Asking for leadership

by: Adam Bink

Tue Feb 16, 2010 at 13:30

• Increased pushback in the media when items come out like the Pentagon considering segregated shower facilities or the Pentagon memo originally advising the President "now is not the time" (here)

• Increased pushback on the one-year "study", like Rep. Sestak did in my interview (here), and emphasizing that Congress must repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell this year while the Pentagon completes its study

• Increased pushback by warning, like the labor unions are doing, that angry and apathetic LGBT voters will stay home in droves during the 2010 elections (here)

• Mobilization aimed at the White House. The night of the State of the Union speech, HRC launched its Voices of Honor campaign around grassroots mobilization, media events and legislative pressure. This is all important, but what remains to be seen is presidential leadership on the issue. John is dead-on here:

  Unfortunately, we've reached a point with the Obama administration where allies have to publicly demand action, or promises are never kept. Just last week, the AFL-CIO was forced to send an action alert to its members, targeting the White House. If it's good enough for the unions, it's good enough for us.

  Just like I asked LGBT leaders and activists to take a page out of labor's book on media pushback, HRC could do the same on this front. I'm not going to be satisfied with an official HRC statement "calling" on the White House to ask Congress. I'd like to see grassroots mobilization to do the same.

John et al are right that the momentum is on our side. We don't just need legislative mobilization, we need strong leadership, both from traditional groups and from the Administration, to push this through, and I'd like to see it on multiple fronts.