The injustice continues under Obama
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Yesterday, the military board hearing the case of Lt. Dan Choi, who told the truth about his sexual orientation on the Rachel Maddow show, moved to toss him from the military under the Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell policy (even though they consider him an asset to the military). Since the policy was instituted, more than 5,000 LGBT soldiers have been dismissed from service. At a time when we are fighting two (illegal, immoral) wars and with declining enlistment in America’s military, this policy is not only unjust, but it is just plain stupid. For those of you who do not know the story of Dan Choi, he is a West Point graduate, an Iraq war veteran and an Arab-speaking linguist. (Jeez, think we might need this guy right now?) Here’s a guy who wants to serve his country in spite of the fact that he is denied many civil rights accorded to his heterosexual counterparts. Sorry, but I have to ask the question: Do the military and Barack Obama even have a clue here? Oh, I can hear my conservative compatriots blustering now, “Well, he should have kept his mouth shut.” To them I say, “I have a better idea. Let’s make America the country it claims to be instead.” Freedom isn’t conditional here. It’s not based on race, gender or sexual orientation. There are no exception clauses in the U.S. Constitution. And, by the way, we’re telling those in harm’s way that we’re fighting for freedom. Are we really?
The LGBT community is tired of hearing about how Obama has only had six months in office. We’re tired of the empty promises with no concrete actions, such as his comment earlier this week, “Gays will be happy by the end of my administration.” Well, we really do not have any evidence of that. In fact, we evidence to the contrary, such as the Obama administration’s memo defending the constitutionality of DOMA. It’s unconstitutional. Period. We’re tired of the “bipartisanship” drivel, and that’s exactly what it is. We didn’t elect Barack Obama to sell the country up the river in his quest to get the leftover GOP junk on board behind every change that must be made. I can assure you that the GOP would be ramming bills through with blatant disregard for bipartisanship if the situation was reversed. The people of this nation overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama because they had absolutely no faith in the GOP’s plans and policies. Since Obama took office, the GOP has not offered one idea or plan to solve the country’s ills. Instead, they’ve spent their time blocking progress and standing on their sanctimonious “family values” platform.
And while we’re at it, let’s address that issue because, while many conservatives say that the bad behavior of its elected officials (read: infidelity) has nothing to do with the LGBT community being denied marriage rights, the fact is that it most certainly does. If marriage needs protection, it’s from heterosexuals who take their marriage vows lightly. And many of them happen to be politicians. Our friend, David Vitter, still makes calls to his Louisiana constituents inviting them to his family values-based town hall meetings. Hypocrite. How about Mark Sanford? Now we’re finding out that he crossed the line with six additional women other than his mistress in Argentina. But don’t sweat it. He’s actually only had sex with two, his wife and his mistress. I guess, by GOP standards, Sanford can still put himself in the family values column. Hypocrite. Then, there’s Gingrich and Ensign, still active in politics. Hypocrites. I haven’t forgotten Craig, but he’s no longer serving. Nor have I missed the wayward Democrats, Edwards, Clinton and Spitzer, but they are no longer in office. Clinton was impeached, but not removed. Edwards is a private citizen (and was, by the way, when he cheated on his wife). Spitzer resigned, but I believe the GOP calls for his impeachment started about an hour after the story broke. So, I think maybe we should call for the impeachment of Ensign, Vitter and Sanford since they are still in office. After all, impeachment doesn’t apply just to the values-challenged Democrats. It should apply across the board. As for Gingrich, everybody knows what he’s up to. He’s a serial cheater gearing up for 2012 with all this religious-based nonsense. His latest political move is to convert to Catholicism for his wife (a woman he cheated with on his previous wife, no less). That is the ultimate in hypocrisy. Frankly, I know several Republicans and I’m finding that most of them wish he’d fall off the edge of the earth.
There are a couple of points here. First, the GOP - supposedly the party of ’small’ government - doesn’t believe in “big government” programs designed to improve the lives of the American people. Yet, it has no problem telling the American people how to conduct their personal lives and who they can and cannot marry. If that isn’t big, intrusive government, what is? Secondly, there is plenty that Barack Obama can do to nullify Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. What, you ask? As Commander-in-Chief, he can suspend Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell. Then he can begin the process of having that unjust law repealed by the Congress. Harry S. Truman didn’t wait for everyone to be ‘on board’ when he instructed the military to desegregate. It may have taken time, but Truman got the process rolling by utilizing the Executive Order.
The fact is, Barack Obama is a political coward. That’s not what the country needed.
Comment by Ivan Hentschel on 1 July 2009:
Before this post becomes the source of vitriol that swirls around solely LGBT/homo-angstian rhetoric, and some of the readers here climb all over Deb for per position, I must say that I think she is both right and wrong. Her outrage and indignation over the handling of Dan Choi( and DADT in general) is apt and well placed. But she is wrong in overlooking its’ symbolic value, as regards the actions (or inactions) of the Obama administration on the whole.
Injustice is probably not the best word we could use here, and I’ll tell you why. The outcome of the Choi hearing, as well as the President’s comment to a retired Air Force officer, that this was a “generational issue” smack of the same position of mediocrity, appeasement, glad handing and moral molly-coddling that is evidenced by his stance on every major issue confronting us today: the financial debacle, the economy in general, LGBT rights, foreign policy issues (Israel/Palestine, Honduras), government secrecy and the biggest elephant in the room, health care. And Deb’s conclusion that this stance is political cowardice may not be the more appropriate word , either.
What we do have a a betrayal of promised leadership and a strange and curious sudden lack of courage.Five to six months in or no, we were promised change. But, alas the world is of full of promise keepers/breakers: Ensign, Sanford, Pelosi (who lead her legislative body), Reid (who would lead his party), Bush who promised to be a uniter and a decider and was neither.
Obama appears to lack the courage to do the extraordinary so that the ordinary and necessary and morally correct may occur. He is languishing in a sea of mediocrity and half-baked actions.
If you want something worthwhile to occur, the required action must have some spectacular and extraordinary transformations accompanying it so that there will be a valuable and lasting effect. If you want to burn down a building, you have to start a fire and be prepared for the heat.
If you want to bake leavened bread, you must scald then milk befor you add it to the mixture or else the the microbes in the milk will kill the bacteria in the yeast and the bread will not rise. You will still get bread, but if you don’t scald the milk first, but the bread will be flat, hard and disappointing. If you use only tepid water to make tea, instead of boiling water, you will still get tea but it will be weak and unappealing.
Obama needs to stop walking down the middle of the road, stop trying to appease and accomodate everyone, stop not trying not ruffle feathers , incorporating every side on every issue, take a firm stand, piss off a few people on the outer edges, stop pretending to be Solomon and make some strong tea and some substatial, chewable bread.
Injustice and cowardice? I think not. But mediocre fence-straddling and a lack of conviction to cause the extraordinary may be more like it, and Dan Choi is only one example of convictional terpitude.