President Obama’s Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told America “yes,” our commander-in-chief plans to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. But why is there money still being set aside to continue enforcing the policy through 2010? (Yes, kicking gays out of the military COSTS TAXPAYER DOLLARS.) Defense Secretary Robert Gates explains what his clan plans to do if the law of DADT is changed. Namely: Nothing, because repealing DADT is a priority that he and the president are going to “push that one down the road a little bit.”
Is Gibbs really speaking for Obama when he says repealing DADT — part of the RADICAL SOCIAL AGENDA, remember — isn’t a top concern right now? The White House gives us every indication that, yes, that’s the president’s plan: When he gets around to it.
orpheus_lost
I hope Obama doesn’t mind when my next Democratic vote comes “down the road a little bit”. I’m tired of being played for a sucker by cynical politicians who think giving lip service is plenty. My new rule is that if a politician finds it inconvenient to support me then I find it inconvenient to stand up for them.
And I know a whole lot of GLBTers who feel the same way.
BrianZ
@orpheus_lost: Not to worry! It’s taking too much time managing to keep all those people in the banking industry employed, with massive bonuses, through … how many trillions have they received now? Hmm but they are demanding that the CEO of GM resign. 11.9 billion versus 1.3 trillion. Interesting set of priorities coming directly from the White House these days.
I am sure that Obama is just waiting for a broad range of Democrats and Republicans, military and civilian, educated and trade-skilled, to come to the conclusion that DADT actually hurts our military. Oh wait, we already have that. Oh well, not like I really expected much out of him anyway, other than lip service. 🙂
atdleft
@orpheus_lost: Heh. Well, I’m probably too much of a Yellow Dog Dem to go Nader 2012. Still, if Obama keeps letting us down like this my precious time and money may need to go elsewhere then.
@BrianZ: Yeah, what are they waiting for? Hello, promoting civil rights is a much better way to spend one’s “political capital” than allowing Wall Street execs to keep robbing us blind.
rogue dandelion
@atdleft: the worst part is i think he might actually be open to movement on progressives like this, but when he gets around to them he’ll have spent his political capital and the dems will have lost congress(regaining their excuse to not even try, much less do anything)
Viktor
I think we need to chill. He has only been in office for a couple of months. I think we need to remember the country is in a mess. We will get ours, but this ’empty disappointment’ in Obama is silly.
BrianZ
@Viktor: When isn’t the country in a mess? When isn’t there some major event going on in the world that might serve as a distraction?
Addressing the “mess” and addressing civil rights issues are not mutually exclusive. You’re optimistic hope that “we will get ours” sounds rather empty given the concrete actions on display. Promises are nothing but a means to keep the simple-minded pacified.
Ali
Hey guys, don’t these bus tire tread marks make me look thin?
Smokey Martini
I think he’s going to repeal DADT once the US troops have been pulled out of Iraq. When did he say that would happen again — August 2010? Doing so any earlier would stir a lot of shit from the Republicans, who argue that changing the fabric of the military ‘in the middle of a war’ would undermine and threaten the mission. Once the war in Iraq is officially over, such crazy Republican talk would serve for nothing and gay-inclusion in the military can finally be envisioned as a potential reality.
jason
At the back of my mind, I have this sneaking suspicion that Obama is going to let us down badly on this issue. He seems to be waiting too long, perhaps deliberately so. His plan may be to leave the repealing of DADT in the “too hard” basket until such a time that his political capital is reduced by a loss of Congressional seats. If DADT isn’t repealed at this later stage, he can then blame the Republicans instead of his good self.
Does anyone else have this icky feeling at the back of their minds?
Jon B
@Smokey Martini: The war in Iraq will be over, but the war in Afghanistan will continue. I’m not sure that I’d criticize Obama for these remarks, as they weren’t his, and they are speculative, but I do think that we should start calling for more change. Protest, march, etc.
orpheus_lost
@atdleft: I think the Democratic party needs to remember where they’re getting their votes – and money – from. We may not be the largest voting bloc in the country but the lack of our support can easily change the course of an election.
I voted for Obama and every other Dem on the ticket in 2008, just like every other year, but next time will be different because they’re out of excuses for ignoring our rights. We have the largest Democratic majorities in both houses in recent history, a majority of the population supports repealing DADT and at least civil unions if not marriage equality. If the Democrats can’t act in our interests now, they never planned to.
