Patience is Wearing Thin with Obama
Published June 10, 2009 @ 01:22PM PT
National Journal has a great interview with openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, who certainly confirms that patience is wearing thin with Obama when it comes to LGBT rights. First there's the delay in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Then there's the silence on marriage equality while four states legalize it during the first four months of his administration. (Well, OK, not total silence, given that Obama made a joke about marrying his campaign manager in Iowa, at the White House Correspondents Dinner.) Then there's the tepid response that Obama's "Pride Declaration" was met with throughout the LGBT blogosphere.
Yup, that sound sure sounds like patience slowly slipping out the door.
Here's one of the best money lines from Bishop Robinson:
National Journal: Let me ask you about Pres. Obama. There's much consternation bubbling up in the gay community that he's not visible on issues of interest to the community. Many say, for example, they'd like him to do more in trying to retract the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. And yet he's been awfully quiet since taking office on this and other issues. Do you feel like he's losing some goodwill among gays and lesbians?
Gene Robinson: I think that a number of us are beginning to be impatient with him. The argument that he's got other things on his plate really doesn't hold water since he has certainly demonstrated an ability to multitask and to tackle very, very important issues at the same time. Also, I just saw a poll -- I think it was yesterday or the day before -- showing enormous support for an end to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' even amongst the military, even amongst conservatives, amongst Republicans, not to mention the general public. I still believe that he is going to move forward on that and on the Defense of Marriage Act and so on, but I do think patience is wearing thin, and I think it's time for him to begin to give this some of his time and energy.
I know that he's put together a study committee around 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and I don't think he would have done that if he hadn't been assured of what the verdict would be. I don't know when they are due to report, but certainly when they do would be an opportune time for him to act. I think he did that so as not to fall within the same danger zone that Bill Clinton did when he tried to do it by fiat.
It's an interesting interview, with Robinson talking about New Hampshire's recent decision to enact marriage equality, and about the role that religion plays in winning the debate over marriage equality.
In the end, though, I'm left thinking that Robinson - who gave a much heralded prayer during the opening ceremonies of Obama's Inauguration (which was, subsequently, not telecast on HBO like the rest of the festivities) - is speaking for the masses when he says that Obama better start to pay attention to us, lest he start losing LGBT support by volumes.
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Comments (9)
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Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.
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Can we just stop and take a breath? The subtext here is the petulant stamping of feet and a promise to take our toys and play elsewhere. Give Obama a chance to work things out--he's not been in office six months.
Posted by Nicholas Dorochoff on 06/10/2009 @ 02:00PM PT
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I strongly recommend that President Obama does the correct thing by repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year, thus he shouldn't have started a study committee because it's already known that hundreds of soldiers have been discharged because of an intolerant policy since his Janurary. In addition, for patience to start building again, I also recommend that President Obama pressures Congress to stand up for LGBT equality.
Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 06/10/2009 @ 03:12PM PT
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Obama doesn't care about the LGBT community and the people who plead for greater patience are grasping at straws here. The public is in favour of the repeal of DADT and even conservative politicians are saying we ought to get rid of this policy. In light of this, it's hard to see how issuing a stop-loss order while the policy is reviewed could cost Obama political capital. If he was the "fierce advocate for LGBT rights" that he made himself out to be in the election campaign, he would have kept pushing the Senate to pass the Hate Crimes Bill and told them to quit stalling and get it passed (get this, the Dems will soon have a 60 seat majority in Congress and are STILL having trouble to get this passed?!), and he would push for true marriage equality instead of insulting our community with civil unions (many of us are leading more exemplary lives than the heteros). Even Hillary has done more at this stage for us than the President. I do think that there are some fantastic people you can take at face value in this administration (Leahy, Abercrombie, Nadler, Baldwin, Schumer and Kerry for starters) but the segregationist in chief is not one of them. The number of people who won't vote for this guy again if we don't have a full DADT repeal, passage of ENDA, the Shepard Act and LGBT-inclusive immigration omnibus reform and at the very least active steps towards repealing DOMA before the 2012 election.
Posted by Tim Kopp on 06/10/2009 @ 06:11PM PT
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d'oh, didn't finish that last sentence properly. Meant to say: "the number of people who won't vote for this guy again (...) will keep increasing as long as Obama continues on this course".
Posted by Tim Kopp on 06/10/2009 @ 06:15PM PT
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Tim, I agree with you with the exception that although President Obama isn't necessarily a "fierce advocate" as he claims, at least he isn't the blatant enemy that we had in the Shrub.
Posted by Dave Hershey on 06/10/2009 @ 10:44PM PT
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I agree. Mr. Obama does seem to be dragging his feet a bit with regards to keeping his promises to his GLBT constituents.
As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently stated, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.” All Americans regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation should be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Just as America defaulted on its “ promissory note ” with African-Americans, it continues to default on its “ promissory note ” to gay Americans. And instead of honoring this “ promissory note,” the US government simply writes “ bad checks ” to gay Americans, and these checks always come back with “insufficient funds” stamped on them. Still, gay Americans endure this inequality even as they pay taxes which are then used to subsidize the full citizenship of their straight neighbors who live on Main Street USA.
Equality for Mr. Obama's GLBT constituents should not be restricted to two days out of the year---- April 15th and November 4th. To quote Spike Lee, it is indeed time for Mr. Obama to step up to the plate and “DO THE RIGHT THING.”
Posted by Bryan D. Freehling on 06/11/2009 @ 12:05AM PT
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One of JTIMA sent me this article that I found very interesting:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/10/cobb.obama.gays/index.html
I think the President will gain the political capital instead of losing it if he repeals DADT.
Posted by Peter Tantakarn on 06/11/2009 @ 12:15AM PT
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I'm really getting angry that the president seems to be not only dragging his heels ( no pun intended) on DADO, but also he seems to be instructing his press secretary to avoid the issue, as well. I worked for his campaign- after Hillary left,that is- but, now I'm feeling neglected.
Posted by gilbert barrett on 06/11/2009 @ 12:15PM PT
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After WWII President Truman issued an executive order fully integrating all branches of the US military. Prior to his order, African-Americans could only serve as mess stewards (waiters and cooks) stevedores, or boiler room workers in the navy, in the army they were segregated in all-black units with white officers. The Pentagon and the all white officer corps of the services were vehemently opposed to Truman's order because it would be detrimental to morale and discipline. The vast majority of the American public were likewise opposed. Truman's order stood anyway. In the sixties, while I was in the army, during the Vietnam War, President Johnson initiated a program of affirmative action in order to bring equity in promotions in both the officer corps and NCO corps. Photographs had to be submitted to centralized promotion boards so that the boards could guarantee the races had proportional representation at all rank levels. This policy also was opposed by the Pentagon as being bad for moral and discipline. It stood. As a result General Collin Powell got those promotions that he well deserved and earned. Without that policy he probably never would have made it past major because of the terrible prejudice in the mostly white officer corps of the time. NOW is the right time President Obama. Show a fraction of the courage of Truman and Johnson. STOP the discharges under DADT NOW!
Posted by Gary Allmon on 06/11/2009 @ 06:27PM PT
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