If President Obama isn’t even willing to stick his neck out to drum up Senate support for a public healthcare option, do you think he’ll actually speak up to convince lawmakers it’s time to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell? LOL if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid actually thinks requesting Obama do just that will work!
Nevada’s Reid last week sent private letters to Obama and Defense Sec. Robert Gates, asking them to tell Congress directly what they want to happen with DADT. Publicly, Obama says he wants a legislative repeal; Gates says he’s deferring to Obama and isn’t making any moves inside the Pentagon on his own.
Namedropping First Lieutenant Daniel Choi and Lieutenant Colonel Victor Fehrenbach, Reid writes, “As Congress considers future legislative action, we believe it would be helpful to hear your views on the policy. Your leadership in this matter is greatly appreciated and needed at this time.”
Despite advocating for various measures to inhibit DADT, Reid’s latest move is a curious departure for the majority leader, who in June was saying the Senate didn’t have enough support to repeal DADT, but if the House wanted to move on it, it was more than welcome. (It’s likely the Senate may require a full 60 votes to keep Republicans from filibustering the measure.) But in a follow-up “clarification” statement, a Reid aide said the senator was implying he wanted the White House or Defense Department to work on an “administrative” solution.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Reid’s latest move, then, appears to be a combination of the two: He wants Obama and Gates to get involved in telling Congress what to do, but in doing so acknowledges it will be lawmakers ultimately responsible for killing the policy.
Undoubtedly, Reid’s letters represent a positive development. And not just because he’s calling on Obama to speak up, but because his letters to the president and Gates were “somehow” obtained by the Huffington Post (read: Reid’s camp leaked them), which means the pressure on the Obama administration has now gone public. And will need an answer, please.
Brian
The president is “praying” on it.
No Homophobama
He will not. He hate gays. Wake up. He hates us. Period. I worked with an attorney who worked with him. Barry referred to a gay paralegal as “the faggot” over and over again until it became a human resources issue. Good thing he was not a white guy or he would have been fired. There is a hierarchy of hatred. Gays on the bottom. Barry was on top.
Merv
Wow, even the hyper-cautious, Republican-appeasing, Mormon wing of the Democratic party is more interested in helping gay people than Obama.
Jason
It would be neat of there could be a coordinated effort by all homos in the military to come out on the same day and then demand they be given full rights under the law, the same as straight servicemembers.
We could get Cleve Jones to organize it!
eric
Did you really just use “LOL” as a word in a sentence?
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
Given he’s Senate Majority Leader, Reid MAY get a response from the President unlike Cong. Alcee Hastings who has now had TWO letters to the President asking him to DO something about DADT ignored, the first co-signed by 76 other House members. But if Reid does, it’s likely to be nothing more than the bullshit Obama has been smile fucking us with for months [YEARS if you count all the explicit “I’m going to fight to get rid of DADT” promises he made during the campaign].
For those of us not the Senate Majority Leader, the only way to reboot the executive order/repeal momentum that stalled over the summer after the smile fucking moved to the White House Tea Party for The Gays is to start protesting again. Movement legends Frank Kameny and Troy Perry and DADT casualities Dan Choi and Anthony Woods and Alex Nicholson and others will be doing exactly that on October 10th at 2 pm at:
Congressional Cemetery [where Walt Whitman’s lover Peter Doyle is also buried]
1801 E Street SE at Potomac Avenue.
[Within walking distance of Potomac Ave & Stadium-Armory DC Metro stations.]
More info at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzFSgI1_FK8
Please join us for this historic, mulitgenerational event.
[img]http://wiedamark.com/nem/Mat.jpg[/img]
InExile
Obama and the Senate better get moving on all of those promises because elections are coming and no “free support” next time for those with unhonored promises. Some of us will stay home on election day and watch wheel of fortune!
McShane
I’t pretty absurd to say that “Obama hates us!” . it also seems that he has pushed quite a bit for the HealthCare Option.
He seems to have developed a pretty dreadful sense of shyness in response to this countrys nutbags and I hope he grows some balls pretty soon. It’s one thing to let things take thier time and another just to sit back after he was elected on a platform of such opulent promises.
i don’t think that he can just not pay attention to Reid and not look like an ass. He has to start doing something. He’ll fail just by virtue of blandness if he doesn’t get moving.
Fitz
If he ever does advocate for us, it will be after the super majority is lost– then he can claim “well, I tried”.
Cam
How is Reid the Majority leader when his answer for everything is “Well I’ll wait to see if somebody else does something”.
Seriously though, don’t you love how “Nevada’s Reid last week sent private letters to Obama and Defense Sec. Robert Gates.”
Only in Washington DC are letters called “Private LEtters” even though they are released to all the news outlets.
Cindy
The answer will be….the continued chirping of crickets.
Jame's gang
A half-million will be Marching. We need to show our anger. 2,000 of us are headed to DC for the March. That’s why I believe we will have 500,000 people there. That will change some minds. We need to show our strength and demand our equality. NOW.
SFGuy
What a cop-out for Reid. He’s the Senate majority leader. He can’t even get all the Democrats to agree with him. So Obama speaks up, so what if the votes aren’t there? Obama’s speaking up for the Olympics bid, and not getting the votes, was disastrous. So Reid wants that happening when he himself can’t get the votes? Idiot.
Fitz
SFGuy, are you really equating my civil liberties with a bid for the Olympics? How dare Reid demand leadership from the leader. The nerve. He’s as bad as those uppity fagots who want equal rights.
Josh
Reid, as a Mormon, will not vote to repeal DOMA. He just sent a letter to the National Equality March professing his support of LGBT and mentioned EDNA, and DADT – not DOMA.