Source says White House promised DOD no DADT vote this year

That would go along ways towards explaining why the White House seems so tongue-tied over what to do THIS YEAR. Kerry Eleveld in the Advocate:

A second source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the White House was partially in a bind based on an agreement the Obama administration had made with Defense Department officials earlier this year to let the Pentagon’s working group study reach completion before pushing for a repeal vote.

The source, who had knowledge of the meeting, said discussions around “the process” began in December and were finalized in January, when prospects for the administration’s main agenda items, such as health care reform, were still looking grim.

The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this article.

Read More...

GOP Tricks Worry Dems on ENDA

More ENDA news, none of it good. I can't say I'm surprised. Neither Joe nor I thought that the Dems would touch ENDA, DADT or DOMA this year - their three big promises to us. So the current pace of non-progress is right on track. From Kerry Eleveld at the Advocate:

Democratic aides said Thursday that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is still headed for a vote, but they continue to be concerned about Republicans offering what’s known as a “motion to recommit” to the legislation that might torpedo the bill or reduce its transgender protections.

A Democratic leadership aide noted that Republicans recently offered such motions on two job creations bills, the Home Star bill and the America COMPETES reauthorization bill. In both cases, the motions passed but had different effects on the legislation.

“If Republicans are willing to play politics with jobs legislation,” said the aide, “can you imagine what they will do with a motion to recommit on ENDA?”

Read More...

ENDA: promises vs. political homophobia

We've been made a lot of promises by politicians. We've been given a lot of timelines. What we're hearing lately makes it seem less and less likely that the House will even take a vote on ENDA this year.

Let's review:

First, we heard ENDA would be done last fall:

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has been introduced in the House and the Senate and Rep. Barney Frank thinks the all-inclusive bill could get a committee hearing this month and a vote on the House floor this fall.

Then we heard there would be action on ENDA in January or February:

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), a gay lawmaker who serves on the House Education & Labor Committee, said he’s expecting a markup of the legislation either this month or in February and a floor vote soon after.

“Once it’s been marked up in committee, it’s simply a matter of scheduling it for the floor, and that of course depends on what else is coming to the floor, whether it’s health care or what[ever] it is, but it shouldn’t take very long,” he said.

Also expecting an ENDA markup in the House shortly is Allison Herwitt, legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign.

“We’re hopeful that it will be either January or February and we’re pushing for that,” she said.

Then we heard it would be done in April.

KO: Where are we on ENDA?

JP: We have the votes to pass ENDA in the House and we hope to bring it before the committee I serve on – the Education Labor Committee – within the month – by the end of April. And then, once it passes the committee, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of weeks – a week or two – to schedule it for the floor. It’s just a scheduling matter.

Then, last month, on April 18th, Barney Frank said the vote would be happening within weeks:

Frank, speaking to Metro Weekly after his appearance at the Victory Fund's annual Champagne Brunch, said the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) – currently in the House Education and Labor Committee – has been ''promised'' a quick vote in the full House by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) once the bill leaves committee.

Noting that he's been speaking to Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.) ''constantly,'' Frank said of the ENDA mark-up, ''It will be this week or next week.''

Today, via Kerry Eleveld, we learn that there is no time frame for a vote:

A spokesman for Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts said that Speaker Pelosi still plans to take a vote on ENDA this session but declined to discuss the timing of the vote.

“The congressman said today that the speaker is committed to moving ENDA,” said Harry Gural.

So, it's May 14, 2010 and there's no indication that we'll be having a vote on ENDA. There are, however, many indications that many House Democrats do not want to take any more votes on issues deemed hard or controversial. As noted in the post below, that talk started last December. We saw more evidence yesterday in The Hill and Washington Post. The Post article quoted one of the leading Blue Dogs in the House, Heath Shuler, saying he didn't want a vote on ENDA this year. If we've learned anything from the past year, it's that Blue Dogs carry far too much sway in the Democratic Party. Also, in case you have any illusions to the contrary, let's be clear: On Capitol Hill, LGBT = Controversial.

Now, we're not controversial during the campaign season when candidates want our money and our votes. Lots of them sure come to AMERICAblog for help. But, once they're in office, political homophobia takes over. Here's how I defined political homophobia last June, in the wake of the DOMA brief debacle:

Political homophobes aren't gay-hating in the traditional sense. In fact, publicly, most are strong supporters of LGBT equality. But, behind closed doors, many Democratic leaders, consultants, Hill staffers and the rest will vociferously argue that there is no political benefit to actually supporting LGBT rights. Political homophobia is rampant among some Democrats. In some ways, it's worse than blatant homophobia, since we think most Democrats are on our side. And outwardly, they are.

Political homophobia dictates policy in DC more than we'd like to think.

It really feels like political homophobia is dictating policy now -- at the White House and on Capitol Hill. Read More...

ENDA delays now focus on House GOP's 'motion to recommit'

Via Kerry Eleveld, news from the Hill is that ENDA supporters are worried about what the House Republicans will do with their "motion to recommit":

Democratic aides said Thursday that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is still headed for a vote, but they continue to be concerned about Republicans offering what’s known as a “motion to recommit” to the legislation that might torpedo the bill or reduce its transgender protections.

