Forget that Tuesday’s hearings blew the “we need to hear from the military” argument out of the water.
Forget that three of the last six confirmed Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff now publicly and vocally support a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Forget that House Democrats overwhelmingly support a repeal, and many advocate for moving forward with legislation while the Pentagon completes its year-long study/duck-aligning, so that a bill is ready to be passed and signed as soon as the study is complete.
Nancy Pelosi:
“We’ve done a heavy lift [attempting to pass health care reform legislation last year], and I don’t know,” Pelosi told reporters. “I’ll have to examine it. We’ll take a look. We’ll sit down together and see. What is the advantage of going first with legislation? Or would the legislation more aptly reflect what is in the review? Or is it a two step-process?”
(Politico)
Harry Reid:
“Senator Reid supports repeal and hopes that the recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing is the first step toward that goal,” said Jim Manley [spokesman for Sen. Reid]. “It’s now up to the Armed Services Committee to begin examining all the options on the table, including repeal, moratorium, and a study.”
As John Aravosis points out, time is of the essence now that we have political momentum on our side. Waiting until after the mid-term elections, as some conservative Democrats prefer, would likely cost us a both a repeal and political support after all the promises and hype surrounding a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call this all-too-expected failure of leadership a “shell game,” but the effect will be the same…
Elsewhere…
D.C. – Four senators and thirty representatives sign on to resolutions condemning Uganda’s attempt to “Kill the Gays,” while Uganda’s government lashes out at President Obama’s one-sentence mention of the bill in his speech to the National Prayer Breakfast. (Box Turtle Bulletin, AmericaBlog)
D.C. –Save Iraqi gay refugees (who are being murdered by groups linked to some of Iraq’s biggest political parties), says Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. (Pam’s House Blend)
New York – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is finally coming to Broadway. With a suitably hunky star. (The Advocate)
New York – Anderson Cooper denies he’s adopting a Hatian orphan….but he doesn’t contest that the National Enquirer called him gay. Maybe he doesn’t care what everyone in the supermarket checkout line thinks of his sexuality? (Towleroad)
California – Some Californians want to divorce legal marriage from religion by specifically protecting religious leaders from punishment or prosecution if they refuse to marry a same-sex couple. What’s the deal? Hint: Prop 8 proponents claimed rabbis, ministers, etc. would go to jail if they didn’t perform same-sex marriages. (The Bay Area Reporter)
On TV – CBS is still a bunch of hypocrites, but maybe not homophobes? An internal memo says Mancrunch.com didn’t get a Superbowl ad because they couldn’t pony up the cash. (Bnet)