Can You Believe This?

[vonarrow]

Is there no shame on Capitol Hill? Apparently not. This is Democrats way of telling President Obama that if you really want to get rid of DADT so bad, then YOU kill it by Presidential Executive Order! - we're too "fraidikat" and still smarting from losing the House to pay any more political price for you and the gays in the military. What a pitiful group of Democratic and Republican politicians! John McCain's about to jump ship on DADT again? Probably so.....moments away! The media and the entire gay community is aware that President Obama can END DADT by directing the Justice Dept. to drop their guvmint appeal of Log Cabin Republicans versus the United States, thereby allowing Federal Judge Virginia A. Phillips' historic ruling to stand indefinitely. On September 9th, 2010, Judge Phillips declared the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law governing gay and bisexual members of the U.S. military unconstitutional!

Federal Judge Virginia Phillips

Von Arrow


Top Democrat Ready To Kill Effort To Ban ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
By David Edwards
Monday, November 8th, 2010 -- 1:10 pm

The top Democratic and Republican senators on the Armed Services Committee are set to strip repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy from the National Defense Authorization Act, according to two news reports.

"Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and John McCain of Arizona, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are in talks on stripping the proposed repeal and other controversial provisions from a broader defense bill, leaving the repeal with no legislative vehicle to carry it," wrote The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler.

"A spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, who opposes the repeal, confirmed he is in talks with Mr. Levin on how to proceed on the defense bill but didn’t provide details."

A source close to Sen. Carl Levin told the Advocate that the chairman of the Armed Services Committee was considering a deal with Defense Secretary Robert Gates that would remove the repeal from the bill.

"Levin is making calls under the premise – we can’t afford to waste time on a controversial provision, so we’ll strip out the controversial provision and be able to get the bill on and off the floor in the available amount of time," the anonymous source said.

Gates indicated Saturday that he would like to see the ban repealed before Republicans take control of the House next year. "I would like to see the repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell' but I'm not sure what the prospects for that are," Gates said while traveling in Australia.

Also speaking on Saturday, Gen. James Amos, commandant of the U.S. Marines Corps, said this is the wrong time to repeal the controversial policy.

"There's risk involved," Amos said. "This is not a social thing. This is combat effectiveness. That's what the country pays its Marines to do."

President Barack Obama was applauded by gay rights activists for promising to work with Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" in his 2009 State of the Union address.

In a talk with progressive bloggers before the midterm elections, Obama said there was a plan to repeal the ban in the lame duck session. "I’m not going to tip my hand now. But there is a strategy," he said.

But former adviser on gay rights to President Bill Clinton Richard Socarides said it was "extremely unrealistic" that Congress would take it up in the lame duck session.

"This is another in a long series of cases where Democrats are capitulating to the Republicans," the Advocate's source said.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/top-democrat-ready-kill-ban/

[Ian David]

1. Dungeon Master can suck it.

[Drale]

2. Unfortunately he could not just kill it with an executive order

and executive order can't be used to circumvent a law and Don't ask don't tell is a law unfortunately.

[vonarrow]

5. You're wrong.......

Thank you for your concern and good reply; however, President Obama could issue an Executive Order directing the Justice Dept. to refrain from filing a U.S. Government appeal in Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S., thereby effectively ending DADT. In my opinion, Sen. Levin and McCain have made a decision to shove DADT up Obama's butt. Obama kept saying the Senate would fix/repeal DAT. Obama and his spokesmen kept repeating this mantra whenever they were questioned about the future of DADT.

Aaron Belkin, an expert on the issue at U.C. Santa Barbara, told the New York Times the thing that everybody else is dancing around and unwilling to admit, that, "unless the president declines to appeal the ruling in Log Cabin Republicans versus the United States, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy probably will remain law for years."

[Drale]

8. Ok he could do that

but he can't just write an order saying DADT is know more

[TheWraith]

12. No, he can't. That would be ordering the government not to follow the law. nt

[Dr.Phool]

13. Like investigate war crimes and bank fraud?

Nah, we gotta look forward. Something might be gaining on us.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Levin has been derisive of those who suggested it would be

stripped from the larger funding bill, rudely so, for months on end now. And yet it seems that was his plan all along. What a double dealing, double talking piece of slime he is. He knew he was planning this all along, and he misrepresented himself his intentions, and worse, he mocked those who said he would do this for even thinking such a thing.
He's a jerk, to put it bluntly.

[Chulanowa]

4. Like Drale said...

All the president could do is halt enforcement. He can't touch the law. Additionally if he halts enforcement, that halt WILL be taken to court by advocates of DADT, and odds are it'll be invalidated by the courts; this affair would lead to a messy executive vs. judicial battle that would only suck steam away from actually getting rid of DADT. Even if the executive order stands, it would only last until the next guy takes office, and with so many "Progressives" actively advocating for Republicans to sweep elections now, we can bet that that would be a short-lived executive order.

It needs to be done either via Congress or the courts - repeal the law or have it ruled unconstitutional. That is the ONLY way to get rid of DADT.

of course that doesn't let DU have a good ol' fashioned lynch party, does it?

[vonarrow]

6. Oh yes he can too.....

Thank you for your concern and good reply; however, President Obama could issue an Executive Order directing the Justice Dept. to refrain from filing a U.S. Government appeal in Log Cabin Republicans v. U.S., thereby effectively ending DADT. In my opinion, Sen. Levin and McCain have made a decision to shove DADT up Obama's butt. Obama kept saying the Senate would fix/repeal DAT. Obama and his spokesmen kept repeating this mantra whenever they were questioned about the future of DADT.

Aaron Belkin, an expert on the issue at U.C. Santa Barbara, told the New York Times the thing that everybody else is dancing around and unwilling to admit, that, "unless the president declines to appeal the ruling in Log Cabin Republicans versus the United States, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy probably will remain law for years."

[Chulanowa]

10. That's very interesting; thanks for the outline

'Course I have to wonder at the ramifications of Republicans effectively being the ones to end DADT, in that case.

[CLANG]

7. That would be good short term

but longterm we need to get the SCOTUS to declare it unconstitutional. That would prevent any future presidents or congress from reinstating it on their social agendas.

[patrice]

11. Absolutely. Who wants to revisit this over and over??? RepubliBaggers. Talk about EXPENSIVE!!!!!!

Just like fetu$-feti$he$, a total WASTE of our tax dollars and time on shite that ain't even really Pro - Life!

Same with DADT and DOMA, a whole new class of folks making their careers out of and feathering their nests with strategies and bullshit that doesn't produce what THE REST OF US want!!!

[patrice]

9. Considering all of the different things that COULD be at work here, does it not stand to reason that

, since no matter what the President does it's going to cost him something that is going to piss someone else off. Been there done that. When you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, what you MUST do is decide what (set of things) you'll give for such-and-such and what (set of things) you won't give for such-and-such and opening yourself up tooooooooooo much to re-negotiating those sets just fucks you over even more. So maybe, and I really do mean just maybe (as in one probability out of numerous probabilities legitimized in gaming theory) - maybe - the reason the President hasn't done this-or-that is because no one has met any one or the other of the possible price(s) he has set.

My second husband was a highly placed corporate attorney; you CANNOT FUNCTION in that world if you start by just giving away the store to anyone and everyone who demands it.

There's a price for everything.