Monday, November 08, 2010

Repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" All but Lost for Now

The Wall Street Journal is reporting what many of us knew would sadly be the case notwithstanding the continued lies of Barack Obama, a/k/a the Liar-in-Chief. Namely, the legislative repeal of DADT is all but dead. Had we had a president that meant anything whatsoever that he has said the LGBT Americans and Congressional Democrats who had any tiny semblance of a spine, this foul policy could have been ended. But no, we were manipulated and lied to time after time and our supposed "leaders" at HRC kept right on drinking the Kool-Aid that the White House was serving. It seems to me pretty obvious that at HRC and several other major players at "Gay, Inc." heads need to roll and a whole new leadership brought in. The amounts of money that these folks like Joe Solmonese make is obscene when one looks at their failure to deliver any of the big promises. Who's the bigger liar, the Liar-in-Chief or his enablers who have done nothing but him with supposed political cover? At this point it time, only the courts seem to offer hope - and even there Obama is proving to be the enemy. As for supporting this president, I stopped doing that months ago and frankly can't wait to see him out of office. Here are some story highlights:
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The drive in Congress to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy appears all but lost for the foreseeable future, with action unlikely this year and even less likely once Republicans take charge of the House in January.
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Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and John McCain of Arizona, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are in talks on stripping the proposed repeal and other controversial provisions from a broader defense bill, leaving the repeal with no legislative vehicle to carry it. With a repeal attached, and amid Republican complaints over the terms of the debate, the defense bill had failed to win the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle in the Senate in September.
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A spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, who opposes the repeal, confirmed he is in talks with Mr. Levin on how to proceed on the defense bill but didn't provide details.
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Failure to act on the policy would heighten tensions between the White House and its supporters in the gay community, many of whom hoped Mr. Obama would have accomplished far more on their agenda by now. "What has been particularly surprising to me is how broadly the disappointment is felt. It's as if people feel more betrayed than just let down," said Mr. Socarides.
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The courts could force a change. A federal judge has ruled the policy is unconstitutional, though that ruling has been put on hold. In the meantime, the Pentagon has said that only a handful of senior officials may approve discharges under the policy, in what could become a de facto moratorium on enforcement. Even so, new recruits still can't join the military if they are openly gay.

1 comment:

Stephen said...

"more betrayed than let down" is exactly right. I think that our supposed supporters should threaten filibuster of the appropriation bill without repeal of DADT, though allow McCain to proclaim victory by taking out some other things.