White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who accidentally found his way in the middle of a DADT protest, just got done saying the White House will wait for the Pentagon to conclude its 10-month study of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell before taking any action to repeal the law. That means a pink slip could be the lump of coal in many a military queers’ Christmas stocking, like Just-A-Joe. But we’re also wondering what HRC’s Joe Solmonese thinks seeing as he’s currently being upstaged by Get Equal’s brand of activist and also promised in February that “this year we are going to bring down the discriminatory policy known as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell … once and for all.”
Looks like Barney Frank was right when he said that a DADT repeal would likely be “in the context of the defense authorization. You can’t do the standalone bill. It belongs in the defense authorization.” Oh, and what was Frank saying about the White house “ducking” out on its commitment?
wondermann
This post is a fail.
Donkeytrot69
@wondermann: Yo’ momma is a fail.
TONYD
Maybe if Obama and the HRC holds the carrot out further, most of the LGBTQ community will walk in an orderly fashion and be compliant? I hope not- I want to see and participate in more peaceful actions alongside the likes of Dan Choi and those brave enough to be heard and seen. Unemployment is at an all time high, I’m sure that includes plenty of LGBTQ people- let’s make this a summer to remember!
Cam
Gee, what a shock, politicians don’t care about the real world or civil rights.
I have a feeling that if Barney Frank had a lesbian sister who just got kicked out of the military that DADT would have been inserted into every budget bill voted on by the house.
It is like this all the time. In DC there was an onramp to a busy bridge, people complained for years that it was dangerous, nothing was done. ONE congressmen got sideswiped and suddenly there is a new merge lane there. Same with this, if Michelle Obamas brother was gay and in the military this would have been done int he first 100 days Obama was in office.
Kieran
Sorry suckers, but if you want the swinging carrot you’ll just have to follow it into the voting booths in November…..and then, well you all just better PRAY that those nasty Republicans who hate you don’t make a come back.
TONYD
@Kieran: The last I checked, Dems controlled both the White House and Congress and the repeal of DADT was shot down today. Who do you suggest we put in office next?
jason
This does it for me. No more votes for the Democrats. I’ll be voting Republican just to spite them.
jason
Didn’t I tell you that the deceptive Democrats were trying to run the clock out on us? When they lose the House in Novemeber – and possible the senate – they’ll just excuse themselves and say “oh, we don’t have the votes to repeal DADT anymore”.
Baxter
@jason: Yeah, I’m pretty much done with the Democratic party at this point. I should’ve learned my lesson after the Clinton years.
Pat
@Cam you’re 100% right. Obama is a big supporter of LGBT issues, when it comes to collecting campaign donations. But when it comes time to make good on a promise in a potentially difficult election year, he’s nowhere to be found. What Barney Frank doesn’t tell you is that DADT isn’t going to happen at any time during Obama’s administration unless its by executive order. The democrats are likely to lose their majority in the house this November, and I’d be more than a little surprised to see a republican congress put forward a repeal of DADT.
The good news is, as commander in chief, Obama could repeal DADT with the stroke of a pen. All it would take is for him to actually care.
J. Clarence
@Pat: The problem with the president issuing an executive order is the simple fact that it opens up a lot of other problems, both legal and political. Not to mention an executive order ending the policy can easily be undone by another executive order by a Republican president. The only way, truly, to put the final nail in DADT is through Congress passing the Military Readiness Act.
I am all on board criticizing the administration for kicking repeal down road into the indefinite void; however, not donating to the DNC is not the way to actually push Democrats because (1) the DNC is already taking in more money than the RNC, so unless gay donors are the demographic that keeps the DNC afloat I doubt it will have a large impact and (2) not donating doesn’t give you more influence, rather it does the opposite. The Democratic Party is a big tent party; gays are not the Evangelical Conservative Christians of the Republican Party, whom they cannot ever upset. If gays do not donate, the DNC and fall back on labor or other causes.
Big business gets what they want not because they threaten not to donate, but rather flood the campaign field and make Democrats (and Republicans) chase after it.
What we have to do is become more targeted and specific on what are demands are, rather than just being a reliable donor block for the DNC; and put our money behinds candidates that we have on record.
Jon
He promised so now I promise to not vote or give money! WOULDN’T the compromise idea of putting it’s repeal in the Defense bill with a date of January 1st. A month after the study! It would make both sides happy! (Pro wait till study is done and pro repeal NOW) Or are they just too dumb to see this great idea.
Isaac
@jason: That’s right Jason, cut off your nose to spite your face. I thought I only saw logic that twisted from the teabaggers. I find it odd that the editors of Queerty find such relish bringing disappointing news. It’s almost as if they want the Dems and Gay Inc. to not be successful at forwarding our rights just so that they can say that they told us so. It’s like Rush Limbaugh wanting Obama and America to fail so that he could say that he was right.