And for those who keep crying that we’re in an economic emergency, the Obama administration is constantly telling us that they have the ability to multi-task, so that takes away any excuse for ignoring our concerns.
2006 is coming up fast, Mr. Obama. Discouraging a solidly liberal part of the party isn’t your best bet if you want to increase Democratic majorities.
fem in the city
excellent. kudos for posting this. gays are still living in a fantasy. i heard some little 22 year old podcaster say the other day that she really thinks obama “had to say he was against gay marriage” … you know because he really loves gays.
Barack is no friend to the gays. The quicker lgbt WAKE UP the better. We really need to continue to speak up about the lies Obama has told and continues to tell.
WATCH THIS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
whenever they are exposed, they call it conspiracy theories … because they want us to instead trust THEM rather than our own thoughts.
fem in the city
@Jon B: Afghanistan will be Obama’s Iraq. The Obama/Bush rule is firmly in place. If anyone is waiting for DADT to be lifted. I say don’t hold your breath.
Obama is a bigot.
Gays got played.
Bruno
While it sucks that service members will continue to suffer this ridiculous policy, I can understand how it might not be priority #1 right now, and how Obama may not want it to look like it is. I’d say if nothing’s done by the end of the year, then we should scream bloody murder.
Nate in SLC
While I’m glad that I voted for Obama over McCain, I tend to think that Hillary would have done better for the queer community. Just look at her response to the question posed by that activist in Europe…
Wayne
If he doesn’t act on DADT now (or the very near future) then he never will. The midterm elections will soon be upon us, and soon Obama himself will start thinking in terms of his own re-election.
It’s now or never. Sadly, I believe Obama will do NOTHING. He was just making promises during his election campaign that he knew we wanted to hear. As president he has NO intention of keeping those promises (he has already broken his vow on DOMA and DADT. He lied, and it got him elected.
dfrw
The question is, “who’re you going to vote for?” Republicans? Please, they would enjoy nothing more than making homosexuality illegal again. Obama is the lesser of two evils (on gay rights).
Wayne
@DFRW So you are saying are only choice is to choose between a bigot or a liar?
There are other options. It’s past time for the gay community to prove that there is a price to pay for political betrayal.
michael
If we settle for the lesser of two evils, we’ll never get anywhere. At least conservatives are honest, Obama ain’t.
Wayne
I think we should all get on the phone or start emailing our congressmen, our senators, and yes even our president and put the Democrats on notice: THERE WILL BE NO MORE MONEY FOR THEM FROM US. PERIOD! The 2010 midterm elections are the only thing that matters to them. I say we let them know that they can kiss our votes goodbye if we do not see some REAL CHANGE on LGBT issues.
It’s the only language they understand.
Mike
If you’re all so fucking upset about it let him know:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
InExile
After the passing of Prop 8, I was encouraged by all the protests thinking they would continue until equality was won. Well, the outrage sure did not last long! Without large protests being done consistently, we are making it easy for our politicians to sweep us under the carpet again!
Delay of DADT, no momentum for our civil rights at all in the new administration, the inauguration fiasco with Rev. Warren, O is not doing anything for us! The fact is, he will continue to do nothing for our community until “WE” START DEMANDING OUR EQUALITY! Rights are not given, they are won through fighting for them!
When is the march on Washington for equality?
InExile
@Mike: You can write until your hands break and nothing will happen! I have never received one response from any politicians regarding gay issues! NEVER!
Wayne
@InExile
The next time you get a request for a donation or a request for your vote (if you haven’t had one in awhile, wait a minute, by the time the midterms roll around you will be receiving tons of political requests from various politicians). Respond to every request and let them know why they won’t be getting your vote or your money.
Money and votes are somethig every politician understands, especially come election time.
Wayne
@InExile
“When is the march on Washington for equality?”
I’m with you on that point. We have to keep the heat on.
InExile
@Wayne: @Wayne: It seems like no one is interested in demanding our rights! They think the HRC’s of the world will do it for us or President Obama will wake up one morning and deliver our rights to us on a silver platter! The time for our community to “wake up” is now, right now! Our chances of reaching our goals on equality diminishes with each passing day as we get closer to the next election cycle. If our civil rights are achieved now, everyone will forget about it by the time the next election rolls around, it will be “old news”.
