By GottaLaff
Paddy and I were just saying how sick we are of all things Rev. Rick, and how the the issue of the separation of church and state should be front and center. But here I am, posting one more time about Rev. Bigot. Why?
Because Marc Ambinder offers up another facet of the controversy that I found interesting. He titles it "The Left Adapts to Power; Overcoming Learned Pessimism". He begins by referring to a "knee jerk reaction" by many liberals to what they have for so long seen as a slap in the face:
The contrast, though, between the impressively (from that point of view) liberal administration appointments that obama has been rolling out over the past few days and the choice of an anti-gay pastor to speak briefly for one morning (and presumably not about gays, or any other divisive social issue) is fascinating. [...]
The Obama team probably misread the situation a bit, but it's easy to see how they might do so: the transition team obviously wanted two contrasting religious voices for the invocation and the benediction. Seen in this light, the Warren pick is far less controversial.
The deeper dynamic, though, is this: liberal groups are used to being treated like stepchildren in Washington. They are used to being under siege at all times, and it's going to take some adjustment to realize that gay rights are probably not in danger because of things like the Warren pick. (An Obama adviser, discussing this matter with me, urged patience, saying that Obama is committed to the substance of his campaign promises to expand gay rights.)
A little private reassurance would go a long way, and it seems that the Obama team has not accounted for the fact that everyone, on all sides, is going through a period of psychological adjustment from the Bush years.
This includes liberal interest groups accustomed to being slapped around by Bush and taken for granted by Bill Clinton.
When new programs start coming down the pike, and Obama's priorities on gay rights (and on anything else on the progressive agenda) become clear, most of this early defensive posturing will probably be seen as premature and overblown.
Until Barack Obama does something substantial to advance gay rights, groups like HRC can hardly be blamed for feeling the deja vu.
While I appreciate Ambinder's points, I think it goes far beyond that. Rev. Rick is downright offensive, to say the least. Receiving eventual reassurances by Obama and his policies is one thing, but having that bigot right smack in our faces on such a monumental occasion is something else entirely.
In other words, this can't be boiled down to the eventual adaptation of learned behavior by the abused following a lifetime with their abuser.
And unfortunately, I don't think disappointed Obama supporters will feel soothed by dreams of a rosier future while simultaneously playing "polite audience" to a man who dismisses our most basic rights and needs the way a horse's tail idly swats away a fly.
For so many who have felt the intense pain that comes from small-minded hatred and prejudice, the time for healing is now, not January 21st.
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