NYT: Obama let Gates 'set a slow pace in overturning' DADT (Fierce!)

[Bluebear]

You may recall that on April 30, 2010, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sent a "strongly worded" letter to Capitol Hill making it clear that he did not want legislative action on the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell this year. That confirmed what SLDN had been hearing via "multiple reports" from Capitol Hill: Obama administration officials had been urging Congress not to vote on DADT this year.

It was Obama who repeatedly promised to end DADT -- and he reaffirmed that commitment in his State of the Union. But, Obama has let Gates set the agenda on DADT:

Mr. Obama has relied on Mr. Gates as his ambassador to the military and deferred to him repeatedly. When Mr. Gates wanted to force out Gen. David D. McKiernan in May 2009 as commander in Afghanistan in favor of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, Mr. Obama signed off. Likewise, cognizant of Bill Clinton’s ill-fated effort to end the ban on gay and lesbian soldiers, Mr. Obama let Mr. Gates set a slow pace in overturning the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, even though it has disappointed gay rights advocates.

Yes, that "slow pace" it has indeed disappointed gay rights advocates. We're going to be even more disappointed -- actually quite angry -- if the compromise DADT repeal language isn't signed into law this year. The looming problem is that the "slow pace" set by Gates may take us into the next Congress. And, if Democrats lose control of the House, there will be no repeal.

http://gay.americablog.com/2010/08/nyt-obama-let-gates-set-slow-pace-in.html

[David Zephyr]

1. Bluebear, I think that the report back to the President has a deadline this year.

From what I understand from how Rachel Maddow explained Obama's directive, the report is not whether or not to implement the end to DADT, but how to do it and to begin doing so.

[Bluebear]

2. Yes, they are currently "polling" active servicemember's SPOUSES to weigh in on it.

As you know, "Obama can't change DADT, Congress has to do it"...if we lose the House in November, forget about it.

This is a disgraceful lack of Presidential leadership, DZ.

[mitchtv]

5. I think the operative word here is

"squander"

[Bluebear]

11. :nodding:

[Radical Activist]

10. Except for the lame duck session of Congress in December

that you keep pretending doesn't exist. It will be the same Congress we have now.

[mitchtv]

12. HOPE

springs eternal

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RKP5637]

4. None want to upset the apple cart in a mid-term election year... of course, it seems

we are always preparing to prepare...

[dsc]

6. I fear we may see, at the end of this Congress, that the one and only

gay related accomplishment was hate crimes, which was about the least they could have done. I hope my fears are wrong and we will see repeal of DADT as well but it is looking increasingly likely that we won't. Coupled with either a loss of the House or the loss of enough seats in the Senate we could easily go the rest of Obama's term with no accomplishments at all. This for a group which voted 7 to 3 Democratic.

[terrya]

7. I think there's a better than even chance DADT repeal will NEVER happen

This "slow pace" bullshit only allows the anti-repeal advocates to gain more influence. And even IF the Democrats retain control of Congress next year, it's a certainty they'll have vastly smaller majorities. DADT repeal hasn't even been taken up by the Senate at all...and we've seen what can happen to legislation in the Senate.

[AndyA]

8. So I guess equality isn't that big of a deal to Obama. Oh the irony...

Thanks a lot, Barack. I guess the back of the bus wasn't really all that bad, right? :eyes:

[Radical Activist]

9. "But as he grows in the job, Mr. Obama has shown more willingness to set aside Mr. Gates’s advice."

You must have left that out by mistake. I'm sure you wouldn't quote something out of context to mislead people.

“The President’s commitment to repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is unequivocal. This is not a question of if, but how,” said the statement. “That’s why we’ve said that the implementation of any congressional repeal will be delayed until the DOD study of how best to implement that repeal is completed. The President is committed to getting this done both soon and right.”

http://www.keennewsservice.com/2010/05/05/white-house-will-wait-on-dod-study-before-dadt-repeal-push/