It’s been a busy day. The President hosted at meeting with the leaders of Congress to talk about priorities for the lame duck session. Doesn’t sound like they gave much thought to the Defense bill, which includes the DADT language. Also, today, as you know, the Pentagon released its long awaited report on DADT.
We need the direct involvement of the President if we’re going to pass the DADT language this year, as promised. A short time ago, the White House issued a statement from the President on the DADT report, which included this line:
Today I call on the Senate to act as soon as possible so I can sign this repeal into law this year and ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally.
We need more than a statement on paper from the President. Here’s an idea: The President could start calling Senators to make sure he can sign the law this year. And, how about standing in front of t.v. cameras and using the bully pulpit to call for repeal. Put some skin in the game, Mr. President. You promised.
We sent out the following appeal to our AMERICAblog list. We’re still asking the President to start calling Senators directly. That will have more impact than a White House statement:
BREAKING NEWS: The Pentagon’s study on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was just released, and it is better than our wildest dreams. The study concluded that repeal would have a “low risk” to the military’s mission capability.
With congressional debate beginning as early as Monday, the calendar is our biggest obstacle — there is no time to lose. Defense Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen have already said they’ll be talking to the Senate about the report. The grassroots will be doing our part. But the White House is still on record saying the President’s made no calls to Congress on this issue!
Add your name to our open letter, and we’ll personally deliver it to the White House for you. Then share this email with others.
More results from the study:
* 70% of servicemembers believe repeal would have little or no effect on their units
* 92% of respondents had a positive or neutral experience with a gay servicemember
* 74% of military spouses are not concerned about repeal
* Secretary of Defense Gates strongly urges that the Senate repeal DADT based on the findings of this reportWe can not afford for the President to be MIA on this issue yet again. We need his fierce advocacy right now.
Click here to join over 2,500 people in telling President Obama to put some skin in the game and call Senators in support of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — now.The stakes are high. Thanks for joining us in this fight.
Obama can call on the Senate to act — and call Senators to make sure they do.
More and more people are signing the letter. We’ve passed our initial goal of 2,500 signatures and have doubled it to 5,000. The President just told us how important the Senate is. Let’s make sure he’s doing his part.
And, everyone should call their own Senators today or tomorrow. The switchboard at the Capitol is: 202-224-3121.
