A new statement from Sens. Joe Lieberman, Mark Udall, and Kirsten Gillibrand presses the Senate to “act immediately” to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t tell, lest those pesky courts make the Pentagon’s decisions for them: “a federal judge may do so unilaterally in a way that is disruptive to our troops and ongoing military efforts.” Now we all know these senators want DADT dead, but now they’ve just gone and sided with President Obama that it is the lawsuits that are actually harming the military.
JusticeontheRocks
I thought the military was all about preparedness. They know they may get an adverse ruling in the courts. They should prepare for it.
I understand what these senators (all of them allies on DADT) are trying to do. But I don’t agree they are siding with Obama. The President is the one defending the law in court, not these senators.
mikenola
Obama has adovocated for an orderly repeal to DADT and I have supported that position, with the caveat that he should have issued a stop loss order preventing gays from being discharged until the survey was completed.
Well now is the time that rapid action needs to be taken. Obama should relaase the report even if it is in a “final draft” state, and by now it is since the release date is Dec 1, 2010. If nothing else, release the raw numbers of how each question was answered, we know the questions so the results would be pretty clear.
The polls say that 70% of the American population supports the repeal, however the far right has announced that they will block or try to block the repeal legislation attached to the Defense Authorization bill. This must be done in the lame duck session which begins Nov, 15 goes for a week, then a thanksgiving break and returns Nov 29.
Releasing the results on Nov 15 will give us, the voting Americans, access to the results when our senators and representatives come home for the breaks and over the holidays. We will have a method and venue to get the truth before the deep pocket spin doctors try and whip up more hatred against LGBT people.
Releasing the report early is the smartest and most effective act that Obama can take to ensure the DADT passes in the lame duck session. It is the best option we have to get something that looks like equality for our service men and women and advance the rest of our drive to be treated as EQUAL Americans instead of second class trash.
Please everyone contact your representatives, the white house and any media outlet urging for an early release of the report.
Ryan
You “don’t agree” that they’re siding with Obama? It’s an objective fact. They’re siding with Obama. They’ve said so.
Chad
Um no the statement doesn’t indicate any agreement that lawsuits are harming the military. It’s saying better for repeal to happen through legislation and an orderly process where Obama, Gates, and Mullen sign off on it. As opposed to a court ruling that could essentially say “just do it”.
spindoc
Releasing the slaves was disruptive to the South, giving women the vote was disruptive to the political process, integrating the military was disruptive.
Civil Rights are not supposed to only be granted when they don’t upset bigots. A civil right is a civil right.
J. Clarence
@spindoc: Releasing the slaves was brought about by the Emancipation Clause and the passage of the reconstruction amendments, all of which were passed via the Congress. Women got the right to vote by passing the 19th amendment via the Congress and the states. In both cases it wasn’t a Supreme Court decision that took the big leap, but rather dysfunctional Congress. So with this in mind, I’m assuming the first part of your comment was an attempt at satire, and possibly irony.
We have already gotten a glimpse of what happens via the court route on DADT, one week the policy is overturned, the next week a federal court stays the injunction. One week the army announces that gays can start to enlist, but issues a clauses letting them know that it can change at any minute. The next week DADT is back in effect. It’s a mess, and while it gets done faster it is messy and uncertain. If you pass the bill through Congress, it’s done and over for sure.
Rick Gold
As a Coloradan, I can say SENATOR UDALL FAIL.
reason
@mikenola: Stop loss is already in effect the way the GOP worded DADT it does not effect being discharged under DADT. But congress has until they go on recess and I will support the orderly process through then. Pressure needs to be put on Sen. Levin to have the audacity to do what they set out to do. DADT repeal was put on a collision course with the defense appropriations bill to ensure its passage, or risk harming the military. The Dems need to stand up hold strong and force the GOP to let three or four senators support the bill or risk harming the entire force. The president has spoken that the repeal should remain in the bill, it is time for the Democrats in the U.S. Senate to stand up for their principals instead of fear of being the first defense committee chairman to not pass an appropriations bill in 50 years. This is a time of first, and the GOP didn’t blink an eye to being the first to say no to everything at the peril of the entire country.
Kieran
Lieberman is one of the top neo-Cons in the Senate blatantly gunning for a War with Iran, and he’s perfectly willing to allow gays and lesbians to be used as cannon fodder to “liberate” that country if they so desire.
Brian Miller
If you think they’re going to do this in the lame duck session, you’re deluded. The only reason they even tried to do it was to quell LGBT criticism of the administration by rigging the vote so it would fail, blaming it on the Republicans, and then saying “oh well, we tried, you’ll have to give us money and votes for another 10 years until we can try again.”
They’re only feeling pressure now because it’s a Republican gay group (ironically enough) that’s pushing this issue to the fore in the courts. With each appeal, the administration is forced to make ever more bigoted arguments to favor continuation of the policy, so these Democrats are essentially saying “let’s take the heat off the prez by passing this repeal.”
Of course, the repeal isn’t on the docket, none of the GOP senators who agreed to vote against a filibuster have heard about a vote, and the Democrats eliminated the DADT repeal from the defense bill. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the likely outcome — “we just ran out of time and unfortunately couldn’t get it done in the lame duck session.”