Obama: Go slower on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

From The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20080918_Obama__Go_slower_on__Don_t_Ask__Don_t_Tell_.html

In an interview with Mark Segal of the Philadelphia Gay News, Barack Obama indicated that he would not proceed unilaterally in fulfilling his promise to do away with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.

Instead, the Democratic presidential candidate said that he would work through a step-by-step process with the military brass.

"The reason," Obama said, "is because I want to make sure that when we revert 'don't ask, don't tell,' it's gone through a process and we've built a consensus or at least a clarity of that, of what my expectations are, so that it works."

Under the current policy, adopted in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, military recruits are not supposed to be asked about their sexual orientation. Clinton had wanted to let gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals serve openly, but he encountered resistance.

Obama also said he would be reluctant to instruct his attorney general to go to court to try to overturn the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and gives states the right not to recognize such unions.

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:mad:

..what surprises me is the way some here think Barry's gonna fight for gay and lesbian causes. He ain't gonna, never has, never will. Now, we can all agree that he'll be better than Mccain, but please don't make him out to be some sort of savior. He's simply a politician with an agenda, and we'll get scraps from the table, just like we always have.

It'll happen, he just won't do it with a stroke of a pen. Considering the mess Clinton got into when he tried, I think it might be wise.

I've thought this all along. He doesn't want another 1993. No one does.

Obama isn't saying he wants to keep DADT in place. He wants to do repeal right. Remember, the Pentagon still supports DADT. This has to be done carefully.

This is wise of him to adopt a cautious approach.

:hi:

Nice to see ya!

It's so nice seeing you around here!

:hi:

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What the hell kind of a thing is that to say on a "Democratic" site in the LGBT forum? Jeesus.

That's it. It's not a very "democratic" site in the end.

that the people who are so heavily supporting "hope and change" can feel entitled to come into a forum like this one and tell others who are worried about their rights as citizens to shut the fuck up. Now that is some "hope and change" for ya. :eyes: Audacity yes, but "hope and change"?

So support means to you that we should shut the fuck up and never feel obligated to discuss issues that we are concerned about? Support means to you that all should just lock step their way and "hope" for the "change" and "hope" once again that the "change" will happen for them. "Hopefully" that "change" will be good but there is really no reason to be certain of that.

I did not see anywhere that the OP said they were not going to support Obama but you felt the overwhelming need to come into the discussion and tell people to shut the fuck up.

I think you just like to tell people to shut up and do what you think they should do. Sucks to be you, must be difficult when people don't comply.

Yours is a message of despair and more of the same.

Weakness towards our candidate now will alienate voters who are on the fence. It did it for Gore. It especially did it for Kerry. They came at points across as weak. The party came at points across as divided. We cannot afford that this time. When it comes down to it it come down to this. Do you honestly think that Obama will VETO a bill giving equal rights to same-sex couples on a federal level if it were to make it to his desk? Do you think that McSame will? Equal rights is the next stepping stone. Unfortunately, it is not something that he can say aloud at this point. The so-called "gay agenda" will alienate many voters who are woefully ignorant of our cause and yet will still likely vote Democratic otherwise. If we want equal rights, it will have to come from the people to Congress and up not from the top down. A movement through Congress will diffuse responsibility and culpability and likely stop the party from losing seats because of this issue. The stigma left in this country on GLBTQ rights (asinine as it is) still poses a large problem for the Democratic Majority. As we all know, we are not yet the most popular group at the party. And sadly, we are a liability it it sometimes. I wish it wasn't so. And I'm there with you voicing disappointment over our lack of progress. But we cannot show division in the ranks, not this close to the election, as a McPlain administration would be disastrous to our chances at equal rights in the next four to eight years. There is a bright side though. The party has already begun moving this nation to the left again. It also took what amounts to a political leap of faith when in Obama's acceptance speech he spoke (albeit briefly) about equal treatment for "gay and lesbian" people. It is therefore, part of the party platform now. What comes of it, may well be seen after the election. I don't know. But electing McSame will be a set back, I'm sure of that.

NTF

I can't tell you what I think of what you just wrote.

