What do Democrats really stand for?

According to Newsweek, Bill Clinton advised John Kerry to back local bans on gay marriage while campaigning.

• President Clinton, who signed the Defense of Marriage Act when he was in the White House, advised Kerry in a phone call early in the campaign to find a way to support the state bans. Kerry never considered abandoning his principles to that extent, but he also didn’t take seriously enough the threat. Expanding the definition of “values” beyond opposition to gay marriage and abortion is the challenge for Democrats. Nader points to the fact that initiatives calling for an increase in the minimum wage won in Florida and Nevada. What if the Democrats had gotten behind those initiatives with the same fervor Republicans backed same-sex marriage bans? Paying people a decent wage can be framed as a moral issue.

(Aside from the fact that government imposed economic policies, specifically with respect to minimum wages, equate to socialism and promote job losses in the private sector.)

But, the real question is: do the Democrats believe in gay marriage, or not? Will the NGBLT folks come out and criticize Clinton's advice to Kerry? It seems obvious to me that the Democrat party cannot get elected by telling what they really think, so they have to bait-and-switch. (Think Bill Clinton's 92 campaign promise for middle-class tax cuts)

Come on Democrats, just be honest. Tell us what you really think.