Slider
Why is anyone surprised at Obama? He has thrown us under the bus on more then one occassion…..why is this any different? Makes a lot of sense to me..let’s see let us recruit criminals and those with crimes of moral turpitude but lets throw out Gays and Lesbians who are in the military, doing their job, been well trained, spent billions to do that and the military can’t meet its recruitment quotas.
As has been said above..there is always a crisis, a war, domestic and foreign issues..what does that have to do with equality and what does that have to with Gays and Lesbians who willing want to serve in the military and have done so with honor and done their job and done it well.
The old canard wait till next year..hell no….did MLK, Jr. and the leaders of the civil rights movement wait till next year (by that standard there would not have been a civil rights movement) Our community’s problem is we tied ourselves to one party instead of to the issues and principles of equality and freedom and we are entitled to the same ciivil rights, human rights and constitutional rights as heterosexuals and hell no we aint’ going quietly until we get what we are entitled to as citizens of the United States….
The likes of HRC is to perpetuate their own existence rather then our own rights and instead of using grass roots methods ala Harvey Milk and refusing to sit down and shut up they have been the Richard Goodsteins (the owner of the Advocate in the time of Harvey Milk and soaked up the riches of the establishment instead of standing up for us)
The Clintons threw us under the bus with DADT and DOMA and those are the two issues that have thoroughly kept us under the bus constantly run over….Obama is the third Clinton Administration….do what is popular while doing nothing and screwing us over….I learned that in the 1990s…one party support rule means we get nothing…stand up for the rights and hound both parties till they know do the right thing or be gone (look at the 20/20 piece….society comes around by us being every where and showing that we want the same rights as everyone else and it takes grass roots efforts so all Americans know that it is wrong to discriminate..then the political parties have no choice but to do the right thing….after all in the 1960s..it took the northern state GOP to give LBJ the votes he needed to pass civil rights legislation and that would not have happened just on Democratic votes)
stand up for the issues….the old saying of putting ones eggs in one basket means you get screwed….
aren’t we tired of the insanity of stupidity of “wait till next year and trust us and vote for us and give us your money”…..aren’t we tired yet and mad as hell so we won’t take it any more and then act and push our issues….follow the lessons of MLK Jr..he didn’t tie himself to a political party but to human rights….time to get busy and make the morons in Washington DC and at the state levels and local levels do the right thing…..it won’t happen by supporting those who give us lip service but no action and screw us over time and time again.
getreal
He has been in office less than 3 months. He can’t do it all in the first 60 days. It is interesting I never remember anyone holding George Bush to such a high standard. Look the President signed legislation to close Guantanamo clearly he is not afraid of controversy and plans on doing what is right in that case we have no reason to believe he will not put an end to DADT. I’m all for keeping our politicians reminded they they owe the people who helped put them in office equal rights and protections under the law. That being said let’s not demonize a man who has been pro-gay in his voting record but has not endorsed gay marriage. As someone who has a background in politics I try to patient with people who don’t seem to understand HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ELECTED if he had made gay marriage part of his platform. Now he is in let’s give him a chance to do the right thing.
orpheus_lost
@getreal: And next year will you be saying we need to wait because its an election year and it would cost the Democratic party seats to support us? And the year after that will you be suggesting we just need to wait a little longer because the new congress needs time to sort it all out? Then the next year is another election so the excuses can just be recycled – like every other year.
At some point the excuses just become insults and this is that point. I will no longer support, in any way, politicians who do not support my rights as an equal member of society. I understand your feelings, Getreal, I’ve said the same thing for years, myself. But there comes a time when you realize who your real friends are and until Obama repeals DADT, he is no friend of the GLBT community.
getreal
@orpheus_lost: Maybe you should worry about your own opinions instead of presumptuously telling me what I’m going to think next year and the year after that. You have a right to think what you want but in my opinion it is simplistic and not at all constructive to try to alienate politicians who have a history of supporting LGBT issues but are not giving the gay community EVERYTHING in the first 2 months of their term. The fact is we would not be debating DADT if there was not a likelihood it was going to be overturned. I understand putting extreme pressure, organizing, marching, and lobbying I don’t understand turning on politicians who support gay rights because they are on their time table not ours.
