Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Hold Your Breath
UPDATE:
President Obama’s remarks from Human Rights Campaign Dinner, October 10, 2008
“We are moving ahead on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. (Applause.) We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve this country. We should be celebrating their willingness to show such courage and selflessness on behalf of their fellow citizens, especially when we’re fighting two wars. (Applause.)
We cannot afford to cut from our ranks people with the critical skills we need to fight any more than we can afford — for our military’s integrity — to force those willing to do so into careers encumbered and compromised by having to live a lie. So I’m working with the Pentagon, its leadership, and the members of the House and Senate on ending this policy. Legislation has been introduced in the House to make this happen. I will end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. That’s my commitment to you.”
Blame Congress, not Obama, for foot-dragging on gay ban
President Barack Obama is getting a raft of grief for his failure to deliver on a number of his campaign promises, including in particular his pledge to end the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military.
The often amusing Jon Stewart mocked the Commander-in-Chief the other night for the quotidian excuse offered by both his defense secretary and national security advisor, namely that the President is awfully busy at the moment and “has too much on his plate.” Stewart jokes it’s “chow time” and that maybe the President should get a bigger plate.
Stewart, like many others, suggests lifting the ban is not heavy lifting, arguing that in the “cornucopia” of issues on that metaphorical platter, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” amounts to “a little of rice pudding off to the side” and admonishes the President that he “could finish that before you get back to the table.”
But what all these critics always miss is that the President can’t change the law that forces gays in uniform to cover-up their sexuality. Only Congress can.
It’s the members of Congress, not the President, who are ignoring the growing sentiment in America to end discrimination against lesbians homosexuals in the U.S. military.
The current issue of Joint Force Quarterly being the latest evidence of the general acceptance of gays in the ranks. In an essay published because it won an award, Col. Om Prakash, who now works in the office of Defense Secretary Gates, writes, “After a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly… Based on this research, it is not time for the administration to reexamine the issue; rather it is time for the administration to examine how to implement the repeal of the ban.”
I guarantee you when the day comes that Congress sends the President a new law lifting the ban, the Mr. Obama will sign it with a flourish.
So what critics are complaining about really, is that the President is not spending more of his political capital lighting a fire under key members of congress to put that reform on the front burner.
Does anyone really wonder why that is?
Do they see how tough it has been to get Congress to act on health care reform? Do you see the flak the President is taking from both sides of the aisle because he wants to really think about the wisdom of staying the course in Afghanistan before he agrees to big troop hikes?
Do you think if was just a simple matter of picking up the phone, and ordering up a new law, the president would hesitate to deliver on his belief that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” doesn’t make sense?
Congress will have hearings on the issue next month, but don’t look for quick action. Many members — lacking the courage of their convictions — are waiting for political cover in the form of a clearer signal from the Pentagon.
Don’t hold your breath.
Tags: Gays, John Stewart, Joint Force Quarterly, Obama
