John Aravosis- White House admits Obama "benefits" speech simply political ploy

AMERICAblog stays on the warpath.

Shrieking Aravosis headline "White House admits .. speech simply political ploy." Supposed Aravosis evidence? "blockbuster NYT story"!

Aravosis writes: The White House actually admitted to the NYT that they were offering the benefits to help contain the "growing furor among gay rights groups"

It's dishonest on multiple levels. The actual NYT story says "administration officials said the timing of the announcement was intended to help contain the growing furor among gay rights groups." The claim is made anonymously; there's no indication where the claim originated; and there's not even a direct quote. Past experience suggests "administration officials" could be anyone anywhere in the Executive, including Bush hold-overs. But Aravosis claims the assertion into statement by White House officials, and even puts the language "growing furor among gay rights groups" into the mouths of those officials. It's mendacious -- and we've seen stinky like this from the rightwing noise machine for years

If you are doing something mostly to quickly "appease" angry people, the last thing you should do is tell the NYT.

Just... well.... this isn't "political chess" that I know of.

believe this shit article.

I suspect he's a buddy of Turley. Georgetown Uni cat.

for Obama, he organized getting Dr. Laura kicked off tv and he is a genuine activist dem. Jeez. KNow who you are slandering first. Ok?

get a 'gripe'? Jeez. Another moran moment.

Hyperventilating, fact-challenged blog entries = super fun excitement time for outrage junkies!

:woohoo:

Two days before an embarrassment of no-shows at the gay fundraiser, where they'll take our money and then crap on us?

...and color me less than thrilled about this:

The Memorandum follows a review by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management ant the Secretary of State regarding what benefits may be extended to the same-sex partners of federal employees in the civil service and the foreign service within the confines of existing federal laws and statutes.

"...within the confines of existing federal laws and statutes" means they have one unmovable obstacle when it comes to extending meaningful benefits: DOMA, the same law that the DoJ defended so gleefully and offensively only last week. We'll get moving benefits, and that's about it. They had to work for MONTHS on that? Laughable.

Yeah, well when it comes to the law Congress should be moving on this don't you think? It's Congress that passes the laws. Obama has already spoken to the Pentagon and he has said over and over again he's waiting for Congress to make a move on this. Since normally they write the legislation so they can get passed. Yet not a damn soul in Congress (gay or otherwise) seems to be on top of this and I don't see you or anyone talking about that.

As for the DOJ and everything that is going on. I'm fully aware that DOMA and DADT are an obstacle and an outrage and Obama is aware of it and seems to share the same disgust. However, you need a legislation that follows the bloody process. I thought people here were all about rule of law and that sort of stuff. If you care about it so much, how much you don't understand the process involved and the division of power. We still have a law to contend with and it probably took months for a valid reason. The SOS and OPM are not working on one thing you know that right? They are working on multitude of projects at once. They obviously were working on this while everyone was upset and thinking Obama cared not at all.


So there are things we are not privy too in regards to the administration. And since we have DOMA and DADT are bloody laws the SOS probably took a very long time b/c they wanted to see what they could do within the law without breaking it.


Look, Bush is not president any more. What does that mean? There is no ram rodding through the division of power. There is no shitting on the rule of law, there is no being an ultimate power. There is process and each department is specific and has specific duties and priorities. If that can't be respected there's nothing more to say. You act like the DOJ intentionally had a party over the defense of this. You do realize that the DOJ processes tens of thousands of claims a day? You are aware of that right?

Recognize that you we are not all privy to all the information and if you think that there is no bureaucracy that you actually find it laughable is even sadder. If you're not realizing that there are laws that take time to weed through, I can't bother on with this discussion.

Take a look at some of the posts here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8468149

That line of defense doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Some of it is regurgitated...but I made my point. If you can't get how many things are being worked on and you're selfish enough to assume there is ONLY one issue at hand. Then there's nothing I can do for that. Further more, there are a lot of things at play and being worked out since this is how the gov works. I figured most people were aware there is not just one thing on the table, but many. Your post however states otherwise.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8478801&mesg_id=8479061

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8477845&mesg_id=8478240

"The Memorandum will also request the heads of all other executive branch departments and agencies to conduct internal reviews to determine whether other benefits they administer might be similarly extended, and to report the results of those reviews to the Director of OPM."

In other words, the State Department has been, independently it would seem, examining this for months. No other Executive departments though.

Looks like Hillary's at least thinking about what she can do for the team... sounds like they had a brainstorming session about what bone they could toss to the GLBT community... and this was the best they had handy.

Credit to Hillary and the State Department... seems I misjudged her during the primaries, and for that I apologize to her.

First off the months statement is not from me but from the WH memorandum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8477371&mesg_id=8477371

Note:

You can state they are lieing...because I got it from them. So in affect the White House is therefore lying in your estimation. Good to know.

