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Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Letdown for the LGBT Left
The White House
In an attempt to placate his lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered constituency groups, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation declaring June 2009 to be "LGBT Pride Month." But after a full month of relentless activism and media support, the LGBT Equality Caucus remains frustrated by President Obama, the Congress, and the courts.
There was little to get excited about on Wednesday, June 24, when the Center for American Progress (CAP), a far-left think tank closely associated with the Obama Administration, released a report titled "Ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'" Authored by Lawrence J. Korb, a liberal who likes to describe himself as a Reagan Pentagon appointee, the report is yet another collection of misinformation from gay-activist groups such as the University of California-based Michael D. Palm Center and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).
The CAP, SLDN, and other activist organizations have publicized the human interest stories of several young men and women who were trained and served in the military for a number of years, but received an honorable discharge when they disclosed they were homosexuals. One of them is Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, who was revealed to be homosexual and received a notice of discharge in 2008.
Articles and reports from the SLDN and the CAP have claimed that the training Fehrenbach received cost the Air Force what he estimated as $25 million dollars. (See Lawrence J. Korb, Sean E. Duggan, Laura Conley, the Center for American Progress, Ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," June 2009, p. 3.)
Really? In 1992, the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces requested and received from the Air Force information on the cost of training military pilots. The average cost to train an Air Force pilot was pegged at $2.5 million; $3.1 million for fighter and bomber pilots. (Commission Report Finding #2.61GH, p. C-93) Assuming inflation to $4 million or so, the $25 million estimate is wildly over-stated. Why?
Secondly, the SLDN and CAP Reports have described Fehrenbach as a former "pilot," even though he was a weapons systems officer. WSO's are trained to fly missions in the back seat of an aircraft. Fehrenbach has received decorations for his service as a weapons systems officer. Why are the activists describing him as a pilot?
Congressional Action/Inaction
-On June 25, openly-gay Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) attempted to offer amendments to this year's House Defense Authorization bill: one would have repealed the present homosexual ineligibility law; the other would have 'suspended" ongoing enforcement of that law, in effect having the same result as repeal (i. e., allowing open homosexuality in the military). Polis withdrew the amendments before they could be considered by the House, probably due to opposition from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO), and the ongoing recognition by the House Democratic leadership that it cannot muster the votes to repeal (or "suspend") the law. Despite its present political advantages and a liberal media complicit in advancing its agenda, the failure of Polis' amendments represents another major defeat for the LGBT Left.
-According to Stars & Stripes, there is a three-sided stalemate going on: Congress says President Obama needs to offer his own repeal plan, the White House says "the repeal is just one of numerous goals," and the Pentagon maintains that "Congress must act first on 'don't ask' before service leaders will make any changes."
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in Limbo for Now
-Meanwhile, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is tap-dancing but not really saying that a repeal bill is ready to be announced. Apparently, Senate Democrats are still waiting for a RINO to sign up as a co-sponsor with the bill's planned original sponsor, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) According to the Palm Center, Sen. Reid previously had called for President Obama to sign an Executive Order to stop enforcement of the law. This makes no sense, since the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate should be defending the prerogatives of Congress in writing laws, instead of encouraging the Executive Branch to circumvent one of them.
The Supreme Court
-Last month the Supreme Court declined to hear the latest challenge to the homosexual ineligibility law. Stephen Dinan reported on more LGBT advocates' dissatisfaction.
Justices Decline "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Case
Dinan noted at the end of his article that the gay activists intend to keep counting the number of discharges occurring when servicemembers reveal themselves to be homosexual. For perspective, the media should report the number of discharges that occur for other reasons. Personnel losses for pregnancy/family hardship and weight standard violations occur at far greater rates, and the number of discharges for homosexuality could be reduced to near-zero if the convoluted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" administrative policy were dropped.
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