Pam Spaulding takes on the progressive/liberal Obama supporters who want gays and lesbians to just shut up already about the president's lack of follow-through on his unequivocal campaign promise to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell":
With 70% of public support behind repeal, he has done nothing to 1) push this policy with the jellyfish on the Hill with the bully pulpit or 2) sign an executive order to stop the discharges while Congress sorts out the legislative angle. This administration claims it's helpless to do anything, yet doesn't ask for a review of the legality of President's power to use a stop-loss order for this purpose. Should we not ask these questions? Candidate Obama criticized John McCain for having an inability to multi-task. Apparently it's ok with some progressives that President Obama can't handle discussion of LGBT policy and, oh, say health care. Pointing out the President's inability to lead in any respect on LGBT issues makes is clearly pissing some of our progressive "friends" off. We're making him take the eye off of the ball. Sorry, I didn't know basic civil rights is a back burner issue. I'll come back later.
There were people who were eager to declare the Obama administration an abject failure from about the moment he invited Rick Warren to give his inaugural invocation. That was a bit much. This, however, is following up on an explicit pledge from the president on a political issue that enjoys extremely broad public support. We are perfectly justified in raising our concerns early and often because, as past experience has taught us, to many of our so-called friends are always eager to push gay issues aside in the name of pragmatism. Ana Marie Cox gets this point; one would think that the liberal/progressive political activists shushing people would get it as well.
Don't forget that candidate Obama mocked John McCain for not being able to multi-task, yet now that he's in charge of the vast Leviathan that is the federal government we're too believe that DADT is the straw that would break the camel's back when it comes to the administration's workload. He was right to mock McCain then; we're right to hold Obama accountable now.
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