United States Congress | If Bush Had Done That

"RT @shonjimenez Twilight’s Taylor Lautner ‘Fame’ comic book http://bit.ly/ciQsRF" — shonjimenez

Obama backs ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

On May 25, 2010, In If Bush Had Done That, By Shon Jimenez

: Image via Wikipedia

President Obama has endorsed a “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department, the White House announced Monday, an agreement that may sidestep a key obstacle to repealing the military’s policy banning gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.

That’s all we need is a bunch of fairies corrupting the uniform of the Armed Services. Obama is not going to stop until he ruins evey facet of our once great country. Think about it an openly gay man, think Boy George, as the face of our military. Other countries will laugh at us, if they already don’t. Obama has to go in a bad way.

The compromise was finalized in meetings Monday at the White House and on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers will now, within days, vote on amendments that would repeal the Clinton-era policy, with a provision ensuring that any change would not take effect until after the Pentagon completes a study about its impact on troops. That study is due to Congress by Dec. 1.

In a letter to lawmakers pushing for a legislative repeal, White House budget director Peter Orszag wrote Monday that the administration “supports the proposed amendment.”

“Such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions,” he wrote.

While gay rights advocates hailed the move as a “dramatic breakthrough,” it remained uncertain whether the deal would secure enough votes to pass both houses of Congress. Republicans have vowed to maintain “don’t ask, don’t tell,” while conservative Democrats have said they would oppose a repeal unless military leaders made it clear that they approved of such a change.

Even if the compromise language passes, a legislative repeal would take effect only after Obama certified that the change would not harm the nation’s military readiness.

In a statement, Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said the announcement “paves the path to fulfill the President’s call to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year and puts us one step closer to removing this stain from the laws of our nation.”

The White House had initially hoped that Congress would wait until after the Pentagon study was completed before bringing up a repeal, but senior lawmakers made it clear that they intended to push ahead on the issue, with or without administration support. Now the controversial issue will return to the national conversation as fall reelection campaigns gear up.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is running for reelection and had previously supported a repeal of the law, said at a recent congressional hearing that the legislation is “imperfect but effective” and that “we should not be seeking to overturn.”

Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), a member of the House GOP leadership, said Monday of a repeal: “The American people don’t want the American military to be used to advance a liberal political agenda. And House Republicans will stand on that principle.”

While some Democrats, particularly in the House, wanted to wait for the Pentagon study to be finished, more-liberal Democrats were pushing for an immediate repeal. The compromise is designed to satisfy both concerns.

“We can live with this and we’re asking, enthusiastically, members to support and vote for it,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Rep. Patrick J. Murphy (D-Pa.), the lead sponsors of repeal legislation, promised Monday night to pursue their goal quickly.

The White House letter clears the way for votes Thursday in the House on the overall spending bill, which Democrats expect will include Murphy’s amendment. The same day, the Senate Armed Services Committee will vote on its version of the spending bill, and Lieberman will introduce the same repeal language.

“It is our firm belief that it is time to repeal this discriminatory policy that not only dishonors those who are willing to give their lives in service to their country but also prevents capable men and women with vital skills from serving in the armed forces,” Lieberman and Murphy said in a statement.

If the compromise is approved, the 1993 policy could be removed from the nation’s law books within weeks. That would satisfy one of the most significant promises Obama made to the gay community during his campaign.

Once in office, however, Obama moved slowly, often causing frustration among his gay supporters.

In February, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, said they supported a repeal of the policy. Mullen said, “I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy which forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”

But Gates angered some activists by requesting time to assess how best to make the cultural shift within the ranks.

The effort to reverse the ban accelerated with Obama’s one-sentence endorsement of a repeal in his January State of the Union address, sources close to the negotiations said. The next morning, advocates began a multimillion-dollar effort to convince six moderate members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

On Sunday, White House officials invited gay rights leaders to the White House for a Monday-morning meeting with Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and administration lawyers, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

Related Blogs

Time Magazines Piece on State of the Union

On March 17, 2010, In If Bush Had Done That, By Shon Jimenez

: Image via Wikipedia

TIME Magazine has a piece. I’m stunned. It’s on their website by Michael Scherer, but I’m still stunned. “Confident Republicans Give Obama a Frosty Reception.” This is a review of the speech that I would never expect to see anywhere, on a blog or in the dead tree version of TIME Magazine. “Stand-up comics call it a ‘tough crowd,’ but then tough crowds are part of their business. It’s a whole other matter to be met with cold stares when you are the President of the United States, talking in prime time before a joint session of Congress, when your party controls both chambers by historic margins.

