You’d have to have a heart of stone not to applaud the president’s attempt to ensure that gay spouses have access to one another in hospital settings. Equally, the dynamic leaves me queasy. There is something about the well-meaning liberal mind that is often admirably eager to help the needy, but balks at offering the recipients what we really want: simple equality. The latest move — giving Obama an easy win, the gay lobby a role in mediating the transaction — perpetuates the victimology that sustains the Democrats and their interest groups.
“Well meaning liberals” have almost unanimously been fighting in favor of gay marriage for years. We aren’t balking at anything. But in the meantime, surely incremental change is better than nothing? Seriously: Does Andrew really think that those of us who support progress short of complete victory are merely interested in “perpetuating the victimology that sustains the Democrats and their interest groups”? For God’s sake.
