It is certainly unsettling to hear a U.S. Senator basically state that equality for all citizens and the elimination of religious based discrimination against LGBT Americans is of no import to the United States Senate. The poor senators are just too busy. Worse yet, the statement was made by a Democrat - Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Nothing like more or less telling LGBT citizens to go f*ck themselves. I hope and pray that the LGBT community gets the message and turns off the LGBT ATM machine completely. We are expected to give money, work on campaigns, and go out and vote for Congressional Democrats, but they are "too busy" to get off their fat asses and pass legislation that would make gays full citizens rather than second or third class citizens. My standard response to Democrats soliciting contributions is that (1) I don't have any money to give at this time and (2) even if I did, I would not/will not make ANY donations until Obama and the Democrats deliver on some campaign promises. They REALLY do not like the latter statement, but it is true. Here are some highlights from Politico where Durbin is throwing the LGBT community under the bus yet again:*
When gay rights advocates march on Washington in October, they’ll be confronting a bleak political landscape in their effort to allow gays to openly serve in the military. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the Senate is swamped and has little time on the schedule for this fight. The Pentagon brass is reticent and wants a go-slow strategy, while one poll suggests that there is still some resistance within the rank and file of the military to change the“don’t ask, don’t tell” law. With no Republican co-sponsors for a repeal, key moderate Democrats such as Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas remain uncommitted.
When gay rights advocates march on Washington in October, they’ll be confronting a bleak political landscape in their effort to allow gays to openly serve in the military. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the Senate is swamped and has little time on the schedule for this fight. The Pentagon brass is reticent and wants a go-slow strategy, while one poll suggests that there is still some resistance within the rank and file of the military to change the“don’t ask, don’t tell” law. With no Republican co-sponsors for a repeal, key moderate Democrats such as Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas remain uncommitted.
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“We have a very heavy, busy agenda and a few months left to do it,” Durbin said in an interview recently. “So it may not be now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon.” None of this is promising for a gay rights movement that raised a ton of money for President Barack Obama and believed that their moment was now.
“We have a very heavy, busy agenda and a few months left to do it,” Durbin said in an interview recently. “So it may not be now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be soon.” None of this is promising for a gay rights movement that raised a ton of money for President Barack Obama and believed that their moment was now.
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And absent a big push from the Pentagon and Obama, key Senate Democrats are signaling that there is little appetite to anger some of their more socially conservative voters at a time when election forecasters are signaling a tough 2010 election cycle for the party.
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And Kennedy’s death — already felt in the health care debate — has reverberated in the gay-rights community. Over the years, he’s been on the forefront in advocating for bills sought by gay-rights activists, pushing for legislation to prevent hate crimes against gays and bills to prohibit employers from discriminating against homosexuals.
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