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TOPIC: Obama backers show signs of disappointment (Reuters 4/21/10)

Jen the Michigander

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Date: Apr 22, 2010

Obama backers show signs of disappointment (Reuters 4/21/10)	Permalink

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63K0KS20100421 Gay rights activists heckled President Barack Obama this week at a Democratic event that exposed signs of disenchantment threatening the party in November’s congressional elections. Five million first-time voters turned out in 2008, many drawn by Obama’s promise of hope and overwhelmingly voting for Democrats. Now disappointed, or at least apathetic, they may not go to the polls this year. Obama’s support has dropped below 50 percent from nearly 70 percent after 15 months in office, Gallup opinion polls show. Gay rights supporters, anti-abortion activists, environmentalists and backers of immigration reform all have seen their agendas stalled, with watered-down healthcare the main accomplishment of Obama’s once-ambitious agenda. At Monday’s rally in Los Angeles, protesters shouted at Obama to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy that allows gays to serve if they keep quiet about their sexual preference. Gays believe that makes them second-class citizens, and Obama has vowed to repeal the policy. “Hey hold on a second. We are going to do that,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re hollering,” he added. Supporters shouted “Yes we can,” his slogan from the 2008 election, and “Be quiet,” but the discontent lingers. Many gay activists would not show up to heckle Obama. They have stopped paying attention altogether. “Obama was a vessel that everybody poured their hopes into. The gay community was no different,” said John Henning, director of the Los Angeles-based grass-roots group Love Honor Cherish, before the president’s California visit. “What is really happening in the gay community is we are going into a hibernation phase,” Henning added. The sentiment is widespread. Blacks, Latinos and young people made up the bulk of the new voters who secured comfortable congressional majorities for the Democrats in 2008. Each could be a problem this year. Obama is the first black U.S. president and more than 90 percent of black voters still approve of his record, Gallup says. But African-American members of Congress say job creation is critical and unemployment is roughly twice the national average among black males over the age of 20. San Francisco videographer Joe Razo, a 24-year-old black man, backs Obama but needs to be convinced that congressional races matter. “I kind of just do the presidential elections,” he said. For many Latinos, including nearly 11 million illegal immigrants, the lack of an immigration bill and heavy use of deportation are a double slap in the face. “A lot of people are not going to vote,” said Salvador Reza, operator of a day-laborer center in Arizona. “(Obama) would have to actually come through with … a serious immigration reform effort, or people are going to abandon him,” he said. __________________ Nobody puts THIS baby in the corner!

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