Can't show division? Ha! That kind of thinking is what got us where we are now. The constituents of both sides are the same anymore, all advocating for blind acceptance with the caveat that our elected officials will listen when we are in office. Really? How is that working for us now?

If you really wish it was not so then change it. It will never be changed by just going along and it will never be changed unless we demand that our officials stand up for the constitution in every way. The only way we have left is with our vote. To advocate that people just fall in line or not show division so we can win will never make this any better.

Equality will not happen unless we make a very big noise. It will never happen when our candidates are too chicken shit to advocate for it. If nobody is willing to make it a big issue then nobody will ever think it is a big issue. It is a HUGE issue. They are a bunch of cowards. Jeesus, we have Republicans in Kansas sticking up and standing strongly for equality, more than some of the Democrats here, yet our national politicians are afraid. **I forgot, winning is everything. Funny, when I win I like to have a good feeling about it.

People will make up their own minds and I don't think what I do or what anyone else does makes that much of a difference. If you can't question your own candidate before you vote for him then why in the hell would you ever vote for him?

If the game now requires no integrity then the game is over and that is exactly what it appears to be.

Just a few thoughts, the rest I will keep to myself.

His (or her) attitude is what I find troubling about DU, the either with us or against us mentality, this blind obedience to everything Obama says and does. It borders on fascism, something I've always seen in the Repuke mentality, and its troubling seeing it on our side. Ciriticism does not show weakness at all, it simply shows that there's work to be done.

I miss our tennis discussions! Maybe next year at the slams.

To me following the leader shows tremendous amounts of weakness in people. No creative thinking and certainly no critical thinking. It worries me and frustrates me. We should all be able to say what we want to have our candidates do and be able to work it out in any way we need to without being chastised for it. I am afraid those days are over. You pick a side and you stay with that side no matter what because the other side has to be worse, doesn't it? Even if they are both the same. The other side is our enemy always. Good guys and bad guys. Reminds me of church where faith, not critical thinking, is the way to go.

We are too fucking lazy to think for ourselves anymore.

We need more mirrors around this site.

I can't say more, it would be mean and mostly it is very personal, kinda like our voting is supposed to be.

I fell for it all the last time and it WILL be the last time I fall for it. Fool me once and I will kick your ass. :P

:hi:

Roger to break Sampras' record...and...Dinara Safina to win a Slam. :hi:

That is exactly what I want. I really really like Safina and of course I am totally in love with Federer. :)

final breakthrough! I was thrilled Roger won the US Open since it had been since a tough year for him.

And if you don't want to accept that responsibility then take your divisiveness elsewhere. So many of us live in this happy little world where everything's going to be okay if all we do is ASK for our rights. It doesn't work that way. Even if we by some shot in the dark elected (my preferred candidate btw) Dennis Kucinich, we would not have gained equality outright. It is a process. We cannot skip steps. Too many people in this nation are still edgy about us. We won't gain our rights until that is fixed. That cannot be fixed in the legislature or the executive office. It must be fixed from the bottom up.

Have we as a people forgotten how to affect change? It's ridiculous that I even have to say this, but have we? We talk about sequestering our postings here in DU to the GLBT forum because the others won't understand. We swiftboat the ONLY chance we have at ANY progress RIGHT NOW in Obama. What the hell is going on here? These are the sorts of conversations I expect to have with elderly relatives but the difference is that the point of contention is that he's BLACK. Not here, not on DU. What is going on here?

He is better than McSame and we must elect him just for that reason. It may not be as large a step forward as you or I would want, but it's not a step backwards. I ask you if you think that Obama would veto a bill giving GLBTQ (or in all likelihood G&L people, as this nation is still woefully ignorant) equal rights. Would McSame?

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You're a real piece of work, aren't you?

Thanks for confirming it.

That we have an infinite number of choices in this election. Reality check. It's Obama or McSame. You pick. You don't have to like it. But you do have a responsibility to elect the person who is best for this nation and for us as a community. There are only two choices. This isn't a fanciful dream world where we always get what we want. We have to make do with what we've got and move on into the future always striving for our goals but not throwing the baby out with the bathwater at the same time.

You lost all credibility with me with your first post.

I was not particularly attacking you. So, respectfully, back off.

