| Over at The Hill, our window of opportunity is, after election 2009 shivers, apparenly chasing our legislative allies up for re-election in Red/Purple states back into the closet. In the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections, they don’t want to be forced to vote on climate change, immigration reform and gays in the military, which they say should be set aside so Congress can focus on jobs and the economy. ...Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he was not certain whether repealing “Don’t ask, don’t tell” would be on next year’s agenda. ...One Democratic senator facing reelection in a Republican-leaning state said he does not want to see the issue of gays in the military, immigration reform or even climate change on next year’s agenda. This was so predictable that, in fact, I just mentioned it yesterday, there's always going to be an excuse for deny, delay... We're definitely not on the same page, that's for sure. Otherwise we wouldn't hear the variations on "just wait until ___ occurs (midterm elections, Obama's [presumed] re-election, pick some BS of the day), we'll come back for you." That's counter-productive action in the name of "strategy" that hurts civil equality progress rather than helps. You have to wonder whether the word "ally" (or "fierce advocate") need a redefinition. Our window of opportunity is closing and there will always be an excuse to say "not yet" for civil rights legislation. That's why we have to make the calls, visit the offices and march, if necessary, because the spineless and fence sitters are keen to beg for political homophobia slack. The go-slow, glad-handing, stay quiet approach doesn't work when pending legislation is constantly a liability for the same reasons over and over. What's wrong with go-slow? Our political cycles and windows of opportunity are much smaller now, because of the politically divided nature of this country. We've got about 25% on the far left, 25% on the far right, and the 50% persuadables who are wooed by both sides. So with Congressional elections every two years, you've got those pols in Red/Purple states running scared and raising funds on a constant basis. That means staying away from a controversial issues, or a party switch may occur. Harry Reid says he wants to get DADT repeal done. Well, if he has enough of these soiled-knickers Senators (one of whom doesn't even want to be named in the article) begging him not to "rock the boat," what do you think is going to happen. That's why banking on a 2017 fantasy seems laughably naive. These spinless pols looking to save their jobs are not going to step up to call out the right wing noise machine once as it gears into full "destroy Obama mode" running up to 2012. "We'll come back for you..." *** UPDATE: David Mixner's piece this AM dovetails quite nicely, calling for the shutdown of the gAyTM, ignoring the political timeline that these spineless pols operate from, and embracing new tactics ourselves to effect change. A snippet below the fold... |
