, and they plan to stay home.”…
Also, from Michael Ramirez, The Evolving Cartoon.
Rubio calls Obama gay marriage announcement a distraction from economy, effort to divide [AUDIO]
…According to Florida’s Republican junior U.S. senator, the economy should be the focus, but there seems to be a different issue every week brought to the forefront by the president and his party.
“Every single week, whether it’s the student loan issue this week, or this gay marriage issue — next week it’ll be something else; every single week they will trot out another issue to avoid having to talk about the economy because this election is about the economy, which is what it should be about. He can’t win, and they know that. They’re smart enough to know that.”
As for the issue itself, Rubio said it was an important one, but one that was preferably done at the state level…
click on the image to enlarge
And, War on the Catholic Church
…The sowing of such discord is a manipulative, inappropriate and awful use of the office of the President of the United States. It is uncharitable to all Catholics because we believe that the Church is the body of Christ. No one of any political leaning should try to tear away pieces of Christ’s body for political gain.
The symbolism of the president’s implicit attack has not been lost on those who hate Christianity and God. In a chilling move, the Freedom from Religion Foundation has placed an ad in the Washington Post that encourages Catholics to leave the Church…
Update: via Don Surber:
Obama Accused Of Sexual Harassment While at Harvard Law Review
During Barack Obama’s tenure as the president of the Harvard Law Review in the late 1980s, at least two male student editors complained to colleagues and senior university officials about inappropriate behavior by Obama…
Update 3: Latino group voices opposition to Obama flip-flop on same-sex marriage
A news release from a group calling itself the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) says “U.S. Hispanics suffered another blow last week when President Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage,” while describing itself as the only national Hispanic Catholic lay leadership organization in the country.
Speaking to the May 9 television interview in which the chief executive said “same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Robert Aguirre, CALL president and CEO stated, “I am shocked, but not surprised, that this president has the temerity to attempt to lead this great nation down a path void of morality and Christian values.”…
Star Parker: How we got to ‘gay marriage
We have created a world where it’s illegal to teach youth traditional values in school but not illegal to teach them competing values of nihilism, materialism and relativism….
MSNBC’s Matthews To African-American Pastor: ‘I Hope You Evolve’
