You have patience for this. I don’t I believe that every day that a soldier is dismissed under Obama’s watch is a discrace to him as a commander, and to every soldier, living and dead.

The gay elitists are so out of touch with this suffering and humiliation, that they went as far as to give Obama multiple standing ovations at the HRC dinner. I guess it is true what they say about the gay elite — they just don’t care.

The dismissals under DADT are also a national and historical discrace, every moment they are are on the books. The democratic party is also a discrace. They now have the power to repeal Bill Clinton’s hillbilly hatchet job on the constitution, but won’t. And after the 2010 midterm elections, it may be too late. Right now is the best time for these two simple repeals. Democrats won’t do it closer to the midterms, and every day that goes by is another tragedy for out troops.

Issac. I wish you personally could feel the pain and agony of a military discharge, I really do. Then you might lose you patience, and wake up.

Nobody believes that Obama is powerless to take action on DOMA (or DADT, though you are the only person to have mentioned that. It is a different matter to DOMA. As Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces Obama DOES have the power to repeal DADT immediately, though to do so without the support of the senior members of those armed forces would be foolish). DOMA is a law ratified by Congress and signed by a previous President. It is a law that went through the democratic process, that was examined by elected representatives of the US people, that was debated, discussed and finally passed.

Repealing any law that has been through this process should NOT be done lightly, and certainly not to pander to your irrational impatience. For any law to be passed or repealed there is a process that needs to be followed in order to protect the interests of the American people. Despite what some Christians might claim, DOMA is in no one’s interest, but following the proper process is not about protecting people from the implications of repealing DOMA. It is about protecting the interests of people, particularly the gay community, from a future President using this same power to repeal other laws simply because the Christian Right demands it, or because he merely feels like it.

Once again, your claim that DOMA is unconstitutional will receive no argument from me. I agree. It is. However, until the Supreme Court or Congress deem the law to be unconstitutional then legally it is constitutional. The DOJ may give advisory opinions on the constitutionality of laws, but first that is still just an opinion, even if it is one that carries a little more weight than yours or mine, and second may I ask if you are aware of them issuing an opinion stating that DOMA is unconstitutional? I’m not. I am aware, however, that the DOJ has defended the constitutionality of DOMA in the past.

What you expect of Obama is unreasonable. However, the simple fact is that what the majority of us expect from him is perfectly reasonable and he is not delivering. If he won’t deliver on our reasonable expectations, you have your head lodged firmly in your sphincter if you expect him to deliver on your unreasonable demands.

While this discussion with you has been entertaining, there are plenty more walls for me to bang my head against, but please feel free to repeat your delusional demands again if you must.

How any one person can be able to grasp the facts while completely missing the point is beyond me. You have a view of the world that suggests you are either mentally deficient or that you occupy another plane of existence to the rest of us.

1. The President of the United States has absolutely no control over what legislation comes across his desk. Yes, he works with Congress to set the direction he would like them to move in. Yes, he works with Congress to decide what legislation will be considered, debated and eventually brought before him. However, he still must rely on Congress. He must rely on Congress to be willing to discuss, debate and pass the legislation he wants, and he must rely on Congress not to change that legislation. The President, if he is any damn good, sets the tone, pushes things in the right direction, but if you think for one minute he drafts legislation and then simply gives it to Congress to nod through so he can sign it, you’re living on another planet.

2. You are not Obama. His priorities are clearly not the same as yours and mine. Yes, civil rights should be his primary concern, but when it comes to the gay community they are not. The President of the United States has more important things to do that worry about our civil rights because the President of the United States has decided he has more important things to do. Period.

3. You said: “Courts do not render laws constitutional or unconstitutional, the Constitution does that.” Seriously, do you occupy a world where lollipops sprout out of every wall and every field is filled with frolicking lambs? If so, join us in the real world for a moment, please. The Constitution does not enforce itself. The Constitution does not interpret itself. The Constitution does not determine whether laws are unconstitutional. You and I may BELIEVE a law to be unconstitutional, but in legal terms until a court or other higher authority, most likely Congress, determines that a law is unconstitutional, that law is NOT unconstitutional. While I’m sure your opinion carries a lot of weight with you, I can assure you that bleating about how DOMA is unconstitutional does not make it so in the legal sense of the term.

