Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign and other gay leaders have condemned the Warren selection, sometimes in harsh terms. The harshest criticism of Obama is well deserved.

But these are the same Democratic party operatives who made no demands on the candidate, but instead gave him uncritical support. That the gay leadership from the beginning backed a man who refused to support our basic civil right to marry was the initial cynical machination made by hacks whose first loyalty is to the Democratic electoral organization, and not to advancing our rights.

The California marriage debacle was but one example. Proposition 8 opponents made no demands on Obama that he go on broadcast television to denounce the attack on equal civil marriage rights, being satisfied instead to castigate not Obama but the religious right for implying that Obama backed their efforts since they all opposed "gay marriage."

Now is the time to put aside any remaining illusions that the way forward for human rights-- not to mention a host of closely related issues such as peace and global justice-- is to back an agent for maintaining the status quo. Be especially wary of politicians who chant "Change We Can Believe In," while they act in the name of business-as-usual.

As always, real change will be made by people oppressed under current conditions, by people at the grass roots organizing to take control of their futures. The recent examples of workers at Republic Windows and Doors and the thousands of LGBT folk who took to the streets following the Prop 8 disaster point the way forward.