Should LGBT People Be Losing Patience With Obama?

There's that leftover line from the 2008 Presidential campaign that "you campaign in poetry, but govern in prose." Lately for President Obama, it seems that his administration might have hit a streak of writer's block when it comes to the art of governing.  And that's leaving some people -- including the openly gay man who ran candidate Obama's field operations - a bit frustrated.  Especially when it comes to LGBT rights.

Steve Hildebrand, who by many respects helped launch Obama thru Iowa and into the heart of the primaries last year, said in an interview with Politico today that he's losing patience with the 44th president, and with Democratic leaders in Congress.  "I am one of the millions of frustrated Americans who want to see Washington do more than it's doing right now," said Hildebrand.  "I gave up a lot to elect Democrats, and I expect them to give it up for me. I'm going to speak loudly."

For many, Hildebrand is speaking truth to power here.  There are countless people who think that Obama and Congress are taking too long to affect the type of change they were elected to make.  They're seeing that on the issue of health care.  They're seeing that on the issue of labor.  And certainly they're seeing that on the issue of LGBT rights.

To his credit, Obama has made some changes.  Under Obama's watch, the U.S. has signed onto a UN statement in support of the global decriminalization of homosexuality.  His Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that protecting the human rights of LGBT people worldwide would be a priority for this administration.  Earlier this summer, Obama commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots with a reception at the White House for scores of LGBT leaders and allies.  And most recently, Obama awarded Presidential Medals of Freedom to two LGBT icons -- Billie Jean King and (posthumously) Harvey Milk.

But while these steps have been welcomed, many LGBT folks are seeing nothing but delays and Congressional hold-ups when it comes to some of the campaign promises Obama made last year.  That includes passing a hate crimes bill, passing an Employment Non-Discrimination Act, repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and integrating the U.S. military, and overturning the "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA).  To make matters worse, Obama's administration has tripped up a few times, most notably with the Justice Department's bizarre brief defending DOMA in U.S. courts.

Hildebrand allows the slow progress on LGBT rights -- as well as issues like health care -- to be shared all around.  Yes, it's partly Obama, Hildebrand says.  But it's also the Blue Dogs in Congress who try to compromise too much on the issues that Democrats were resoundingly elected over this past year.

"There's basically three different parties, and one of those parties tends to be the barrier to getting anything done — and that's the Blue Dogs in the House and the moderates in the Senate," said Hildebrand.  "Change is not going to come by people in the Beltway deciding we should have change. It’s going to come because they’re feeling pressure from all over the country."

So who's to blame for the slow progress?  Congress?  Obama?  Both?

Perhaps the biggest concern, one could argue, is that if these historic pieces of legislation can't make it through the 111th Congress - ending DOMA, repealing "Don't Ask," enacting hate crimes legislation and passing an employment non-discrimination bill - could they possibly be even more delayed in the 112th Congress?  Especially, as experts ranging from Charlie Cook to Nate Silver point out, Democrats lose seats in 2010?

Now that's something that gets the blood pressure going.  With control of the White House, U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, there's a feeling that everybody is governing as if they're stuck in a big bowl of Cream of Wheat.

But moreover, how is it that the Bush administration, with a bare majority of Congress, was able to shove so much down our throats, but the Obama administration, with majorities not seen by any party in decades, is seemingly stuck?

Perhaps that's the source of the frustration.  Both for those passionate about LGBT rights, as well as those working for better labor practices, a national health care system, and a whole host of progressive causes that have been largely dormat for more than eight years.

(Photo courtesy of gingerbydesign's photostream on Flickr.)