Ellen Sturtz gets a column in WaPo: "Why I confronted the first lady" [View all]

[ucrdem]

Last edited Sat Jun 8, 2013, 05:54 PM - Edit history (1)

WaPo is going full monty anti-Obama lately but this takes the cake. 10 paragraphs:

"Why I confronted the first lady" By Ellen Sturtz, Published: June 7

Ellen Sturtz is a retired public servant and an advocate for LGBT equality.

When Barack Obama was running for President in 2008, I thought he was serious about protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from workplace discrimination. He made two key promises — that he would sign an executive order providing workplace protections by federal contractors, and that he would help pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), ending workplace discrimination by all employers. I contributed to the campaign, expecting that if elected, he would keep his word to fight for our community.

Five years later, I’m still waiting. Despite having this executive order sitting on his desk, the president has yet to pick up his pen. While many employers have added nondiscrimination policies on their own, prominent holdouts such as Exxon Mobil set a damaging, dangerous precedent. Millions of LGBT Americans continue to experience the enormous pain of living and working in the closet, not allowed to acknowledge who we are and who we love.

As a gray-haired, 56-year-old lesbian, I don’t have time to wait another generation for equality — it’s been almost 40 years since similar legislation to ENDA was first introduced in Congress. And being polite hasn’t gotten us any closer to it becoming a reality.

When I attended a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser a few days ago, I brought this sense of urgency. When I blurted out my comments during the first lady’s speech, it was a spontaneous reaction to her saying, “Right now, today, we have an obligation to stand up for those kids.” I needed to speak up for LGBT youth . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michelle-obamas-heckler-why-i-confronted-the-first-lady/2013/06/07/5dc68c1c-cf98-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html?tid=ts_carousel

Retired at 56, that's nice. And a week later we learn that she was spontaneously speaking up for "LGBT youth" even though ENDA addresses employment discrimination. Hmm. Thanks WaPo for giving this heckler an entire column to CYA, no doubt with help. She mentions Exxon-Mobil and I have to wonder if she wasn't a plant like pink lady. Speaking of whom I expect "Stand for Sturtz" to get an enthusiastic response any day now.