The Clinton Doctrine

In a time of constant press availability, hourly tweets and Facebook posts, and YouTube videos for every small occasion, it is increasingly rare that a truly important speech is made, that words are spoken that themselves have the power to transform both the present mindset and the future path. Yesterday in Geneva, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave one of the most important speeches in recent history, and perhaps the most important declaration ever for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. Speaking on behalf of President Obama and the United States of America, Secretary Clinton harkened back to her landmark 1995 speech in Beijing, and declared “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” Much as the statement “all men are created equal” seems today plainly obvious, 1776 was the first time anyone bothered to write that down, similarly, yesterday was the first time in history that a world power bothered to articulate that seemingly obvious truth as fundamental policy.

In doing so, the Secretary of State eloquently and forcefully made the case yesterday for what I think it is fair to describe as the Clinton Doctrine. For a woman with an already long and distinguished legacy, an un-nuanced declaration that the most powerful nation on Earth is fully committed to the dignity, respect and equality of gays and lesbians is a fine addition. In many ways, it’s a fine addition because it is uniquely hers. Secretary Clinton has spent much of her career advocating for the rights of women and children, particularly in parts of the globe where they are all but nonexistent. However, while she undoubtedly has generated new attention for these issues and, as Secretary, put power behind words, these were always going to be paradigms of human rights that originated with someone else. Mrs. Clinton was improving a trail blazed by Susan B. Anthony and Eleanor Roosevelt. Yesterday, she blazed her own trail.

We have heard leaders give very positive and forward-thinking speeches in which gay rights have been mentioned before; we’ve seen the president laudably address the Human Rights Campaign twice; we’ve seen dozens of political leaders and celebrities speak for a few moments about how “it gets better.” And those are great – and historic. But Secretary Clinton’s speech was new ground. For the first time, a representative of the United States – not just of our government but of our people – spoke at length exclusively about gays and lesbians. In doing so, she addressed not merely the minimum rights under the law we deserve as equal members of the human race, but spoke about us as people, gave the world for a few moments an opportunity to think about how things feel from our perspective. She said many things that I, and I think millions of others, have been waiting to hear from a world leader for years.

It is nice to hear from a politician, usually in advance of an election or before a fundraiser, how he’ll fight for protection from hate crimes or increased spousal recognition. But the world – and much of our own country – desperately needed to hear a leader say that “The lives of gay people are shaped not only by laws, but by the treatment they receive every day from their families, from their neighbors.”

Hillary Clinton said that yesterday.

We needed to hear a world leader (and a straight leader) say, “We need to ask ourselves, "How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love? How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?"”

Hillary Clinton said that yesterday.

We needed a leader to say, “in reality, gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes; and whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.”

Hillary Clinton said that yesterday.

Believe it or not, for anyone who listens to her speech, that may be the very first time they have heard someone tell them those simple truths. Secretary Clinton made a very personal case to the world in a way that only someone known throughout the world and held in such esteem really can. And at its core, that’s all this is: personal. The barriers to equality and acceptance fall when you know someone you love is gay.

Secretary Clinton also made the case in historic terms. She placed the struggle for LGBT equality squarely on par with the struggle for women’s rights and for the rights of African Americans, where it belongs. This speech removed any uncertainty about whether the United States as a government believed that to be the case. Additionally, language is important. By referring to us as “the LGBT community” – by simply referring to us as people – rather than the vernacular of emphasizing the word “homosexual” in much of the world (or “faggot” in much of this country), she used words to underscore that sex has relatively little to do with who we are as brothers and sisters in the human race.

When an historic speech is given, coupled with an historic policy such as the one issued by the President yesterday that Secretary Clinton was announcing, it is worth reflecting. The United States, for the first time in history, is both speaking to the world at length about the rights and gays and lesbians and using the power of our extensive foreign aid to impact the rights of gays and lesbians around the globe. It makes me both terribly proud of Secretary Clinton for making this speech and articulating this doctrine and of President Obama for issuing this policy and allowing the speech. It also makes me incredibly proud to be an American and privileged to live in this era.

(Watch the full video here: http://bcove.me/qs3211sh)

NY Catholic Leaders Face Real Problems: Gay marriage isn't one of them

Every ten minutes, a child in New York state is born into poverty, adding to the current level of 1 out of every 5 New York children living in poverty. Of those, nearly half a million live in extreme poverty, the most gut wrenching, back-breaking, inhumane poverty one can imagine in what should be a first world country – and they’re children.