“President Obama spoke the first 676 words of his State of the Union address on Wednesday night before the first hand clap. His tone was so somber, and the room’s mood so grave, that no one moved when Obama said, ‘We must answer history’s call.’ There were no ovations when he called for ‘Democrats and Republicans to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our problems.’”

The reason is nobody believes him. The Democrats have no desire to “work with Republicans.” All they want to do is say Republicans won’t come to the table. The Republicans know there’s nothing in it for them to work with Democrats. Obama “got no love for saying, ‘The worst of the storm has passed.’ By the time he announced that ‘we cut taxes for 8 million Americans paying for college,’ Obama was forced to go off script. ‘I thought I’d get some applause on that one,’ he said…” The reason he didn’t is because he hasn’t cut taxes. He’s referring to a tax rebate of a couple hundred bucks that people got, but not a tax cut. It was a lie.

Now, this is the key line: “I thought I’d get some applause on that one,” Obama said when he talked about “tax cuts” to eight million Americans paying for college. There aren’t any. He has not cut anybody’s taxes. He’s talking about tax rebates. It’s a one-time thing. Shearer points out “There was some giggling…” Obama was laughed at a lot of times last night. “[S]ome of them relented, offering the congressional version of a golf clap,” you know, making a point that it was not really applause. Shearer says, “So it went all night for the President, who a year ago came before the same body to announce, ‘Now is the time to act boldly and wisely.’ That bold wisdom has, in the course of a year, been transformed into a much more qualified vision of something short of significant legislative failure.

“‘To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills,’ he said. While the Democrats at times seemed to be considering the exits…” Have you heard this analysis of this speech anywhere in the State-Controlled Media? It’s right there at TIME Magazine. And it gets funnier. “While the Democrats at times seemed to be considering the exits, the Republicans in the crowd handled the event with a renewed sense of confidence. A few minutes before Obama arrived, Republican Representative Mike Pence, standing in Statuary Hall, explained that he had turned down a chance to run for the Senate so he could help lead Republicans back to power in the House.

“‘This is a genuine, authentic, American movement,’ he said of the” the conservative ascendency here, talking about “New Jersey, Massachusetts and Virginia. Inside the chamber, the GOP did away with the pranks and gimmicks they displayed the last time Obama addressed a joint session. Eschewing paper signs or rude interruptions, they seemed content to pass the time with the sort of cool confidence that accompanies a sense of ascendancy. House minority leader John Boehner, bronzed and cocky, kept making faces and spreading his hands in disbelief at Obama’s applause lines.

When Obama spoke about creating jobs for small business, Boehner spread his hands and cocked his head as if to say, ‘So now you’re getting it.’ “When Obama congratulated himself for not raising income taxes by ‘a single dime,’ Boehner looked incredulous — as if to say, ‘Really, he wants credit for that?’ When Obama asked ‘if anyone from either party has a better approach’ to health care reform, Boehner shot out of his seat and raised his hand. He was not called on.” Obama’s not interested in anybody else’s ideas.

Anyway, it goes on like this, ’til the last paragraph. “‘Our Administration has had some political setbacks this year, and some of them were deserved,’ he said. ‘But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year.’ Once again, in response, the chamber before him declined to offer a round of applause.”

Pelosi was trying to. She looked like a trained seal at Sea World. She was trying to get everybody out of their seats. There was some applause but, folks, the speech was a downer. It was not raucous applause. Even the traditional applause that greets the arrival of the president was not what it was.

Excerpt from Rush Limaughs website.

Buy From Taobao Agent In English Chinese Biggest Shopping Mall With Cheap Price

Related Blogs

Tagged with: Barack Obama • Democratic • Health care • John Boehner • President • republicans • United States • United States Congress

If Bush Had Done That

The Liberals Would have Hung Him

Obama backs ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

Related Blogs

Time Magazines Piece on State of the Union

Related Blogs

Posts

Supporters

Comments

Login

Twitter