Here is a link to how the SOS and OPM work:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8477371&mesg_id=8477528

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I hope the gay (and other) media makes this crystal clear when reporting on this.

About Me

John Aravosis is a Washington DC-based writer and political consultant, specializing in using the Internet for politics. He is the editor of AMERICAblog.com, one of America's top progressive political blogs, with over 300,000 unique visitors per month. John has a joint law degree and masters in foreign service from Georgetown, and his writing experience includes working as a stringer for the Economist magazine and RADAR. Washingtonian magazine’s annual “50 Best Journalists” issue named John one of “journalism's rising stars, those likely to have a major impact in coming years.” John has also been honored as one of the “Out 100,” and as one of the fifty “most powerful gay men and women in America.” John’s policy experience includes stints in the US Senate, the World Bank, and the Children's Defense Fund. John is also an occasional TV pundit, and has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, ABC News, Nightline, CNN and more. John speaks five languages and has visited or worked in 28 countries, including giving lectures about the Internet and politics (in English, French, Spanish, and Italian) in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Indonesia and Cote d'Ivoire.

And just a reminder, he was totally against Clinton last year and was a huge Obama partisan. For those who are so fond of facts. People here loved him last year. Bueller? Bueller?

edit to add, this is a general notice. I agree with John. I read the NYT story last night at midnight when it broke.

judge each of his blog entries on their own merits?

"another pissed-off Far Left blogger who doesn't know what he's talking about" are wrong. He DOES know what he's talking about. Agree or disagree with him as you will, but the reasoning should be based on argument, not shredding the credibility of the messenger.

the reasoning does seem to be based on his being fact-challenged. Again.

He gave a link.

He is a blogger and has a definite point of view but I read the article itself.

"But administration officials said the timing of the announcement was intended to help contain the growing furor among gay rights groups. Several gay donors withdrew their sponsorship of a Democratic National Committee fund-raising event next week, where Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is scheduled to speak."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/us/politics/17gays.html?_r=1

The White House might have timed the announcement, but this has been in the works for months per the White House memo that was released this morning.

Avarosis made it seem like the benefits were only being offered because of the criticism Obama's been getting recently. That's not true.

This is why I stopped reading Avarosis. I'm tired of his fact challenged rants.

Now, that doesn't mean they didn't intend to do it all along, I agree.

But when you tell the NYT off the record that is why it's being pushed now, it kinda loses any effectiveness at healing the rift.

It would be a lot better if Obama just came out and distanced himself from the DOJ language that pissed so many people off to begin with.

If it was off the record, perhaps that is why it was off the record.

Sad how easy it is to make people dance around like puppets on strings... but what else is the M$M good for anyway?

Come on now. It's the way they get a message out without having their name attached to it.

Which is why this was so lame, frankly, it's a stupid thing to admit.

happens. he isn't god. he needs to be challenged to be the best man that we all know he is when he is wrong and it is WRONG to not distance or undo the fucking language. Put in black, native american or southern or anyother thing in that brief and tell me there wouldn't be blood on the snow over it.

on his woeful, as of yet, gay rights record.

Sorry, that's just silly.

Yes, DADT needs to be purged now, DOMA is a pile of shit that must be swept away, and the memo was a disgrace. Yes, Obama has been slower out of the gate than I preferred on these issues. But progress is...progress.

If you were stripped of marriage rights...could be fired because you're gay, or refused housing, or if you could lose a 20 year career with the military for the simple fact of your sexuality how much 'progress' do you think you'd find in a meaningless sop that at most will give a select few moving benefits?

Progress my ass. This is just a circus show to shut us up - and we're not going anywhere.

And i'm sorry you miss the point of my post above.

it is partially irrelvent to the criticism, that said, this is about the least he could do and unless it is accompanied by a call to pass legislation, which the NYT articles says it won't be, then it really won't do much. No health care, no retirement benefits. I am not familiar with all the benefits that federal government employees get but for me that would give me use of sick days (which most people already would have unless their boss is a cretin) and employee discounts. Yes, it is something but not a huge deal.

http://www.ltcfeds.com/

It's mostly for the elderly or chronically ill, however.

:D I have so many people on ignore in here, GDP has practically disappeared. John and Rachel are doing just great. John has a new interesting twist breaking on this too. Posting it in this forum would probably cause it to blow up though.

Just read it. Interesting that federal employees aren't getting anything new than they get now. Such fierce advocacy!

That really sucks. I have some family this affects so I've been watching this story for them too. If I hear different from them, I'll pass that along.

with their half assed approach.

He is pissed off because this plan, not even finished, was rushed out the door to try to shut up the LGBT folks who are legitimately pissed off right now and planning to boycott their little fund raiser.

It's backhanded and kind of insulting that they think this would "settle things" when it's not much to brag about in the specifics.

I would be pissed off, too.

said anything about that? I really don't believe the crap I see in the newspapers and blogs that have an agenda..they don't have a realiable history.

