United Liberty

President Obama has been playing games over the past week, after Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview that he was “comfortable” with gay marriage and the administration has rushed out to say that he’s not marking a change in government policy or any such thing. There’s even been talk that Biden’s comment was deliberate, an attempt to have one’s cake and eat it too.

Meanwhile, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson had this to say in a press release:

Libertarian nominee for President and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson today called for the Obama Administration to “make up its mind” when it comes to supporting marriage equality for all Americans, citing Vice-President Biden’s weekend comments appearing to support gay marriage and White House efforts since to clarify those comments.

Johnson, who supports gay marriage equality, received the Libertarian Party nomination for President Saturday, and will be on the ballot in all 50 states. “The President is playing cruel, cynical politics with a deeply personal issue for many Americans,” said Johnson. “He should quit trying to have it both ways and take a stand.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Johnson said, “Gay marriage equality is not a trick question, and we shouldn’t be getting trick answers from the President of the United States. Gay Americans deserve better than a President who winks and nods and tries to convince them that he will protect their rights, but refuses to emerge from the closet and support one of the most basic rights – the right to  equal access to marriage.  And frankly, even opponents of gay marriage deserve the truth from the White House.  Is the President for it or against it? Right now, the Administration is trying to have it both ways”

I couldn’t agree more. This is especially infuriating considering that Obama is saying his position on gay marriage is “evolving.”

Really? So his position is an amphibian coming out of the primordial waters to finally discover what its like to walk upon dry land? I’m perplexed. Either you’re for gay marriage or you aren’t. I normally take for granted that every situation is multifaceted and not binary, but gay marriage is one of those areas where it’s a bit more cut and dried. (Sure, you have “same sex civil unions,” but let’s be honest here: that’s nothing more than “separate but equal” being applied to gay and lesbian couples. It’s sexual orientation segregation, not a middle ground.)

What really bothers me is the fact that Obama would lose nothing by coming out full throttle for same-sex marriage. The social conservatives aren’t going to vote for him anyways, and it might help him pick up a great many moderates and independents. So then why in the name of truth, liberty, and justice for all is Obama giving us this wishy-washy BS? Why doesn’t he just say “Marriage is none of the government’s business?”

This is why the Tea Party was born. This was why Occupy Wall Street took over America (if only briefly.) The American public is just getting sick of politics. They’re being saturated with the bull that continues to flow from Washington and on our airwaves. What Obama is doing here—playing cruel politics as Johnson puts it so aptly—is just business as usual, the same business that has America frustrated, disgusted, and dismayed. If Obama thinks that that will ensure his victory in November, he’s going to have a rude awakening on that Wednesday.

Gays and lesbians who continue to vote for Democrats are just going to get more of the same on this. It’s battered voter syndrome; they keep coming back, but they still get nothing. Perhaps some will turn to Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party and put the politics behind.

I hope so. I’m getting rather sick of this having it both ways strategy too.