Valerie Jarrett was just on CNN to respond to Dan Choi, who earlier today excoriated her and the President over DADT. The clip, below, includes an excerpt from Dan's interview on CNN. She stuck to the same Obama administration's talking points -- the incorrect ones -- she used earlier today. It's stunning. Does the Obama administration understand how badly they've handled this issue?
Jarrett stated that DOJ "has no choice but to defend the laws that are on the books." That's just not true. She should know better by now, especially since the Obama DOJ has refused to enforce a number of laws. Even Ted Olson says they don't have to appeal. But she keeps saying it.
Then, when Wolf Blitzer asked her why the President doesn't say the law is unconstitutional, she claims he's done just that. That question HAS NOT been answered. It's simply not true.
And her response to Wolf's question about how we get DADT passed once the Republicans win a lot of seats in the mid-term elections: "This shouldn't be a Republican or a Democratic issue." What? That's the administration's post-election plan, to simply dismiss the political implications of losing seats and possibly the majority in Congress?
One last thing: You won't hear a clear commitment from Jarrett that Obama will push for DADT legislation in the lame duck session. She's asked, and she bobs around.
I'm stunned. Watch for yourself:
More from the Wonk Room.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Valerie Jarrett responds to Dan Choi on DADT, and gets it wrong again
Labels:
DADT
blog comments powered by Disqus