End of the Cultural Wars?

The cultural climate is far different today, besides. Now,roughly 75 percent of Americans support an end to Don’t Ask, and gay issues are no longer a third rail in American politics. – Frank Rich New York Times 06/28/2009

The cultural wars are over, or at least quiet. We know this is true because the New York Times tells us so. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/weekinreview/28tanenhaus.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=The%20Sounds%20of%20Silence&st=cse).

Also in today’s Times, Frank Rich writes about the Stonewall riots and how far gay rights have come. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/opinion/28rich.html?scp=2&sq=Frank%20Rich&st=cse).

Rich writes:

"Gay civil rights history is moving faster in the country, including on the once-theoretical front of same-sex marriage, than it is in Washington. If the country needs any Defense of Marriage Act at this point, it would be to defend heterosexual marriage from the right-wing “family values” trinity of Sanford, Ensign and Vitter."

But President Obama’s administration filed a brief supporting the continuance of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). This has angered activists all over the country as candidate Obama campaigned on a platform to repeal DOMA. Once again a portion of the population has been told to wait until the time is right while they are actively discriminated against.

Whereas the Justice Department has a brief to defend laws from constitutional challenges the Obama administration laid out arguments supporting DOMA that were a roadmap of all the arguments that can be used to support DOMA in a supreme court challenge.

In part the brief argued that DOMA prevented states that did not support marriage equality from being burdened with its costs. Precedents of states not recognizing marriages from another state include an instance where someone had married their niece, the marriage of a 16 year old girl from Indiana, and the marriage of first cousins from Arizona.

The Justice Department also argued that DOMA applied equally to all married couples. In short the Justice Department says the same sex marriages of heterosexual couples also wouldn’t be recognized. (There are two excellent analysis of the Administration’s position on Findlaw.com, Defense of Marriage Act Defended by Obama DOJ http://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2009/06/defense-of-marriage-act-defended-by-obama-doj.html; and The Obama Administration Defends the Defense of Marriage Act http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dorf/20090617.html).

Yes, there are advances. Five states have enacted marriage equality laws. New York would do so if its Senate had not descended into utter chaos. Since November nationwide support of marriage equality has grown.

And yet…

An enormously popular President, a Democrat, uses flawed and somewhat bigoted arguments to defend a law supported by no more than 25% of voters. The same President has made no effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” another unpopular act of discrimination.

The reasons and excuses are many. Obama’s administration is staffed with veterans of the Clinton administration who saw the first year of Clinton’s first term consumed by “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” This, in their eyes, weakened Clinton for the fight over Health Care reform. They are determined to not to make the same mistake twice.

Frank Rich argues that with popular support for repeal of DOMA and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell the political climate has changed. As far as poll numbers goes he is right. But unfortunately the cultural wars are not over. Out in the countryside the fighting may have subsided but not in the DC-NYC urban centers where it continues in full force. Obama knows that if he makes any move to repeal Don’t Ask, or DOMA that the forces that govern most of the media – Fox News, Rush, Glenn Beck et al will go wild and dominate the airwaves. They will set the dialog and the liberal media like MSNBC will fight back. Any discussions for other initiatives like Health Care reform will be drowned out. This reform legislation will simply stall out and disappear.

Sad but true. Sorry New York Times, just because there was no uproar over the nomination of Jim Leach to head the NIH doesn’t mean the cultural wars are in truce. Sorry Frank Rich, President Obama’s fear of repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and DOMA indicate that Gay issues are still the Third Rail of national politics.
For now, on Gay Pride Day, and Forty Years after Stonewall, a large portion of Americans can be actively discriminated against and that discrimination is set in law.

The marchers in Sunday’s parade will not be able to enjoy the rights, responsibilities and protections of a legal marriage. They will not be allowed to put their hearts and bravery in service of their country. They can be mocked by stereotypes in the media in a way that is not permissible with any other group.
At some point President Obama will have to shuck off his pragmatic nature and take a stronger stand for people’s rights regardless of who they love or bed. He cannot always seek the safe center road.

President Obama tells gay activists to wait, that there are things that he wants to accomplish first and that in the end they will be happy with what he has done. But Obama must not forget what Martin Luther King once said: "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."