Tweet
For months, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has responded to questions about President Obama’s support for the repeal of Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell by saying that the President seeks a long-term, legislative solution. Many organizations, including the Palm Center, have responded with careful analysis that shows that the President has the power to end the witch hunts, investigations, and discharges under DADT. Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lamented that he has no Senate sponsor of repeal legislation and that he hopes DADT can be ended "administratively."
"I haven’t identified any sponsors," he said. "My hope is that it can be done administratively."
A Democratic aide later clarified that Reid was speaking about the possibility of using an executive order to suspend discharges or perhaps halting enforcement of the policy by changing departmental regulations within the Department of Defense.
The New York Times has endorsed the President’s authority to end enforcement of this discriminatory statute with the stroke of a pen as well.
Referring to Obama’s stroke-of-the-pen authority to issue stop-loss orders which prevent service members from leaving the military, the Times states, “How much better to use the power to prevent the loss of gay service members eager to keep serving.”
The Times joins a growing chorus calling for an executive action including Congressman Rush Holt, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean, and Knights Out, an organization of West Point graduates co-founded by Dan Choi, the Arabic translator about to be discharged because he’s gay.
If there is no initiative in the United States Senate to repeal DADT, is it time for the President to exercise his executive authority? Harry Reid says yes.
16 Comments
This seems like a very public rebuke of the White House strategy by Harry Reid.
I hope someone will ask Bobby Gibbs, “What now?”
Not one Senator will sponsor?
Apparently not. Harry Reid could have said, “I’ll sponsor it, since the President has made this a priority.”
But no.
What a bunch of cowards, every last one of them. Gays and lesbians are willing to risk their lives to serve their country and these cowards in the Senate can’t stand up to back them.
A total disgrace.
69% of Americans in the Gallup poll last week favor allowing gays and lesbians to serve. 54% of Republicans, even!
What now???
Don’t expect Obama to do the right thing. He can’t afford to be linked to the end of civilization as we know it by endorsing any kind of rights for gays.
Change we can believe in.
Oh, but we got a wonderful June Pride Month proclamation! And there’s a gay guy in charge of federal HR.
Hooray~!
And the marching band at the inaugural.
Oh, the BAND — I forgot!
The President wants a legislative solution…..
But in the mean time what is wrong with the stroke of a pen, and the inevitable realization that the military does NOT automatically self destruct when you allow gays (or blacks, or women) to serve.
I knew Harry for many years and above all else he is a Mormon and he is taking heat from Mormon Central for not advocating their agenda which is identical to Iran’s only Mormons would have Bishops on every corner with a beating sticks.
I have informed my Democratic US Senator never to contact me again by any means and of course all future donations to her and DNC are Null and Void.
The Mojo Man in the White House has Screwed, Blued and Tattooed the future of the Democratic party and the entire country.
I think I’m hearing the Fat Lady Singing!
A long-term legislative solution is the best idea, of course.
But if the President’s main man on Capitol Hill says “do it administratively, please” then I think the legislative route has been foreclosed.
Harry’s homestate approval numbers aren’t looking too good, and he’s up for reelection next year. We are seeing the same problem as with Daschle: a Majority Leader from a red state who needs to tack to the right to win reelection. Having a red state Majority Leader is the problem — you never see the GOP pick a leader who’s at risk at home. But Democrats do it, over and over.
Harry should step aside as Majority Leader to tend his homefires.
Re-writing Harry’s “I can’t find a sponsor” to add “even myself.”
Crap, why doesn’t Obama see that he can afford to take the heat for this [and thus he ought to do it administratively], instead of hiding and asking the lily-livered Dems, esp. those up for re-election, to do it.
What’s he got to lose, this early in his term, by doing this? You’d also think he’d earn a bunch of GRATITUDE from the cowardly congressional weasels by allowing them to avoid a vote that might [to their feeble brains] be unpopular back home. He could then say, “I gave you this, now you give me . . . “
I can’t understand why this sort of “compromise” or “bringing two sides together” isn’t being proposed.
“Harry Reid lamented that he has no Senate sponsor of repeal legislation”
Um, so, is there some Senate rule that the Majority Leader can’t sponsor legislation? Or, if he really wants it to happen, could he just go ahead and introduce the bill himself? If he couldn’t, why doesn’t he have an informal chat with somebody who would if their leader asked nicely?