What a difference a year makes
Last year, President Obama in his State of the Union (SOTU) address said, “This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.” There were many in the LGBT community who said it was empty rhetoric and repeal would not happen in 2010.
Our national organizations, like Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and the Human Rights Campaign, applauded President Obama’s comments and the historic nature of an LGBT agenda item being included in his first SOTU.
Others, however, found fault with the president’s words. Here is a sample of some of the comments by bloggers and others in response to Obama’s 2010 State of the Union DADT declaration:
“Tonight’s State of the Union address was another wasted opportunity by President Obama to exhibit wise leadership that could have been used to educate the American public about why DADT is incompatible with our core values of dignity and respect for our fellow citizens, and why we must extend these opportunities to gays to serve openly in the military. He could have talked about treating some Americans differently, their differences making them less than other Americans and when this happens we trample on every ideal this nation has ever espoused about freedom.”
“So will the State of the Union be more soaring, yet in the end empty, rhetoric or a real moment of leadership and policy change? From what Levin seems to imply, it looks like it could possibly be more of the old campaign promises of Obama’s intentions to repeal DADT. More rhetoric without a real plan on how to move forward or from the top leadership.”
“While we know the State of the Union speech aims to present broad visions, the next time President Obama speaks to or about our community, he must provide a concrete blueprint for his leadership and action moving forward – this includes his willingness to stop the discharges happening on his watch until Congress can fulfill its responsibility to overturn the law. The time for broad statements is over. The time to get down to business is overdue. We wish we had heard him speak of concrete steps [during his speech].”
I will not specifically name all those who were misguided in their statements a year ago, what I want to discuss is how they are now upset President Obama did not mention the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) or the repeal of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in last night’s State of the Union.
What a difference a year makes. Last year, President Obama’s DADT comment was “empty rhetoric.” Now some in our community are complaining that “empty rhetoric” was not included in this year’s State the Union. President Obama simply cannot win with some in the LGBT community.
If he includes us in his SOTU, then we complain. If he doesn’t include us, then we complain. Can you imagine the frustration the President feels when he tries to help our community but nothing is ever quite right?
The President’s plan produced results on DADT. He did not need to share his plan with the greater LGBT community. Why? Because we cannot keep our mouths shut.
Our enemies want to know the plan so they can sabotage it. If the president has a plan for ENDA and DOMA, he needs to keep it close to his vest. If shared with the greater LGBT community, it would be a Facebook update before you have finished reading this sentence. Within an hour there would be 100 critiques of why the President has crafted the wrong strategy. All to the benefit of our enemies.
President Obama has proven that he is willing to advance our rights. Now that the Republicans have taken over the House, let’s see what they bring forward. Time will tell us who has been the true advocate for LGBT equality. In retrospect, I am sure the community will view the first two years of the Obama presidency as part of our glory days.
