Update: SayUncle has linked to a story indicating that we are getting thrown under the bus.
So much for being a fierce advocate. President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice has announced that they will be filing an appeal in the case of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management.
Gill v. Office of Personnel Management is actually a separate case that was decided back in July. The injunction entered yesterday that ends enforcement of DADT was in the case of Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America and Robert Gates. Still, it’s a good indication that Obama’s administration will appeal the latest case, too.
Still, how many gays will continue to vote Democrat even after this?
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Judge orders ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ injunction
A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday immediately stopping enforcement of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, suspending the 17-year-old ban on openly gay U.S. troops.
U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips’ landmark ruling also ordered the government to suspend and discontinue all pending discharge proceedings and investigations under the policy.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal.
The question is, will Obama tell the Justice Department not to appeal?
Legal experts say the Obama administration is under no legal obligation to appeal and could let Phillips’ ruling stand.
[…]
Gay rights groups warned gay troops not to make their sexual orientation public just yet. Aaron Tax, the legal director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said he expects the Justice Department to appeal. If that happens, the case would be brought to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, where the decision could be reversed.
[…]
The case put the Obama administration in the awkward position of defending a policy it wants Congress to repeal.
It’s even more awkward politically, because he promised during his campaign to repeal it, but we’ve see very little actual movement to do so, and what we have seen has been slow, noncommittal, and half-hearted. “But what about the bill the Republicans killed?” I can hear people asking. Well, remember, that by itself wouldn’t have ended DADT.
President Obama agreed to the Pentagon study but also worked with Democrats to write a bill that would have lifted the ban, pending completion of the Defense Department review and certification from the military that troop morale wouldn’t suffer. [emphasis mine]
That legislation passed the House but was blocked in the Senate by Republicans.
See? That bill effectively left it up to the Pentagon and the Defense Department – it depended on the military agreeing to lift DADT. Does anyone really think that would have actually happened?
They also conveniently leave out the fact that the bill was actually a rider on a spending bill. Oh, and they again failed to mention the fact that DADT wasn’t the only controversial social legislation attached to that bill – there was a measure on public funding for abortions, and one on immigration policy. Any one of those, including the DADT repeal, might have killed the bill, but putting all three together certainly did. Just don’t expect the MSM to tell you that.
I’d like to think that if Obama’s administration appeals this decision that it would finally make the majority of the LGBT community realize that the Democrats are not their friends, but I don’t hold out much hope for that. Too many have been driven to the Dems because of the Republican party’s near-official antagonism toward anything non-hetero – Republicans who are LGBT friendly are seen as rare and unusual, and as bucking the party line. Too many have bought into the myth that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
To that, I can only quote Rule 29: “The enemy of my enemy is my enemy’s enemy. No more. No less.”
At best, the Democrat party is indifferent to us -neither hostile nor friendly – but sees us as useful enough to feign friendship. At worst, they are hostile to us but see us as useful enough in light of the Republicans’ open hostility to hide their own while they use us for their own gain. They’ve thrown us under the bus too many times for me to believe anything else.
Now we wait to see if Obama will do it again, knowing that so many gays will still vote for Democrat candidates whatever he chooses. After all, repealing DADT is a major political carrot he will be able to dangle in front of us for as long as it’s in effect – letting it get killed at the wrong time takes away a prime piece of bait for attracting gay voters.
What will it be Mr. President? Will you keep your promise, or will you throw us under the bus secure in the knowledge that most gays will get right back on when you tell them to?
[Source: AP Story at Yahoo! News, retrieved 10/12/10]
[Update Source: LezgetReal article, retrieved 10/13/10]
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