Pelosi vows to end 'Don't ask, don't tell' by the end of the year
By Jared Allen and Bob Cusack - 05/19/10 08:33 PM ET

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/98833-vow-to-end-dont-ask-by-new-year

The Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy will be nothing but a memory by year's end, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declared Wednesday.

Pelosi, in an interview with The Hill, stopped short of laying all of her strategic cards on the table. She wouldn't say whether the House will take the lead on the issue or predict when the Clinton administration-era tenet would be repealed.

But she made it clear ending "Don't ask, don't tell" is at the top of her agenda.

She's also been saying that DADT will come before ENDA. Peraonlly, for me, ENDA is way more important. In reality, what's the hold up on either??

The way she has run being Speaker of the House is not to call for a vote until she KNOWS she has enough votes to win.

Tek,
Your are correct about the way Congresswoman Pelosi runs vote on the House. From everything I've read, ENDA has more then enough vote to pass the House and Senate. It's DADT that seems to be the contentious issue and lacks the votes. However, Pelosi said just the other day she wouldn't put ENDA up for vote until DADT is repealed. She seems to be sidelining ENDA with DADT. What's up with that?
~Jas

I would guess (and I'm only guessing, it ain't like Miss Nancy is consulting with me or anything) that she wants to do the hard thing first.  The Armed Forces are a model for the rest of American Society in so many ways (our corporate structure is an exact copy of the American the military structure, down to divisions and headquarters).  Though many people think the Civil Rights struggle started with Dr. King, or Brown v. Board of Education most historians date it more accurately as July 26, 1948, when President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 and desegregated the Armed Forces.  Once DADT is gone, the rest of the stuff falls in order.

Tek,
Good theory... I'll keep my fingers crossed that you're right!

Also... Thanks for the history lesson. I learnedificated something today!!
~Jas

I'm sure you're right Tekla.  Still...it makes me nervous as hell about it passing at all...what with election season coming up in a few months.  They've dragged their feet on these two for the last year and a half. As the next 5 months drag on, it's going to be much more difficult to convince their colleagues to take action.

As a political virgin, I was so starry eyed to be a part, though a vanishingly small part, of the Obama campaign.

I worked the phone banks, I knocked on doors, I got coffee.  I cried at the acceptance speech.

The president appeared very approachable, very worldly, yet of the common man.  He ran on the idea that he would build bridges and multi-task.

Yet the bridge to the LGBT group is still under construction with a lot of verbiage being "Just wait, but please give a donation."  And his ability to multi-task is not quite enough to get to spend time on our issues.

I am no longer a starry eyed virgin and know how very true the saying is "There are two things you should never watch, the making of sausage and legislation."

I have become a very cynical person as far as legislation goes.  Under GB-XLI's reign of error, at least you knew where you stood.  He hated us.  So you knew better than to get your hopes up.  Many argued with Barney the dinosaur that even attempting ENDA 2007 was stupid because it could never reach the presidents desk, and if it did he would veto it and there was not a 3/5 majority to overturn it. 

Since then I have had my hopes dashed so often by Obama, Pelosi, Frank, the Democratic party in general, and the apathetic public that I really feel that it is pointless to even try.  All I am is one lone crazy transwoman yelling in the night.

rand paul, sara pallin, bill oreilly, and rush libaugh are going to run the table with the spineless democrats this November and our chances for real change for us will be gone for another decade at least.

Like the jilted virgin who had been turned out for a one night stand by an sweet talking Lothario, I look at my broken promises and empty bed and console myself that at least it was fun for a bit.  I am older, and wiser.

ENDA, DADT and DOMA repeal, and any other legislation that isn't popular, but "The right thing to do" will NOT get done before midterms, nor before the end of Obama's first term, and I am bloody damn sure that our "elected representatives" will have some other damn silly excuse come 2013 as to why we need to wait just a little bit longer.  Then of course after that we're into the 2016 election cycle and we're off to the races once again.

But this time without me.

The current round of "Yes it is/No it isn't" really is tiring to hear.  It really is just "No it isn't and please give me money."  Sorry, this little GAY-tm is closed.

-Sandy

Don't give up hope just yet, Sandy... We still have five months!! I, too, am feeling disenfranchised with the party I've been supporting since my high school polysci class. Still, I remain cautiously optimistic that we can affect real change for the LGBT community in the few short months we have left.

In reality, we've done many, many good things in the short time we've held the super majority. Still, there's much to do, and this issue is key to my future support!

Quote from: Jasmine.m on May 22, 2010, 09:12:39 AM
Don't give up hope just yet, Sandy... We still have five months!!

No, hon, it's more like 44 days, once you toss in the scheduled recesses for holidays and the break for pre-election campaigning.

ENDA isn't even on the schedule.  DADT repeal has already been pulled from the House Defense Appropriations bill and no one is talking about DOMA.  And the Mathew Sheppard Hate Crimes act had to be attached to the last defense appropriations bill just to pass and Mr Obama did NOTHING to spur it's passage.  And unless I miscounted, there is no super majority any longer with the loss of the seat in Massachusetts to Scott Brown.  And they didn't use their power when they had it like the republicans did under King Bush.  The republicans now have a super minority and control the senate with their "Party of no".

I will give Mr Obama the credit for spending his political capital and possibly his political career on pushing through HCR.  That is something that has needed to be done for a * century*!  Many have tried ALL but him have failed.  For that he has my undying respect.  And I still truly like the man, but I am so very disappointed by him with his lack of action for us.

-Sandy