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At today’s briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was peppered with his favorite topic, LGBT issues, by The Advocate’s Kerry Eleveld. He got another crack at looking like an uninformed boob. He does try to put some distance between the WH and the homophobic Department of Justice brief defending DADT, that includes expert testimony by Palm Center scholars that have come forward to say was misrepresented. Unfortunately after that, Amnesiac Bob takes over again.
The Advocate: So obviously there’s a number of cases sort of wending their way through the courts right now challenging the Defense of Marriage Act and “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Last week the Department of Justice filed another brief defending “don’t ask, don’t tell.” It angered a lot of advocates; some legal scholars thought it was a step backwards in terms of dismantling the law. Is the President at all concerned that DOJ is a little insular or tone-deaf on issues that are sort of politically sticky, especially those of interest to the LGBT community?Gibbs: I will say this, obviously the president has enunciated his support for ending “don’t ask, don’t tell,” rolling back – made a commitment to roll back DOMA in the campaign. Obviously, the Justice Department has – is charged with upholding the law as it exists, not as the president would like to see it. We have obviously taken steps on the front of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and I think we’ve made a genuine amount of progress. I will say, Was it odd that they included previous statements from Gen. Colin Powell on a belief set that he no longer had? I don’t think the president would disagree with that.
The Advocate: Does the president think it’s constitutional – “don’t ask, don’t tell?”
Gibbs: I have not heard him talk about that.
Bzzzzt . Bad answer, Bob. Does Gibbs get locked into a closet away from the President in between briefings? Hmmm. No, that can’t be true, because he seems relatively well-informed on other topics. It seems he has a case of hearing impairment when it comes to the President and his discussions and strategy regarding LGBT topics.
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I am quickly becoming convinced that Gibbs sees us as a problemAs if he must isolate the President from us lest we muddy his shiny shoes! What a complete and utter ass! His responses, his tight lipped and defensive demeanor, and his impatience every time he must respond to any question on an LGBT issue is quickly making him the leading homophobe in the nation in my book. Between him Ram and the Justice department who needs enemies?!?
This is ALL a steaming crock!
Gibbs’ “surprise” is as real as a nine dollar bill. Given the justified, widely reported outrage in response to the first DOMA brief [which, like this brief, was topped by the name Tony West because he is head of that division by direct appointment of Obama as a reward for the millions West raised for BO's election] that led to the boycott of last June’s DNC fundraiser with The Gays which led to the White House tea for The Gays and to Gates first floating the phony “more humane DADT” balloon, NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME THAT HIS DOJ IS OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY RE ANY GAY RIGHTS-RELATED ACTION.
Whether or not he genuinely cares about us remains debatable but it is not debatable that he cares about his own continued popularity with us [read: $$$], that the DNC cares, too. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that he said, after DOMAgate, “NEVER do anything like this again without clearing it with someone in my office first.”
And if it WASN’T done with his consent, then he deserves even greater condemnation for hiring a bunch of DOJ OCD incompetents.
And, for the record, this makes four times, count them, FOUR times the ODOJ has defended the constitutionality of DADT since he was sworn in. The first, BTW, was getting the Supremes to reject the appeal of the lawsuit by DADT dischargee Jim Pietrangelo who was arrested with Dan Choi last month at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
As for Eleveld’s second question, the opinion of the former law professor POTUS himself on the constitutionality of DADT, Gibbs knows damn well he HAS said he thinks it’s constitutional. Or pretended to.
Last July 13th, in an interview with Anderson Cooper, he declared in response to AC’s question about an Executive Order to freeze discharges: “If Congress passes a law that is constitutionally valid, then it’s not appropriate for the executive branch simply to say, we will not enforce a law.”
Prof. Fierce Advocate knows very well that, regardless of what lower courts have found, a law is NOT technically “constitutionally valid” until the Supremes say it is, and they have YET to rule that way. So that was just another bluff on his part that AC didn’t call him on. [He got away with that a lot during the primaries...like claiming his conception was somehow the result of the passions stirred up by the Selma March when, in fact, the Selma March happened five years later; why should he stop now?]
The number of sites that deep throated Gibbs’ crock about Obama not knowing about this latest homophobic brief [like he supposedly didn't know about the last three; like he supposedly didn't know about the DOMA briefs] is NAUSEATING! Such continuing self-delusion that the White House, in fact all of Obama Nation, is not the political brothel that it repeatedly shows itself to be have long since turned into some kind of Stockholm Syndrome masochism.
They are playing with us like an alley cat with a baby mouse and some of us just keep coming back for more while the discharges continue day after day after day despite Obama saying they weaken national security.
Out of the blogs and into the streets.