Chitown Kev
@getreal:
I’ll split the difference on what you and Orpheus said, getreal. Obama was certainly good for me here in Illinois but there are so many LGBT issues that he could be taking a stand on without the loss of the political capital (and DADT is a good example) that he will need for the tougher issues like DOMA.
orpheus_lost
@getreal: The only thing I’m going to TELL you to do is show me where I told you what to think. I ASKED you if you would still be providing excuses for politicians who have are not actively supporting GLBT rights. Obviously, since I don’t agree with you, you feel within your rights to attack my opinions at “simplistic”. Personally, I’d suggest that running back every two years to the same politicians who promise us the moon while delivering stardust is rather simplistic, but you are definitely entitled to do that if it makes you feel all warm and scrunchy.
As for me, when Obama’s people tell me that my human rights can be put off till a more convenient time, I say my support can be put off as well. If you don’t like it, oh well…
RichardR
@Mike: Thanks for the link, Mike. If enough of us raise an outcry about Sec. Graves’ comment — and we damn sure should — the process to repeal DADT will get pushed back up “the road a little bit.”
Among our concerns, DADT is the easiest to fix. We need to pressure everyone: HRC, NGLTF, elected officials, Gates, Obama.
I think it’s possible that Obama/Gates may be avoiding political fallout at a time when the administration needs every possible vote on budget and economic issues. But they still need to hear from us.
Gates and Obama have lots on their plates, sure, but how hard would it have been to say “Yes, it will be repealed, and in the meantime we’re suspending dismissals.”
Such a sinking feeling I got when I saw this clip yesterday.
dgz
peeps, take it out on your representatives. laws originate in the *legislature.* even the whitehouse can’t lobby for more than a few laws at a time (hence the media’s criticisms that the prez is taking too many issues at once).
Bill Perdue
Obama torpedoed our attempt to save same sex marriage with his outrageously bigoted statement ‘gawd’s in the mix” just prior to the November election. He has a long history of bigotry and pandering to bigots. It’s been the hallmark of his politics since the late 90’s.
Now it’s been made concrete by his relationship with ultra rightist christers. Leah Daughtry, the infamous anti-GLBT christer minister is still running the DNC, now supervised by someone even more right wing, Keane of Virginia. Obama’s pal Warren and other christers are setting the stage for mass murder in Uganda. And Obama’s Minister of Pandering Joshua Dubois is going to head up Obama’s ‘faith based’ operation to spend billions bribing christer ministers and priests. Instead of being wasted on these obscene fakers and their superstitious fantasies the money should be used to fund a crash program to provide housing, food, meds and heath care supplies to people with HIV/AIDS and similar diseases.
In terms of the war Obama’s politics are an unmitigated disaster. The war for oil is killing civilians and GIs and destroying what little economic stability we still have. In real terms it means that if Clinton and Bush were war criminals, so is Obama. We need the total and immediate withdrawal of all US troops, mercenaries, and secret police from South Asia.
On the economic front, as you’d expect looking at who bankrolled his campaign, Obama is proving to be a lap dog of the rich. He gives trillions and trillions to bail out the looters who wrecked the economy, opposes higher taxes when they give themselves multimillion dollar bonuses and has the gall to demand pay and benefit cuts from auto workers.
Bush, with his arrogance and contempt for working people destroyed the Republicans and Obama is busily destroying the Democrats the same way. Now it’s time to being looking for a mass left alternative to those two wretched parties of war, homobigotry, racism and war on working people.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@Bill Perdue:
You know you to sit down and take a frigging chill pill, cause you’re talking crap…again.
Disclaimer: I actually think Obama is pretty dumb because of his choices like Sumner but like he didn’t see people like you coming-which there is many. So DUMB Obama. I trust him a little less.
But dude, wtf would you do if you inherited a Friedmenite economical culture that has seeped into our conciousness for 60-70 decades??
In the UK we had Keynes until 1979 BUT Thatcher was literally able to eardicate it with privatisation.
Your warped obsession with Obama is scary caus the Clintons were worse..actually very similar to the Blairs..
Is it perfect?
