Things That Are Different Are Not the Same, Part CLXXVI

I like Ed Kilgore, and I think he's worth reading even when I disagree with him. But this line, from a post about the Eich/Mozilla/Prop 8 controversy, made me groan:

Beyond that, I think it a mite unfair that Eich lost his job for holding the same position on marriage equality in 2008 that Barack Obama then held...

Um...no.

Opposing Prop 8 is not the same as contributing to Prop 8. Passive non-support for establishing full equality is not the same as actively campaigning to rescind full equality.

What makes this more than just a minor irritant--a Someone Is Wrong on the Internet type deal--is that it's exactly the same formulation used by folks like zombie Breitbart:

MOZILLA CEO DESTROYED FOR SAME GAY MARRIAGE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY OBAMA, CLINTONS

And the National Review:

In 2008, Barack Obama and Brendan Eich both were against gay marriage. Senator Obama averred his support for the one-man/one-woman view of marriage, while Mr. Eich, a cofounder of the Mozilla web-browser company, donated $1,000 to support Proposition 8 — a California ballot initiative that had the effect of making Senator Obama’s avowed marriage policy the law in California, at least until a federal court overturned it on the theory that California’s constitution is unconstitutional. Barack Obama inexplicably remains, as of this writing, president of the United States of America, but Mr. Eich has just been forced out as CEO of Mozilla because of his political views.

And the Weekly Standard's John McCormack:

On the upside, I guess this means Obama has to resign from the presidency immediately: http://t.co/PMYKHguYwG

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) April 3, 2014

And Rush Limbaugh:

Leftist Fascists Force Out Mozilla CEO for Holding Same Opinion Obama Held in 2008

And the Heritage Foundation:

The outrageous treatment of Eich is the result of one private, personal campaign contribution to support marriage as a male-female union, a view affirmed at the time by President Barack Obama, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, and countless other prominent officials. After all, Prop 8 passed with the support of 7 million California voters.

And the reliably dimwitted Debra Saunders:

By toppling Mozilla's CEO, activists sent the message that having opposed same-sex marriage -- a mainstream position also held by Barack Obama just six years ago -- can be a career killer.

And what right-wing talking point is complete without an endorsement from Donald Trump?

Donald Trump on Monday....said by that logic, there are plenty of other individuals who might need to resign, including President Barack Obama. “Around 2008, you had the president of the United States supporting traditional marriage, if you go back and look. And you know, I mean, maybe he should step down because of the fact,” Trump said on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning.

And so on. I'm not going to go through every single name on the Wingnut Talking Points Mailing List, but I think you get the idea. Conflating the President's (former) position with that of Eich is essential to the wingnuts' narrative of victimization. We really don't need to do their work for them.