NOT a good way to start a presidency

Gays, in particular, are feeling punched in the gut with the announcement that Obama has chosen Evangelical pastor Rock Warren for the invocation at his Inauguration. News has since come out that the pick was made by Obama himself and among the "talking points" from Obama are these (some of which are truncated):

* In keeping with the spirit of unity and common purpose this Inauguration will reflect, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have chosen some of the world's most gifted artists and people with broad appeal to participate in the inaugural ceremonies.

* Pastor Rick Warren has a long history of activism on behalf of the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. He's devoted his life to performing good works for the poor and leads the evangelical movement in addressing the global HIV/AIDS crisis.

* The President-elect disagrees with Pastor Warren on issues that affect the LGBT community.

* As he's said again and again, the President-elect is committed to bringing together all sides of the faith discussion in search of common ground

* The Inauguration will also involve Reverend Joseph Lowery, who will be delivering the official benediction at the Inauguration. Reverend Lowery is a giant of the civil rights movement who boasts a proudly progressive record on LGBT issues.

* And for the very first time, there will be a group representing the interests of LGBT Americans participating in the Inaugural Parade.

The last point is that a gay marching band, members of the Lesbian and Gay Band Association, has made it into the parade. They get a homophobic pastor and we get a band? Shouldn't we at least supply Michelle's hairdresser too?

The core of the complaint is that while Warren works for the end of AIDS, he also campaigned for the Calif. gay marriage ban (saying some nasty and dismissive things about gays along the way) and, like most Evangelicals, is against abortion.

Obama says he wants to keep the discussion going. Fine. But the inauguration isn't a discussion. And campaigning for women's rights and gay rights and then selecting a pastor that is very much against both makes a lot of people feel sold out. This isn't a case of finding a centrist palatable to everyone. Warren and his Fundie colleagues have said there is no way they can compromise on gay issues (as the marriage ban showed). There isn't a lot of "discussion" that can happen between these people and gays (where the discussion will happen is with the common people -- religious or not -- who simply don't yet know what being gay is all about. So why does "come together" mean the Fundies set the baseline and we have to come to them?

An example of the reaction: Inviting Warren is (to gays) like inviting a white supremacist. Alas, Warren himself claims not to be a homophobe. Riiiight.

This issue has created a lot of noise in the gay blogsphere (and a lot of feedback). See postings here, here (nice graphic), here (includes to statements from gay organizations), here, and here. It is also generating a lot of "too bad, sucker" gloating in the Fundie blogsphere. Not a good way to start off a presidency.