A Democratic leadership aide noted that Republicans recently offered such motions on two job creations bills, the Home Star bill and the America COMPETES reauthorization bill. In both cases, the motions passed but had different effects on the legislation.

“If Republicans are willing to play politics with jobs legislation,” said the aide, “can you imagine what they will do with a motion to recommit on ENDA?”

In the House, the "motion to recommit" is the last procedural move from the opposition party prior to final passage of legislation. I never knew about the "motion to recommit" during the 12 years that the GOP controlled the House, because Democrats rarely used this tactic to kill GOP legislation. Since January of 2007, House Republicans have strategically used the motion to recommit to undermine the Democratic agenda.

Republicans are willing to play politics with any legislation. That's not news. We were always going to face a tough vote on a motion to recommit whether the ENDA votes was last fall, this past January, February or April (various people promised an ENDA vote in those time frames.) What we've been seeing is that Democrats in the House don't want to take any tough votes for the rest of the year.

The chatter that House Democrats didn't want to take any "controversial" votes started last December and continued yesterday here and here. In case you're wondering, on Capitol Hill, LGBT = Controversial.

I have no doubt that there is an ugly GOP motion to recommit awaiting ENDA. But, there are also a lot of Democrats who hope the ENDA never hits the floor of the House and this may be their latest excuse for delay. The closer we get to November, the less likely there will be a vote at all.

Kerry also reports that the whip count on ENDA is still ongoing:

Gural said the vote count — or whip count — continues to be conducted through the office of the House majority whip, Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, as well as those of representatives Frank, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, and Jared Polis of Colorado.

This ENDA whip count has got to be the longest whip count in history. It started in mid-April. The House does whip counts every day, but the ENDA whip count has taken almost two months. Not a good sign. Read More...

A letter about DADT to Obama from a soldier returning to Baghdad

Today's letter from SLDN's series, "Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama" is especially compelling. It's from a soldier who is on his way back to Baghdad. The military knows he is gay, but the Army needs him -- for now.

This guy is putting his life on the line for the rest of us, for the people of Iraq, for freedom. But, the Army will kick him out -- when he's get backs from the war zone because he is gay.

Obama should really read this letter. The President needs to weigh in with Congress to get this law repealed this year. This year. That was Obama's promise -- and it's a promise he shouldn't break to this soldier returning to Baghdad and thousands of others:

May 14, 2010

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you from a kitchen in the state of Washington. The love of my life is in the other room. It has been eight months since I saw him last and I cherish every moment we spend together. Next week, my mid-tour leave will be over and I will return to Iraq and finish my second deployment. I don’t know when I’ll see my partner again.

When serving in a war zone, you learn quite a bit about yourself and what’s important to you. I’ve had the chance to work on a close and personal level with the people of Iraq, and in doing so, I have realized more than ever that the freedoms we enjoy as Americans should not be taken for granted – we must protect them at all costs. These freedoms are essential to the very foundation of our society. Yet so many men and women who fight for these freedoms aren’t allotted their own. Our freedom to love and be loved by whomever we choose. The freedom to live of a life of truth and dignity.

Recently I was informed that the military was investigating me for violating the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. Another service member had apparently “outed” me. At first I felt free: I didn’t have to lie anymore. But after that initial sense of relief, I’m left knowing just how little the Pentagon and the United States government think of me.

Mr. President, my unit is extremely undermanned. We’re working around the clock in Baghdad. My commander informed me that the Army cannot afford to lose me. I was told that they would prepare my discharge paperwork, “stick it in a Manila envelope, and keep it in a desk -- for now.”

One moment they wanted to throw me out and the next they are hiding evidence to keep me in.

My comrades now know that I am gay, and they do not treat me any differently. Work runs as smoothly as ever, and frankly the only difference I see -- besides my pending job loss -- is that I am free of the burden of having to constantly watch my words and ensure my lies are believable.

Having this out in the open makes things a bit less stressful. But it’s also clear the Army is only keeping me around until they are done with me. After I have served my two deployments -- and only a year shy of separating from the military honorably -- I suspect they will kick me to the street.

It’s bad enough that there is a law that denies tens of thousands of service members from serving with integrity, but it’s even worse when such a law is carried out with such inconsistency, without any warning of when it might come down.

If my suspicions are true, my discharge will move forward after my deployment. I am good enough to serve in war, but not at peace? I will never be at peace until this law is repealed – and neither will my partner. In fact, he won’t even be informed if I am killed in action. That might be the hardest part for us both.

Mr. President, when you took office I remember watching your inauguration knowing that history was being made. I remember feeling like this weight was being lifted off of my shoulders. I truly believed in you, and I still do.

But, Mr. President, please keep your promise to me.

Please do everything in your power to help Congress repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” this year. Our government called upon us to fight for our country. So many of us answered the call; we did not delay. We were sent world’s away to defend your freedoms. Mr. President, won’t you fight for mine?

With deep respect,

A soldier returning to Baghdad

(The writer is currently serving and unable to identify himself publicly.)

Read More...