Obama tried to avoid the culture wars - so what did he get? - culture wars

A lot of us think that President Obama, and Democrats in Congress, have been backing away from their promises to the gay community in order to avoid "the culture wars." The logic goes, if you just give the gays a little to keep them appeased, and keep putting off the big stuff, like repealing DOMA and DADT, and passing ENDA, you can avoid the religious right crying "culture war!"

Well, guess what? Obama decided to piecemeal the gay community's civil rights, and even stab us in the back by comparing our marriages to incest and pedophilia - he decided to exclude health care from the benefits memo he just signed (even though several gay rights lawyers say he could have included the benefits even under DOMA) - all because someone is telling him to avoid the gays and avoid the culture wars. Well, the even with the minor crumbs Obama is throwing us, the religious right is screaming "gay marriage!"

President Obama and his staff need to learn the same lesson that Democrats on the Hill have had a hard time learning: No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to appease them, the Republicans and the far right will always attack you. Always. There is no point in compromising your principles in the hopes they'll call off the dogs. They'll never call off the dogs. Ever.

If Obama is going to be blasted no matter what he does for the gay community, then why not do something real and keep his promises.