Obama Campaign Opposes NC Anti-Gay Ballot Measure

President Obama visited North Carolina on Friday and his campaign issued a statement opposing the anti-gay ballot measure called Amendment One which voters will consider on the May 8 primary. As I have discussed here many times before, if passed by voters, Amendment One would have far reaching effects on all families in North Carolina, especially ones headed by same-sex couples, because it purports to only allow one kind of "domestic legal union" to be recognized by the state, and that "domestic legal union" must include a man and a woman. If the amendment were added to the state constitution, it would most definitely pass the legislative or judicial branches of government from enacting marriage equality, and would probably ban state recognition of any kind of same-sex domestic partnership. It's not clear if it would also repeal existing domestic partner statutes already existing in local jurisdictions around the state.

The text of Obama-Biden 2012's statement is:

"While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples," said Cameron French, his North Carolina campaign spokesman. "That’s what the North Carolina ballot initiative would do – it would single out and discriminate against committed gay and lesbian couples – and that’s why the President does not support it." 

The good news is that Obama's statement comes after other recent news about the fight against North Carolina's heterosexual supremacist Amendment One has intensified, and polling suggests a solid majority opposes the measure.

It is also very good news that the Obama camp has decided to explicitly oppose Amendment One, something LGBT activists have been asking for repeatedly.

It will be interesting to see as we get closer to the election of the campaign will take a position on any of the marriage referenda that will appear on the same ballot, in states like Washington, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota, all of which are likely to be blue states.

Obama Campaign Raises $222 Million in 2011

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign announced that it raised $68 million in the 4th quarter of 2011, bringing its total for the year to around $222 million dollars. The $68 million includes $42 million for Obama-Biden 2012 and another $24 million for the Democratic National Committee.

Obama’s campaign collected $750 million in 2008, prompting speculation that it could top $1 billion this time. [Obama-Biden 202 campaign manager Jim] Messina said the lofty figures have created “a challenge that keeps coming up. Too many Obama supporters think we don’t need their money or they don’t need to give now.’’

However, Messina said, “The billion-dollar number is completely untrue.’’

Obama, facing no primary opponent, has stockpiled a large campaign bank account, but Democrats expect parity with Republicans once the party chooses a nominee.

Note that last phrase: "Democrats expect parity with Republicans once the party chooses a nominee."  With Super PACS and the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision do you really think the 1% are going to allow the 99% to out-raise them in the battle for the highest executive office in the land? Come no, now!

It is interesting that Messina also said that the average donation to the Obama campaign was $55 (98% below $250) and that in 2011 they received donations from 200,000 people who had never given to Obama before.





In 2007, Hillary Clinton raised $118 million to Obama's $104 million. In 2011, Mitt Romney raised a total of $56 million.