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Monday, January 26, 2009
LGBT Left Pressing Obama for Gays in the Military
1. Military Times Poll Setback for Gay Rights Activists
The year 2009 brought an unexpected setback to gay activists who are determined to repeal the 1993 law making homosexuals ineligible for military service. In an article for National Review Online titled Military Times Poll: Troops Oppose Gay Agenda for the Military, CMR President Elaine Donnelly analyzed strong opposition to repeal of the law among the current active-duty forces.
For the fourth year in a row, 58% of active duty Military Times subscribers (almost 2,000 in the 2008 poll) indicated support for current law. In response to a new survey question, 10% of respondents said that if the 1993 law is repealed, they would not re-enlist. Another 14% said that they would consider ending their careers.
This PDF shows the original Military Times article, complete with graphs, and Elaine Donnelly's letter to the editor that translated those percentages into potential numbers. As the letter published in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps Times notes, the 2008 survey is not an exact prediction, but personnel losses anywhere close to those indicated by the Military Times poll would devastate the volunteer force.
2. Pressure on the Joint Chiefs
Several articles have reported that organizations pushing for repeal plan to apply pressure on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). They are hoping that one of the chiefs will say something-anything-that could be interpreted as support for their cause:
- In a Nov. 25, 2008 article titled "Obama Team Denies it will Delay 'Don't Ask,' Repeal", the Washington Blade reported that "A member of Barack Obama's transition team is denying media reports that the president-elect has decided to delay efforts to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' until 2010." An Obama transition team spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said decisions on how to proceed would be made after more experts have joined the Obama administration. Translation: Gay activists are recommending "experts" for appointment to key mid- to high-level positions. These officials will be in place to push the gay agenda when Bush Defense Secretary Robert Gates steps down and is replaced with President Obama's own man.
- Lawrence Korb, who has been campaigning for gays in the military for years, has suggested that the Pentagon should set up some sort of study group that would make recommendations on personnel issues, including the gay ban. Such a "study," of course, would have a pre-determined outcome. Another option may be the commissioning of a pre-determined RAND report, similar to the discredited one that RAND produced in 1993.
- A December 22, 2008, National Public Radio interview titled "Will Obama Press to End DADT?", quoted Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) saying, "I would say, continue to reach out to the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs to seek a favorable recommendation from them for the House bill."
- Newsweek (Jan. 12, 2009) has reported that Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen is under intense pressure from California liberal Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, who "has held long talks on gays and the military with Mullen and other members of the joint staff. She says they understand how times have changed. "'They don't want to find themselves crosswise with the new commander in chief.'"
- In 1993, a Defense Department Working Group was charged to come up with recommendations to implement Bill Clinton's plans for professed gays in the military. White House advisors George Stephanopoulos and Counsel Bernard Nussbaum coordinated the project and other activities so that Bill Clinton could deliver on his campaign promises. Working Group members met with gay activists to get their advice. Only when the Washington Times reported on the closed door meetings did the Working Group invite opposing voices, including Elaine Donnelly, to speak to them. Days later Donnelly and the others learned that the Working Group had already completed its flawed report recommending the flawed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) concept.
2. Congress
- Activists for repeal have told some reporters that the Obama administration and liberals might back off a bit on the Tauscher legislation. Others have correctly reported that the cause of gays in the military remains a top priority.
- This article in Agence France Presse, titled "Obama Era Expected to End Taboo on Gays in US Military", and featured on the Drudge Report on January 7, quoted several advocates who showed no sign of letting up on their drive for gays in the military. It also quoted Obama's Transition website indicating that the administration will try to impose a pure "civil rights" ideology on the military that would assign special rights to homosexuals.
3. The Obama Transition Team & Administration
On Friday, January 9, the incoming White House Press Secretary, Thomas Gibbs, responded to a question from "Thaddeus" who asked, "Is the new administration going to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy? Said Gibbs, "Thaddeus, you don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it's 'Yes.'"
On the now-closed website www.change.gov there was a spot called "Your Seat at the Table." According to lists posted under "Civil Rights," representatives of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest gay activist group in the country, met with the Transition Team on Dec. 5, Dec. 8, Dec. 10, and Jan. 6. The Dec. 10 meeting included a host of like-minded gay activist groups, including the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
Media people keep repeating the "spin" that Obama is trying to avoid the "mistakes" of Clinton in pushing too hard and too soon for gays in the military. The Transition Team records, to the contrary, indicate that he is doing more than Clinton-the only difference being that meetings are behind closed doors instead of in the open, with Washington Post photos of gay activists meeting with the president in the Oval Office.
4. Administration Nominations/Appointees
Leaders of opposition groups are meeting with high-level members of the Obama Transition Team and pushing hard for the appointment of people who support their causes. The Washington Times recently reported that some activists want the administration to appoint the first Secretary of the Navy who is openly gay. Donnelly's NRO article on that possibility appears here: Military Nominees and the Homosexualist Agenda
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Interested readers, including members of the military, are invited to comment through the "Confidential Contact" site on this website, www.cmrlink.org. Nothing in the CMR SITREP Blog is intended to aid or hinder elections or the passage of legislation before Congress.
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