I witnessed yesterday two of the most high-profile jellyfish politicians of our era, President Obama and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, finally take a stand on equal rights for gays. This can only mean one thing: The battle is over. Soon, maybe within five years, gays will have equally protected constitutional rights in all fifty states, including North Carolina.
One pundit yesterday – Thom Hartmann? – said that the TV show Will and Grace had perhaps saved more teen agers than any other force in our country. The highest suicide rate in our land is among gay teen agers. Watching a popular medium like TV, seeing openly gay people accepted and treated with respect, gave many the courage just to get through high school, get away from the bigots, maybe move to a bigger city, and live their lives.
Please note – after the battle was waged, after the walls were falling, only then did Hickenlooper and Obama weigh in. This gives weight to the argument that popular movements, even of minorities, is the strongest determinant of future public policy. This explains FDR an LBJ. They did what they did because they felt pressure, perhaps even acting on their own impulses knowing that they had power behind them.
Piece of Mindful 
FDR succumbed to his wife’s agendas because of his affairs and LBJ did it out of guilt.
Interesting to note however what one minority feels toward another.
“African-Americans voted 2-1 in favor of the North Carolina amendment banning gay marriage Tuesday, but the White House is betting that black voters there and beyond will stick with the president, despite broad resistance to legalization.”
Kinda shoots down the “moving to bigger cities” angle.
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Your thoughts and the one below are interesting snippets into your streams of consciousness, but your disconnects are even more interesting. Swede, you account for some of the most earth-moving legislation of the modern era based on the personal emotions of the two men who happened to be in office when it came about, as if no other factors were involved, as if the president makes policy in a vacuum. That is reductionist to the point of absurdity.
Kurtz, most of the time I have no clue what prompts your remarks. They appear as nuggets of stone dropped from some passing comment.
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Yer a lying sack of shit, Toke: you were pushed into a Colorado story by another blogger.
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