HuffPo: Rousing Speech, Mr. President, But the Pressure Continues
Rousing Speech, Mr. President, But the Pressure Continues
HUFFINGTON POST
October 10, 2009
First the good news. For the first time as president, Barack Obama said at the Human Rights Campaign extravaganza in Washington Saturday evening, "I will end 'don't ask, don't tell.' That is my commitment to you."
It was hard to doubt his sincerity. And he gave a number of the usual good reasons for abolishing the no-gays-need-apply policy: aside from the compelling matter of simple justice and fairness, the military needs men and women, regardless of sexual orientation; you don't have to be straight to translate Arabic; no one is defined solely by sexual orientation or gender identity; and so on.
And now let's deal with the critical missing links. The president, fresh from his Nobel Prize for Peace, didn't mention anything about a timeline, and as he has said on other occasions, nothing happens in Washington without a timeline. Nothing will happen without a bill to sign, either, and he didn't tell us that he's asking Congress to send him one. In fact--and I hate to say this because I still have a lot of hope in this president--he missed an opportunity tonight.
Specifically, he didn't say how or when he's going to get the DADT law abolished and a new law passed that eliminates statutory prejudice against LGBT people and institutes open service.
"I'm here with a simple message," he began to prolonged applause: "I'm here with you in that fight." A little later he directly confronted an inconvenient truth: "Progress may be taking longer than you would like," but he added that we should never doubt the destination. I do not doubt it. I do not doubt the president's commitment. I just wonder how and when we're going to get there, and he was notably short of specifics on that.
But on the bright side, "it's not for me to counsel you to be patient." Good. Hundreds or our service members discharged just since President Obama took office and another 65,000 LGBT patriots now serving on active or reserve duty continually looking over their shoulder and the threat of discharge always in their minds, they don't allow us to be patient even if we wanted to be.
"Continue to pressure me," the president urged. Not to worry, Mr. President, we will--starting tonight and Sunday with the Equality March. As I've said before, what we're marching for is nothing special--and that is exactly the point. We're marching because we want what virtually every other American already has: equal treatment under the law, in the military and in every area of life to which such basically un-American laws as "don't ask, don't tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act extend.
Lest you misunderstand, Mr. President, your speech tonight illuminated the situation of LGBT Americans in a way no presidential speech in American history has done. It offered insight and texture, and laid the core foundation of the argument for full citizenship and participation in the American dream. The question will be, as some of the commentators noted afterwards, how to get this done, including how to get DADT repealed in 2010. The speech was dead on. We know that's what you want. The machinery of Congress and your Administration, including Secretary Gates the Department of Defense, must now come together before the Senate "don't ask, don't tell" hearing takes place this fall.
Now's the time to lead, Mr. President. Show us how to get there.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aubrey-sarvis/rousing-speech-mr-preside_b_316552.html
10-10-09 By Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN Executive Director |
13 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com on October 16, 2009 at 01.23 pm
What’s with all these inane and cowardly noms des Net, e.g., “ME Again in DC METRO”?
And who is “we,” Kemo Sabay, as in “we are working on it”? I don’t know which to be more irritated by: your arrogance, your incoherence, or your ignorance.
While the majority of states don’t have nondiscrimination laws, 20-some do protect gay civilians from being fired. And, except in rare instances, the firing of a civilian doesn’t have the same impact on our national security that firing a mission critical servicemember does.
Finally, given Americans’ reverence for the military, ending DADT is the sharp point of the spear that would lead much more quickly to passage of ENDA and DOMA repeal than the other way around.
ME Again in DC METRO on October 16, 2009 at 01.07 pm
Granted I understand your frustration, I am gay and in the military much like Aubrey I am under qualified to make such statements but feel it my obligation.
DADT is a policy that right now is being used in several ways… But I disagree with the policy-
I much like all servicemembers feel a since of duty to our country- DADT shouldn’t be repealled untill we pass legislation protecting civilian jobs… Don’t forget you can still be fired froma civilian job because you are gay…. It is perfectly legal…
You seem stuck on your own personal situation…. The president as well as our military officers must look at a larger picture….. Not simply one aspect.
When looking at the situation we are still firing civilians for being gay but we are making it illegal for them to be discharged for being gay
That would in a since push gays into the military-
“Lets sacrafise the gays- send the homos to war”
Calm down we are working on it!
Kevin Progetto in Jacksonville, FL on October 16, 2009 at 08.57 am
I am sick to death of hearing that Obama needs more time to get rid of Don’t ask Don’t Tell. I am sick of hearing that “now is not the time”, but soon. I am sick of his lip service to the gay comunity without any real action.
“Now is not the Time” = NEVER
Obama is the Commander in Chief he needs to sheet or get off the pot and stop this lying.
He can and should declare a moritorium on all discharges resulting from DADT, while urging congress to take swift action to repeal the law. This shows good faith and puts Congress on notice that he wants this done and intends to fullfill his promises.
All else is lies, obfuscation and procrastination. If you were really sincere Mr. Obama all discharges would stop pending the final outcome of Congressional Review.
I won’t hold my breath.
OMG in ME AGAIN U KNOW WHERE on October 15, 2009 at 11.40 pm
James,
Didn’t you vote for OBAMA? Ummmm… Get your panties straight rushing these things is how DADT started…. I think you might just be ignorant…. CALM THE HEALL DOWN…. If you are insulting our chief chances are you don’t belong in the military!