If I knew when the memo came out that it was on the eve of a big DNC fundraiser and that gays and human rights activists where boycotting, it only takes two brain cells to figure out why.

If Obama waited until the plan was finished there be the endless complaints until then that he hasn't done anything for gays. Either way it seems people are determined to bitch no matter what he did

offhand we have: Krugman, Stiglitz, Galbraith, Maher, Olbermann, Maddow, Aravosis, Uygar, and Turley. I know I'm forgetting quite a few. McCarthy would be ashamed.

It must be getting lonely on Cheerleader Island.

I'm thinking of Lord of the Flies right about now.


:rofl:

Gawd, no kidding. They've got the warpaint on and have rounded up half the island in the cave. And now they're coming for US!

I wouldn't sweat it too much.

~sigh~

Get The Hates Crime Bill Passed, then follow it up with DADT and then DOMA. He had his stuff planned out.

But sorry, the culture wars continue. Do we want the GOP, the Fundies right, the media, to go non stop politicizing the three bills-Hate crimes, DOMA and DADT, with the distraction, and try to do Health Care, Climate and Regulation.

We want it all.

The perfect is still the enemy of the good, as ever.

wow.




*edit for reading comprehension.

Doled out just before they are asked for MONEY.

It's a tiny step, but that's a crumb I'll take.

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Can't blame you for making the most of this shit fest.

...and is amazed to find that it involves give and take. But hey, any excuse to overuse the word "simply," eh?

http://www.americablog.com/2009/06/nbc-yet-todays-presidential-memo-is.html

NBC: "Yet today’s presidential memo is a reactive attempt to quell the anger"
by Joe Sudbay (DC) on 6/17/2009 10:13:00 AM
NBC's First Read seems to grasp what's really going on today at the White House:

Also today, at 5:45 pm ET, Obama signs a presidential memo granting same-sex benefits to federal workers. This move, however, seems mostly about placating gay-rights advocates who have been angered by 1) the administration’s hesitance in overturning “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; 2) its brief defending the Defense of Marriage Act, which Obama has promised to repeal; and 3) Obama’s invitation of Rev. Rick Warren to deliver the prayer at the inauguration. In fact, some wealthy gay supporters of Obama have become so mad that they’re taking their names off an upcoming Biden fundraiser. Of course, the Obama White House has been very reluctant to get involved in cultural issues, and it seems intent on avoiding all the early mistakes Bill Clinton made (like “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”). Yet today’s presidential memo is a reactive attempt to quell the anger coming from the gay community. But even the memo doesn’t seem to go far enough for gay-rights advocates. For one thing, as the New York Times notes, the benefits for same-sex couples won’t be extended to health care.

The obsession with not repeating the mistakes of 1993 has resulted in a huge mistake in 2009. Somehow, despite all the progress and the massive shift in public opinion on gay issues since the early 90s, at the White House, the conventional wisdom on gay-related issues has been dialed back to 1993. The very top staffers at the White House have either fomented that perception or let it fester. There's a part of me that feels like this was a very cynical political ploy -- almost as if they want to have the gay community upset with them. It has been one thing after another and we're always told how smart everyone at the White House is. So, it really feels deliberate. They only decided it was a problem when the gay ATM started to shut down.

This is part of a bigger problem with progressive causes and the professional Democrats in DC. During campaigns, they want our money, our support, our blog posts, but once they win, we're not needed. Even worse, they view us as a problem. Many of them forget that they have their tax-payer financed jobs and benefits because of the work so many of us did. That has to stop. Democrats need to remember who their friends are even after they are elected and stop kissing the butts of those who work to defeat them.

And, one note to NBC: I don't consider my rights, or lack thereof, to be a "cultural issue." That's demeaning.

There will be many more years of back-and-forth before the opposition will concede the fundamental humanity of the objects of their hatred. This was never, ever going to happen all at once.

Presidency- D
Congress- D
Senate- D

Corporate money
Corporate money
Corporate money

Homophobia drives too many pinheads to vote in favor of increased corporate power.

If it's repugs, they are out of power. If it's Democrats you're referring to, then you agree.

Both parties oppose equality, whether in or out of power.

*edit for clarity

Obama doesn't have the political capital, he thinks, to spend on this issue. Ditto for Congress. We have to give it to them.

we can get all our votes to stay in line. Add that really only about 30% or less of the country really identifies with the "r's", they are significantly overrepresented in Congress, especially in the Senate and they do a damn good job of "walking lockstep". It takes just a precious few defectors from our side to derail us on anything. We don't have fifty votes that we don't have to compromise to get. The "r's" matter, they have the strongest base voting block on the hill. They could get at least 35 votes together in the Senate and 100% in the batshit House to ban Rock and Roll, apple pie, and/or the laughter of children.

So useful when people just won't leave Britney alone.