I wrote about six months ago that I didn’t think it would be that terrible if Obama waited until 2010 to act on repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I’ve changed my mind. It’s a stupid, bigoted policy. It hurts real live people with no discernible benefits. It’s going to go inevitably so why not now?
I initially thought waiting a little bit might not be a disaster assuming that Obama was still committed to getting it done eventually. Given the various dissemblances on this issue lately, though, I don’t feel as comfortable relying on that. I’m worried that they see this as a political landmine with little upside.
And I think that’s wrong. On ethical grounds, obviously. But I think it’s stupid politically, too. The tide is turning, slowly but surely on “the gay issue.” I think we’re now at the point where gay marriage may still be a little bit too hot to touch for the president, but only because it has become the ‘acceptable’ repository for anti-gay sentiment.
For people who feel uncomfortable with this stuff, they don’t have to feel bad if they oppose gay marriage because there’s a plausible (in their mind) argument about preserving something separate. They’re ‘pro-marriage’ not ‘anti-gay.’ It doesn’t make any actual sense, but the cognitive dissonance doesn’t get them too bad.
But the upshot of this is that it’s quickly becoming less and less acceptable to outrightly express anti-gay sentiment. You can still feel it, but it’s not really acceptable to say it.
And the arguments against letting gays serve openly are so transparently stupid (and opposed by such a large percentage of people already) that I just can’t see them getting much traction. The result: suddenly gay politics put CONSERVATIVES in a tough place. They can come up guns blazing and solidify the perspective of them as a parochial, discriminatory party – creating further marginalization. Or they can sense the turning tide and meekly let it happen. Either way, the bill passes and it’s a win for Democrats.
I *hope* that part of the delay has been about sending word down the chain of command that this is coming in an effort to let the military brass know. And I hope that another part has simply been about taking some time to solidify the impression of Obama and the new administration as the legitimate makers of military policy from within the military.
But it’s really time now for Obama to give a speech where he explicitly commits to working on repealing DADT. It’s Congress so it’ll take time to get it done. But now is the time to make it a priority.