Act accoardingly
Dino in Washington, D.C. on October 15, 2009 at 12.08 am
Okay .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and James from Cleveland. We have time and time again seen your song and dance solo of “Obama has sold us down the river”. And James, Obama is a “coward, a bigot, and a liar.” REALLY!!!?? Okay gentlemen, what should we do about it!!!?? Should we just get drunk and cry in our beers?? If you are going to project doom and gloom, try and come up with a positive solution and what we can do to better the situation!!!!
James E. Pietrangelo, II in Cleveland, OH on October 14, 2009 at 03.46 pm
Michael is right on. Obama is simply a coward, a bigot, and a liar. Period. MLK, Jr. is spinning in his grave.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com on October 14, 2009 at 11.43 am
Our difference, C. Chrzan, is this: you trust the President despite all the reasons not to from McClurkingate through pretending that he doesn’t have Congressionally mandated authority to freeze discharges under Title 10 USC 12305 [choosing to not use it is an entirely DIFFERENT matter], and I don’t.
Sorry, I don’t read “signs,” nor tea leaves nor entrails nor .... You admit you “don’t know what has been going on behind the scenes especially at the Pentagon” but then choose to believe that the supposed “stalling on the case of Lt. Col Ferrenbach is a sign” that something good is happening.
And “working with Joe Lieberman on this” is classic and, in and of itself meaningless, Washington Speak. The “civilian” equivalent is “I’ll call you. Let’s have lunch sometime.”
Sorry, further, as indicated above, members of Congress, no less than the Senate Majority Leader and the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, have made it clear that pressure on their peers from us is worthless without pressure from the Commander-in-Chief.
During the campaign, in another context, Mr. Obama recounted the response of FDR to black civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph’s call to conscience and action, saying it should be applied to him if elected:
“I agree with you…now go out and make me do it.”
We owe our gay servicemembers nothing less, and a lot more than merely trusting an administration whose only ACTIONS so far have been to wage a months-long barrage of distortions, distractions, and excuses.
C. Chrzan in Texas on October 14, 2009 at 07.23 am
Michael, I can understand your impatience a lot of us who have been working this issue for the past few years feel the same way you do. We just don’t know what has been going on behind the scenes especially at the Pentagon. The Air Force’s stalling on the case of Lt. Col Ferrenbach is a sign of this.
The President working with Sen. Joe Lieberman on this is another good sign. He voted against the present law in 1993 and has the power to bring others on board in its repeal.
In the end the Pentagon will give some in Congress the cover they feel thay need to vote for ending DADT. I feel this will probably bring more Republicans on board. What each and everyone of us needs to do is to call our Senators and Representatives and keep putting the pressure on them.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com on October 13, 2009 at 04.51 pm
Who’s ever said they had a problem with Obama being “very strategic”?
The problem is that there is NO EVIDENCE that he has a strategy other than avoiding doing ANYthing except TALK for as long as possible.
There IS evidence of the contrary: the ammunition given repeal opponents by the Obama DOJ in their court brief DEFENDING DADT in the same homophobic language used to pass it in the first place. Even assuming Obama’s promises to fight for repeal awaken from the dead, what’s he supposed to say, “Ooops, never mind. Didn’t mean it.”?
Exhibit 2: his disingenous pretense that he has no legal option of freezing discharges in the name of national security until actual repeal happens. Something than even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has encouraged.
Exhibit 3: The pressure the White House put on Cong. Hastings and Sen. Gillebrand to withdraw their amendments to the defense authorization bills that would have ended discharges. Last we heard, the CIC could not be bothered to even personally answer the TWO letters that Hastings [one cosigned by 70-some other members of Congress] or that from Harry Reid about his keeping his promise to LEAD the repeal effort.
Your Patience Agenda is the mirror image of what happened in 1993 when the Clinton admin was telling people to just be patient, it’s going to happen, give us time, blah blah blah. And the result was that the homohating fascists like Nunn, Powell and the religio Antigay Industry filled the vacuum with poison.
Few remember that, even in 1992, the majority of Americans favored lifting the ban. But those numbers were devastated by the barrage of homohatred that the other side launched while we were lulled into playing nice.
Don’t ask us to make that mistake again.
AF SSgt for Equal Rights on October 13, 2009 at 04.01 pm
It’s only a matter of time until this discriminatory policy is changed. I know it would be ideal if it was changed the day that Pres. Obama took office, but he knew he had to be very strategic about it’s repeal. I think we need to have faith that the end is near, and we will soon be treated like first-class citizens in the US military. Hang in there, my friends! We’ve all made it this far, just a little longer…
E. Santiago in Orlando,FL on October 13, 2009 at 10.14 am
Prediction: DADT will be history by the end of next summer. Will pass senate with at least 2 Republican votes.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com on October 11, 2009 at 11.38 pm
David Mixner’s full remarks at the DADT protest & memorial for Leonard Matlovich Saturday about what the President must do were even more impressive, but the video at the link below contains the basic formula:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8j8IiLgvVQ
THANK YOU, DAVID!
Lance on October 11, 2009 at 07.10 pm
I never like looking forward to things until they happen but it would be nice to have a normal life without having to worry about being rejected for it…