Respectfully, FUCK YOU.

An ally would have apologized for the "Otherwise. STFU." remark by now.

It's massively disrespectful.

But if you'd like... I'll change what I said to STFU IMHO. Does that help?

:eyes:

And I am sorry if my choice of words was offensive. I tend to hold a different view on language than the average person.

Cheers!
NTF.

is unfort. all we have left to choose from. I don't want to get involved in whatever fight is going on between members in this thread - I've only read part of what is being said and would rather stay out of it. However, I agree with what you have said about us being left with these 2 choices and that we have a responsibility to make the best one for our country and community.

Personally, I am not an Obama fan. I think he is alright, but I would not normally ever vote for him even as a Democrat because while I agree with some of his views, there are others I flat out don't. I also don't feel overall he will make a strong leader for our country. However, the only choice at this point is McSame/McCorpse/McBush and one of the worst people ever seen in politics, outside of junior, and that is Palin. This election I will be voting for Obama - not because I believe he is who I want as a President, but for one reason only ---- fear. Complete and unadulterated fear not only of what will happen if McCain wins, but worst of all, what kind of disaster of country and gay people will be in if Palin gets her hands on the White House.

And in all honesty, until Poison Palin joined the ticket I was not going to vote this year formally because I am so disgusted that McCain vs. Obama is what we have to choose from. I was instead going to write-in Bugs Bunny as my choice for President, with Tweety Bird as VP. :-) Looks like Bugs is going to have to wait till the following election.

It's times like this election that I truly wish we didn't have a system that left us with only 2 candidates to choose from for the Presidency. Likewise, I wish our system did away with the electoral vote. The will of the people is what should matter most, not the will of politicians.

The fact is he can't repeal by executive order (the sodomy law is still part of the Military's code of conduct). But I do have to admit to a little joy finding Obama supporters who refused to accept this when I said it to defend Clinton now adopt the very same reasoning to defend Obama. Turns out I was right. I can't defend the DOMA thing and yes, I am a bit angry at it since Obama supporters regularly pilloried Hillary for her support of part of DOMA and now it turns out Obama won't do anything about DOMA, quelle surprise?

things...to the Obama supporters, it makes all the sense in the world to have chastised Hilary then and now praise Obama for doing the same thing.

HIT the nail on the head

....I guess commenting on human nature is off limits now...let's fall in line, praise the One, don't make waves, et al..., et seq...

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:wtf:

He could sign an executive order and the Military's code of conduct would have to be revised to reflect what is in the order.

which means the President can't just ignore or change it without Congressional approval.

is one of the most homophobic, discriminatory elements within our country....and has blatantly been so since it's start. All of which is paid for by our tax dollars. The don't ask, don't tell policy is far from fair, but the alternative before it was no protection in our military for gay and bisexual people, and anyone suspected of being gay, at all.

Under the circumstances, I believe Clinton did the best he could for us. Whether Obama will actually do away with the don't ask, don't tell policy and replace it with something better is nothing I'm going to hold my breath over because I don't believe true progress with this issue is going to happen in one term of Presidency and possibly not even with 2 consecutive terms. The military's homophobia and their disgusting arrogance that they should have the right to harass and dismiss gay men and lesbians as they see fit is not going to change easily regardless what a given President and/or Congress decides.

The military is a world onto itself that believes they follow their own rules. To change that thinking it is going to take a determined President and Congress to end the bigotry as well as a heavy hand with the military to make them change. So no matter what Obama's approach on it is - slow or fast, actual results won't occur till well after he's gone.

Shoot, it may have been a little hot but I thought we were having some interesting discourse here. Who was that upset?

Whatever, sorry if I caused that part of the thread to be deleted. I will go now and stop fighting in the threads here. :hi:

Edit to add a t to what. Damn.

as that is how they were created. Obama supports repealing DADT and DOMA, but it is not a President's decision alone.

proper groundwork has to be layed to make it unchallengeable and irreversible, and it's a strategic position before the election.

So what's the plan? The legislators ARE the ones that have to lay out the strategy. We're the ones who have to demand it of our legislators.

Now if he continues to say that shit AFTER election and still no plan, then girlfriends we gots issues.