No, so wtf are you doing about it but using the same right wing scare tactics that all your presidents have used to brainwash you into thinking free market policies were helping the CITIZENS?
Bill Perdue
@John from England(used to be just John but there are other John’s): You seem very confused and I don’t think it’s because of any cultural differences.
I don’t think there are big differences. England and the US are very much alike, except that the rulers of your country lost their empire and the rulers of the US are just beginning to build theirs. Color Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan Gaul. Our cultures are very similar and both countries have the same healthy mixture of immigrant cultures that used to drive the Roman’s batty.
It’s because of those cultural similarities that I just don’t understand your comments at all. How on earth do you imagine that I have an obsession with Obama? He’s the president. His party runs Congress and they’re all hand puppets of the rich. So if you comment about economic and war policies you have to comment about… Obama and his Democrats. Additionally the Republicans have no economic policy and agree with Obama about the wars and anti-GLBt bigotry so if want to comment about those issues…yep, you got in one, we comment about Obama the lap dog of Wall Street and his bipartisan Congress.
I am not a Keynesian, I’m a socialist. What are your politics, because it’s very unclear from your comments. The Clintons are about the same (and I was accused of having an obsession about them until Obama began to win the primaries). The Bushes and the Reagan’s, Obama and the Clintons all have minor cosmetic and tactical differences but that’s all it amounts too.
Obama will prosecute the war and is unable to do anything about the recession soon to be depression because anything substantial would be vetoed by his owners. And for the record the war and depression are frightening scores of millions of Americans who’ve never heard of me. Their fears are not right wing illusions; they’re the reality we have to live with because we’ve got a lap dog for a president.
Are you an Obamabot? Are you an uncritical, unthinking supporter of Obama, come what may? People voted for change and they’re going to get more of the same. When you hear the term Obamavilles used to refer to the homeless camps springing up all across the US you’ll know that the conversion of Hope into Rage is in full force.
What on earth is wrong with being opposed to war, bigotry and attacks on our standard of living, aka, Obama? They’re the reality on which we’ll base a movement aimed at fundamental change in this country.
DEEPTHROAT
Some of you may be too young to recall, but Clinton lost tons of cred when he tried to move a gaysinthemilitary executive order through. He was torpedoed by the right and the military told him to go take a flying leap. I believe it was Sam Nunn of Texas that lead the visual of tight quarters in a submarine that was the quintesential image that propelled DADT into military law. Clinton had no choice but to move it forward. Remember that the majority of the country thought him a draft dodger. He had no respect from the military. Obama, who has no military experience, and talks about the military as an observer and not a member, must move carefully to succeed on this one.
A poster above was correct to note that Iraq/Afghanistan policy must take precedence over DADT decisions at this time.
Obama is totally correct to delay this discussion. The Right would love a distraction like this now. It is not something that we can afford to play around with. The time is good, but timing is critical. Too much is at stake at the moment. It will come. Patience young hobbit. Patience.
Bill Perdue
@DEEPTHROAT: Please, pick some other screen name. You dishonor DEEPTHROAT.
And don’t be insulting. Whatever our age, it’s no longer possible for apologists like you to make excuses for bigots and hustlers like Clinton and Obama or to muddy the waters. We know what happened on DADT and DOMA and No on 8 and we’ve got treadmarks on our back from the Clintonbus, the Bushbus and the Obamabus to prove it.
Clinton did find a way to champion NAFTA, DOMA and other reactionary policies but was a total chickenshit hustler when it was time to fight for the rights of GLBT folks in the military. Ask those who knew PFC Barry Winchell, murdered because the military codified bigotry against GLBT people and empowered the thugs what they think of Clinton’s role.
After promising to end military bigotry, Clinton ended up codifying it.
I’m not surprised that you counterpoise the continued and escalating murder of Iraqi and Afghan civilians (to steal their oil) to the rights of GLBT GIs. It’s so typical of right-wingers. Obama, a Clinton/Bush clone doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the lives of soldiers, marines, aircrew and sailors, GLBT or otherwise.
anderson cooper is my future husband
@DEEPTHROAT: I agree. It is an issue that will be rectified I have no doubt. Having temper tantrums and turning on the President won’t help. Never saw deepthroat but it sounds like a good name to me.