On a more serious note, we saw this coming. I had no expectation that anything was going to be passed until after these “studies” were done. I was disappointed when I heard that the Pentagon was going to “study” the issue first, because I immediately knew that this was going to take some time to happen.
For those of you who think that Obama could’ve changed DODT with an executive order, that can be rescinded by the next president, so it wouldn’t be a permanent move. That would’ve been throwing us a bone. The process we’re on may me dreadfully slow, but it’s a permanent change.
Civil rights should not be up for negotiation, but we have to work within the existing system to fight for them. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. We can’t take our toys and go home when things don’t go our way–we have to keep fighting. Patience wins out.
jason
We gays are a loyal culture. You love us, we’ll love you back. Unfortunately, the Democrats have exploited our loyalty to win votes from us.
While I agree that some Republicans are vile, repulsive creatures, we can’t let this fact push us into the Democratic fold time after time. We need to make it absolutely clear that we will only support a Democrat if he or she actively makes an effort to bring us equal rights.
It’s time to draw the curtain down on our relationship with the Democrats. At least for the next two elections, we need to let them know that we’ve had it with them.
jason
Obama is missing a golden opportunity to repeal DADT while the Democrats have a huge majority in the senate. A golden opportunity is slipping past us, guys. I blame Obama, and so should you.
WiseUp
The biggest gay rights moves will be done by an administration of the future, and possibly even a Republican one (the way things are changing) which is fine with me. Either way.
WiseUp
(P.S. – Even 67 percent of the teabaggers polled believe gays should be allowed in the military! The public is on our side, why not the White House?)
David Cornish
Thanks GetEqual.
You pissed on the President. He said “okay, wait.”
Devon
Fuck the Democrats, they’re a pack of spineless pussies that toss gays right under the bus as soon as they’ve gotten our money.
Fuck the Republicans, they’d have us all rounded up and gassed if given the opportunity.
They’re all worthless.
tinkerbell
How many times must we be reminded that this country is not ours? The democratic party likes us no more so than the republico/christian party. Why do we gays continually seek to play the game?
These people hate us. It’s time for us to strike out in civil disobedience. Let’s shut the system down, as much as we can. They hate us, strip us of civil rights, claim hatred in the name of their religion, and get away with it. When are we going to say enough and seek civil disobedience?
Mike L.
This can only be rectified if, AND ONLY IF Pres. Obama does away with DADT via EXCECUTIVE ORDER (hear this Mr. Pres?) after the 10 month review of how to implement the dismantling of DADT is DONE nxt year.
If he doesn’t make an excecutive order repealing DADT even after the study and after Nov 2010 elections are over and done and it’s clear that a repeal via congress would be completely impossible I will not vote for any democrat nor donate money to any democratic nominee nor organization until this man (the Pres.) is out of office or until he repeals the law if he is re-elected on 2012.
This is so upsetting, defeating DADT and (hopefully) winning the prop 8 trial at SCOTUS would make it much much more easy to drive through future lgbt equal rights legislation.
Andrew
Ingenious plan guys!
Vote Democrat = 20 years till equal rights.
Vote Republican/Abstain = Sodomy laws, 200 years till equal rights.
Really makes sense.
Oi, and just to put that into context.
Sodomy Laws = Matthew Shepard Act
=/
Andrew
@Andrew: Or rather Sodomy Laws Vs. Matthew Shepard Act.
tjr101
Those stating that we should vote Republican because DADT repeal won’t happen this year are very disingenuous and are closeted Log Cabiners.
Those clammering for an executive order to repeal DADT are naive about the fact that DADT is the law of the land and must be repealed through congress. To just sign away a law opens up a hornets nest of constitutional complications and it can easily be recinded by a future bigot Republican president.
Solution, do not donate to the DNC but rather to progressive candidates that are in favor of a repeal and support a host of other LGBT legislation. Elect more progressives to congress. Ignore the DNC.
edgyguy1426
He wouldn’t be ‘signing away a law’ he’d be putting a moratorium on it’s enforcement. Unfortunately he’s not acting like a president with a lead in Congress but a man who’s kowtowing to the emerging extreme right… i.e. offshore drilling, instead of in his words ‘strengthening the moratorium on commercial whaling’ he’s considering easing it. Ed Rendell is right, the Democrats have lost their soul.
EuroRant
@WiseUp:
89% of all Republicans are secretly in full agreement with repealing DADT laws now.
92% of far-right Christian pastors want to see gay marriage implemented within the next 6 months.
99.5% of all neo-cons want a more open society and laws repealed that are against homo-rights.
… People, I can do this all day long …
Unless you have links and references to back up your stats then you are just pulling it out of your arse.