Dozens of so-called “Gay Pride” parades took place in cities such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco this past weekend, and they bring to mind why pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And the reminder is especially poignant this year, as bare naked politics mixed with the leather-clad revelry.
Many of us have heard the “gay pride” stories the media are mum about: the naked displays and simulated sex acts that, in any other context, would land you in handcuffs not designed for kink. But this year the nefarious goings-on included an invasion by hordes of Barack Obama campaign staffers, who zealously plied the fertile recruiting grounds that are the parades. In fact, writes the New York Times, “The parades could have been confused for Obama campaign rallies. In Chicago on Sunday, 300 of his campaign staff members and volunteers marched down Halsted Street through the heart of the gay district to chants of ‘Four more years! Four more years!’”
Such friendly receptions generally don’t breed shyness, and the Obama operatives were no exception. Writes the Christian Post’s Paul Stanley:
The campaign volunteers’ instructions were simple and straightforward. They needed to collect as much information from attendees as possible including cell phone numbers, names and email addresses. More importantly, they were told to sign up as many volunteers as possible.
… The volunteers and campaign workers … went as far as not handing out buttons unless someone provided the required information and gave a verbal commitment that they would help with the campaign between now and November. “No button without a commitment,” said one volunteer.
But commitment thus far hasn’t been a problem. It was reported in the wake of Obama’s faux-marriage flip-flop — or, as some call it, his “evolution” — that fully one out of six top Obama fundraising bundlers is homosexual. And the president has reciprocated: His campaign website includes a page devoted to the “LGBT” community called “Obama Pride.”
Of course, Obama isn’t alone in pride pandering. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who a year ago signed a faux-marriage act into law, made an appearance at the New York event, as did the city’s police commissioner and openly lesbian city council speaker Christine Quinn. But the most quotable notable had to be Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took a big gulp of the pink Kool-Aid. He declared upon joining the parade, “New York is a place where you can do whatever you want to do.”
Yeah, I guess.
Except consume trans-fats.
Or smoke in public outdoors areas.
Or drink a 20-ounce soda.
So you can march naked on a public street, just don’t do it while downing a Big Gulp, smoking a Marlboro, and sporting a pot belly.
And as Bloomberg did when he preached the evils of gun ownership to the nation, he also had a message for the rest of America. “The government should get out of your personal life,” declared Bloomie the Beneficent.
He didn’t mention whether you should keep your personal life off public streets or if the government should get out of your refrigerator.
Not to be outdone, former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown appeared in his city’s parade. The day before he wrote:
Sunday’s Pride Parade is the political event of the season. Every politician from Gavin to the gov, gay and straight, will make sure they are seen…. Parades are all about the package. That includes the car, who is driving, who is sitting with you and, of course, what you are wearing. This year, as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, I’m leaning heavily toward lavender and pink.
No, I don’t know what this lifetime achievement is; I don’t think I want to.
But these politicians’ main achievement is in becoming master pied pipers. I mean, we’ve seen politicians campaign in the South and put on southern accents; we’ve seen Al Gore boast of his tobacco exploits in the Carolinas and morph into a black preacher man in a black church. But just imagine when this lavender-and-pink pandering comes to full flower: the mannerisms, the gestures, the feigned lisps and tactically limp wrists. It’ll be La Cage Aux Pols.
It’ll continue to be X-rated, too. After all, if you want to know why pride parades are the only time authorities tolerate naked displays, look no further than naked political ambition. As with Barack Obama’s evolution into Pro-companion Man, the best way to broaden Democrats’ minds is to broaden their wallets.
