Barney Frank Not Happy About Obama Picking Rick Warren

Barney Frank Not Happy About Obama Picking Rick Warren
By Rob on December 21, 2008 at 05:42 pm
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Personally, I think Democrats are ecstatic to have this little tempest-in-a-teapot over Pastor Rick Warren giving the invocation at Obama’s inauguration because it’s a nice distraction from Blagojevich as we head into the holiday news cycle.

And Barney Frank is the latest Democrat to pour some fuel on the fire. Though given Frank’s personal sexual proclivities he’s probably legitimately outraged.

WASHINGTON – The first openly gay member of Congress said Sunday it was a mistake for President-elect Barack Obama to invite the Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

“Mr. Warren compared same-sex couples to incest. I found that deeply offensive and unfair,” Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said in a broadcast interview.

“If he was inviting the Rev. Warren to participate in a forum and to make a speech, that would be a good thing,” Frank said. “But being singled out to give the prayer at the inauguration is a high honor. It has traditionally given as a mark of great respect. And, yes, I think it was wrong to single him out for this mark of respect.”

Warren, a best-selling author and leader of a Southern California megachurch, is a popular evangelical who stresses the need for action on social issues such as reducing poverty and protecting the environment, alongside traditional theological themes.

But gay rights advocates, who strongly supported Obama during the election, are angry over Warren’s backing of a California ballot initiative banning gay marriage. That measure was approved by voters last month.

Here’s what I don’t understand: Obama opposes gay marriage too. So what’s the big deal with Warren? Rick Warren, though socially conservative, is no right-winger. He’s a Mike Huckabee “conservative,” which is basically a liberal who is pro-life and opposes gay marriage.

If the gay rights people are so upset about Warren, why aren’t they also upset about Obama’s position on gay marriage? Unless they’re just assuming that Obama doesn’t really mean it and was just taking his position to get elected. And if that’s true, what’s that say about Obama?