Howard Dean and Justin Elzie at DADT Rally 05-02-10
“If Howard Dean can show up at a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” rally, why can’t Joe Solmonese?”
Justin Elzie, the first Marine to come out under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1993, asked me that question after he, along with several other present and former servicemembers spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. Sunday. A rally that former Vermont Governor and former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean showed up to and spoke at, but HRC President Joe Solmonese did not.
Howard Dean has no horse in this race. He’s not running for — or against — anything. These days, the six-term governor makes his living talking mostly about health care, not military policy. So what motivated Dean to speak? Chris Geidner at D.C.’s Metro Weekly wrote that Dean “was in the area for a Democracy for America fundraiser and supported the cause.”
At Sunday’s rally, Dean shared some of his thoughts on gays serving in the military
“If somebody is brave enough to take a bullet for the United States of America then they ought to have equal rights under the law when they come home just like everybody else does.”
“To kick talented people out of the military because they happen to be gay or lesbian makes no sense at all.”
“The fact of the matter is, the first guy who took a bullet for George W. Bush, when he sent our troops to Iraq, was…Eric Alva…Eric Alva is a gay man.”
Pity Joe Solmonese wasn’t in the area Sunday when Howard Dean was speaking to the crowd of 100 to 150. Pity Solmonese wasn’t in the area when just after Governor Dean spoke and six servicemembers once again were chained to the White House gates. (Some would say pity Solmonese was in the area the first time Choi chained himself to the White House gates.)
But the point is not that Solmonese wasn’t there. And it’s way too easy to point that out.
The point, is that there is a serious lack of leadership coming from Solmonese on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. But Solmonese is in good company. There’s also a serious lack of leadership coming from the White House.
It seems these days that the real leadership on DADT repeal is coming from grass roots groups like GetEQUAL, and SLDN, Servicemembers United, and Queer Rising. HRC and others may very well be working behind the scenes, but until they can prove the effectiveness of their actions, the growing sentiment in the LGBTQ community is, “What have you done for me lately?”
These direct actions from grassroots groups like Servicemembers United and GetEqual, and others who are responsible for Sunday’s rally and White House protest are what’s getting attention. While the community and the greater citizenry may be divided on the wisdom of these events, the fact is that they are keeping the plight of LGBTQ Americans in the news.
At yesterday’s rally, half a dozen past and present members of our nation’s armed forces, Tanya Domi, Jarrod Chlapowski, Evelyn Thomas, Brett Edward Stout, and Robin Chaurasiya, along with rally host Justin Elzie, all spoke in favor of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
And once more, six DADT protesters (this time, Mark Reed, Natasha Dillon, Alan Bounville, Ann Tischer, Nora Camp, and Eiona DiBona) chained themselves to the White House gates, the third time this year activists have done this to highlight the need to act urgently to repeal DADT.
Heck, Nancy Pelosi has shown more guts than President Obama on this issue. So have Carl Levin and Kirsten Gillibrand.
So, where is the Obama administration on this? Where is HRC on this? Why is it we’re seeing more bravery from members of our armed forces, Congress, and the grass roots, than from the Barack Obama or Joe Solmonese?
(image by Jamie McGonnigal.)
Related posts:
- Howard Dean And Dan Choi Speak At “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Rally In D.C. – Exclusive Photos!
- Howard Dean Addresses 150 At D.C. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Rally
- LGBT Leadership Town Hall: What Grade Would You Give Obama And Congress?
- BREAKING: Six Gay Vets Chain Themselves To White House In DADT Protest
- LGBT Leadership Town Hall: Why Was HRC’s Joe Solmonese So Supportive Of Obama’s Performance?
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As you used his name above…. Jarrod Chlapowski works for HRC, Additional HRC staff were there, such as Allyson Robinson, and Marty Rouse. Also worthy of note is that Eric Alva is the lead for HRC on DADT and SSgt. Alva has been there well before Lt. Choi.
ServicemembersUnited, HRC and many others are using May 10-11 as Veterans Lobby dayhttp://veteranslobbyday.org/
I think Obama has so much going on that it's very difficult to deal with the DADT right now. If he were speaking on gay rights, he would be ridiculed by the environmentalists groups for not working on the awful oil spill in the Gulf. There has to be some kind of give and take. Obama has the same 24 hours in the day that everyone else does and he's got more to do and under more pressure from the world than anyone else in the world. To hold up the economy, the people's votes and to meet everyone's expectations just wont happen. It took a long time for Bush's awful laws to get into place and mess everything up. It will take that long or twice as long to clean everything up because now the people have a routine and have gotten used to things. Human nature resists change and combined with our slow government, its nearly impossible to get the actual change he promised during his campaign to happen. Some rich and powerful people are going to be inconvenienced and they will fight to the death over it. We must give the administration leeway.
What is wrong with you Donna? How long do you think it would take to sign a stop loss order. Seriously, an hour, a half hour? Probably less time than those DOJ briefs comparing gay marriage to incest.
If you want to be an Obama apologist at last give it some thought, give a coherent, spirited defense.
Gay people without self respect are the reason we are where we are. Thank goodness we have plenty of straight people without that hangup, such as Howard Dean.
Obama called on people to pressure him to do the right thing. Obama apologists are just as guilty as Obama. Shame on all of you.
There's an error. The six who chained themselves to the gates during the May 2, 2010 rally were not all service members.
Unfortunately our Democracy is flawed in that government doesn't see injustice or unethical behavior unless enough people shout at them continiuously. And even then the lines of fact can be blurred by the lobbying efforts of self serving corporations or organizations. I think Donna could argue he point better better but this oil spill and Nashville under water are taking time/attention away from other important issues gay or otherwise. I like what this Tim guys is about. http://www.itsasickness.com/lounge/adam-mordecai-...
We need more politicians to show some spine, be like a Howard Dean here or Obama to the Supreme Court. Bless those LBGT in uniform serving our country!
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