Last year alone, there were nearly 76,000 violent crimes committed in the state of New York, including 861 homicides and nearly 3,000 incidents of rape. Homicide remains the leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 15 and 35.

This year, more than 113,000 individual New Yorkers will turn to homeless shelters, the highest level since data has been collected.

Despite that, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York are expending time and resources in a last ditch effort to prevent the New York State Senate from voting to grant every New Yorker the right to enter into a civil marriage with the person they love. These actions mirror the efforts made by the Church in California and Maine, among other states, that includes spending millions of dollars to defeat votes to legalize marriage equality. This places the Archdiocese and Archbishop Timothy Dolan in opposition not only to the inevitable political progress of the state, but to the substantial majority of New Yorkers who support the freedom to marry.

In a blog post today, Archbishop Dolan compared the efforts by Governor Cuomo and the New York legislature to actions by China and North Korea. His Eminence says his position is not about denying anyone rights, except the reality is, of course, that it’s entirely about denying rights and continuing to codify and condone harmful bigotry.

For a leader of a church whose fundamental principle of social teaching, a central tenet of church policy for centuries and enunciated by Pope John Paul II in Centesimus Annus, is that of a “preferential option for the poor and vulnerable” the Church seems to focus a disturbing amount of time, energy and resources not on ameliorating the plight of the poor and vulnerable right here in America, but rather on immersing itself and wasting money in culture wars which it is ultimately losing. Let’s stop wasting our time on losing battles, let’s stop focusing on thinly veiled hatred for gays and lesbians and make a truly concerted effort to lift those children out of poverty, prevent those violent crimes, and reduce homelessness.

Oh, and if you live in New York, call or email your state Senator and ask him or her to do the right thing and vote to respect the dignity and equality of all New Yorkers.

Dems need to seize outrage over Medicare cuts

Earlier today, during his weekly press conference, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the Democratic Whip, indicated that his caucus may be willing to compromise on cuts to Medicare in exchange for concessions on the debt ceiling. Any public support for cutting Medicare, even a little, is particularly tone deaf right now. Indeed, the Democrats – especially those in the House – need to shift public attention to Medicare by better and more succinctly expressing their outrage at the plans by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to eliminate Medicare. Above all, they need to emphasize that they will do all in their power to prevent it. This is a seize-able moment, much like health care reform two years ago was for the GOP, because of the intensity of public opposition to the GOP budget.

Why any Congressional Democrat is not fitting some variation of “the Republicans’ Medicare-destroying budget” into their daily talking points is beyond me. Instead, as usual, the Democrats appear to be showing up to this knife fight over the budget with a stack of library books. They are getting lost in nuance and, to be fair, facts. No, if the Ryan budget were passed it would not actually end Medicare. But the Affordable Care Act was never going to institute death panels, either. Yet, the town halls of the summer 2009 were reverberating with screams about death panels. Similarly, with some media savvy and message discipline, the town halls of summer 2011 can be about angry seniors showing up en masse to rail against the Republican Plan to End Medicare. To do the opposite, and be publicly open to compromising on Medicare is blatantly ignorant of both the present reality and the massive political opportunity that the Ryan budge t presents – particularly in states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio: crucial in 2012 and full of Medicare eligible seniors.

Kathleen Hochul knows this. She is the Democrat running in the special election in New York’s 26^th Congressional district. A Democrat running in a normally Republican district, Hochul has seized on the opposition to Paul Ryan and John Boehner’s plans to destroy Medicare – and will likely win tonight as a result.

PPP released a series of polls this morning clearly demonstrating that for four Democratic Senators whose seats are necessary to maintain control next year – Brown (OH), McCaskill (MO), Tester (MT), and Klobuchar (MN), any support for cutting Medicare makes voters in their states overwhelmingly less likely to vote for them. It is in their best interests and that of their Democratic colleagues if party leaders take a hint if Hochul wins tonight – that opposition to any cuts to Medicare should be the key selling point of the Democrats right now.

It will take some astroturfing that’s never been our strongest ability, but reminding the voters that we want to save Medicare while they want to end it, while encouraging public outrage, should be the Dems’ mission for this summer.