Prop 8 Backers Use Obama and Biden's Own Words

Both Barack Obama and Joe Biden have publicly opposed gay marriage, but when the backers of Prop 8 used their own words in a mailer promoting the measure which would restore the definition of marriage in California to "one man, one woman", Obama and Biden protested:

The backers of a move to ban same-sex marriage in California are inaccurately suggesting they have Barack Obama's and Joe Biden's support in a mailing that appears targeted at black voters.

The mailer is from ProtectMarriage.com, whose backers it says include the Knights of Columbus and Focus on the Family. It quotes Obama, Biden, and four African-American religious leaders who appear actually to support Proposition Eight, which is the subject of an expensive, hard-fought campaign in the state. The words from the religious leaders warn of "mandatory indoctrination" of school children and say it's "insulting that radical gay activists try to equate" the civil rights movement to the push for same-sex marriage.

The mailing quotes Obama and Biden -- accurately -- saying they oppose same-sex marraige.

However, they also explicitly oppose Proposition Eight.

"I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution," Obama wrote a gay and lesbian political club in San Francisco in June. Biden also opposes it.

Obama and Biden want it both ways. They want to claim they're opposed to gay marriage when it's politically convenient for them while giving the supporters of gay marriage a wink and a nod as though to say "don't listen to what we say, we're really with you". It's disingenuous at best.

Obama is already working in favor of Prop 8, but may not realize it. In the conference call I attended the other day the campaign director for Prop 8 confirmed that a high turnout among blacks and Latinos for Obama will also translate into more support for Prop 8 since those groups are the demographic groups with the highest level of support for the measure.