DADT: Rhetoric Isn’t Repeal By December 31st

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) put out an e-blast today, entitled Mr. President, now it’s up to you:

The United States Senate has failed our military and failed the American people.

Despite hundreds of thousands of calls and emails demanding an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – and despite military leaders imploring the Senate to repeal the law this year instead of leaving it to the courts — the Senate today voted to leave prejudice and bigotry on the books.

Since it appears Congress won’t repeal the law this year, the fate of lesbian and gay service members now rests in President Obama’s hands. To make good on his commitment to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2010, President Obama needs to immediately issue a stop-loss order halting military discharges. At the same time, the Administration must immediately cease defending DADT in federal court.

Tell President Obama right now: End the discharges under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and stop defending this unconstitutional law in court.

In his State of the Union address last January, President Obama said he would work with Congress to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year. But despite the House successfully voting to repeal the law, the Senate continued its filibuster.

Now it’s up to President Obama to clean up Congress’s mess. And the first step is for his administration to stop defending the law in court and embroiling “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in seemingly endless legal wrangling.

Also, as Commander in Chief, the President can issue an executive order to retain any soldier deemed necessary in a time of war – even though Congress has failed to remove the law from the books. President Obama must issue that order and end the discharges now.

Send your email to President Obama and remind him that millions of Americans will stand with him when he asserts his leadership on this issue. And taking action today will add crucial pressure for President Obama to act before 2010 ends in just a few weeks.

We need President Obama to take immediate action to end this law that has hurt our families, our soldiers, and our national security by costing us thousands of the best and brightest service members who should be defending our nation.

Urge President Obama to act immediately: Stop the military discharges, stop the legal defenses.

I’m not giving up,

Joe Solmonese

President

That’s much improved rhetoric from the Joe Solmonese and the HRC over what it was earlier this year, but I, and I’m sure many others, are remembering the HRC’s Joe Solmonese promise to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community members this past March:

“And finally, finally this year we are going to bring down the discriminatory policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” … Once and for all!”

As well as holding the White House to the promise of White House staff member, and future Campaign Chair for President Obama’s reelection campaign, Jim Messina:

Political science major John Blake asked Messina about the failure to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the military policy that prevents gays from being open about their sexuality while serving in the military. The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday against repealing DADT “for largely partisan reasons,” Messina said, but he’s confident DADT will be struck down.

“We’re going to get that done this year,” he said.

I don’t care if Joe Solmonese’s and the HRC’s rhetoric is now up to the point it should have been all along — I’m still going to hold Joe Solmonese, Jim Messina, and President Obama’s whole administration accountable for their promises on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. They all have until December 31st to deliver on their promises.

To not hold them accountable would be to give a pass to the HRC and to the White House when they can’t — or in the case of the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice, won’t — deliver to their broad constituencies what the HRC and the Obama Administration promised to LGBT community members on repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Pam’s House Blend – Front Page