4. I don’t buy into the “be patient” arguments any more than you do, so I’m not going to argue with you here. All I will say is that none of us should be patient until we see action being taken to right the wrongs committed against us. If we see action being taken to repeal DOMA, for example, we should be patient and accept that this process takes time. However, I see no such action being taken so will reserve my patience until I do.

5. Seriously, what is it with you and Presidents waving their magic wands? Clinton waved his plenty and look where that got him. As I said before, Obama is not the f*cking Wizard of Oz. He does not possess a magic wand. He possesses Presidential authority, which can allow him to take action without waiting for Congress or following normal procedure. However, I have already explained why it would be dangerous for him to use this power in this instance.

Want me to explain again? I’ll keep it simple.

Obama repeals DOMA immediately, without waiting for Congress, without following the democratic process.

In 3/7 years, Obama is replaced. His replacement is a Republican who makes Bush look cute and cuddly to the gay community. This Republican President knows that Obama used his Presidential authority to repeal DOMA, so he knows the Democrats won’t have the nerve to publicly criticize him when he uses his own authority to reinstate DOMA, and to repeal all the gay rights legislation passed during Obama’s term in office, and maybe a few more bits besides. After all, in his mind homosexuality is a sin, so why should he allow legislation to remain on the books that protects sinners?

The processes to repeal legislation are in place for a reason – to prevent important legislation from being repealed on a whim, to protect the American people from having their rights stripped away because one person decides those rights should no longer exist. This process needs to be followed even when it comes to legislation like DOMA that infringes on civil rights, so that it is harder to bypass when someone wants to repeal legislation creating or supporting civil rights.

And that, my friend, is the last I have to say to you. If it doesn’t sink in, and I am certain it won’t, there is no hope of reaching the rational part of your brain, and no point in trying. Sadly delusional people like you who voice their misconceptions about the legal and political system are responsible for some of the misdirected rage in the gay community. We would accomplish far more if the energies of those who are off chasing pipe-dreams because they’ve listened to people like you were redirected in the right direction, if attention was focused where it really matters. You, my friend, do more harm than good to the gay rights cause.

In other words, no one has the right to marriage-base federal benefits… BUT FOR SOME REASON the government has randomly decided to give over 1,000 benefits to married heterosexual couples that FOR SOME REASON cannot be given to homosexuals. YET the government is NOT discriminating against anyone since no one really has the RIGHT to those SPECIAL benefits. Gotcha, DOJ. That makes perfect sense.

While the Pres. indeed cannot arbitrarily dismiss distasteful laws, he is the leader of the party that controls both houses of Congress and has enormous sway in setting the legislative agenda. While repealing DOMA might piss off some theocratic conservatives, those people aren’t likely to vote for ANYTHING that a democratic Congress passes anyway, so pissing them off would have little political significance.

He may have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but O’Blah-blah will never win the Profiles in Courage award.

Really? So the bailout bill wasn’t passed by the Senate and House? Obama decided on bailout and that was that?! Come on! Be critical of the man, but if you can’t admit the bailout was first a bill that came from Congress and was signed by Obama what is the point of even talking about it?

James

1. Obama only signs bills, and has no control over what comes to his desk. FALSE. Obama works closely with the democratically controlled Congress, setting priorities and the order of legislation that reaches his desk. Example: trillion dollar bailout, health care legislation. We are just very low on his list.

2. Obama has more important things to do than to stop the dumping of gay vets on his watch. FALSE. National security and the strength of our forces come first. Civil rights and enforcement of the constitution are sworn duties of a president (see oath).

3. Obama can’t decide constitutionality, only courts have the power to do that. FALSE. Courts do not render laws constitutional or unconstitutional, the Constitution does that. The Constitution is the law of all the laws, and the president has the power to order his DOJ NOT to enforce an illegal statute.

4. Be patient, there is lots of time, the HRC says we have until 2017. FALSE. If democrats lose the senate in 2010, we will be screwed.

5. Obama can’t just wave a magic wand and make laws appear on his desk. FALSE. Obama does have a magic wand, it just doesn’t work on gay hate laws. His wand is great for trillion dollar bailouts, etc.

The president’s current priority is healthcare reform. He must be able secure some conservative support.

He needs to let this sleeping dog lie for a bit, because repeal of DOMA is going to ignite your country in a very very very divisive way. You all better get ready for that; it ain’t gonna be pretty, and it is gonna take a lot of the president’s time and attention.

But if he loses on healthcare, he will be weakened. If he is weakened, accomplishing our priorities will be more challenging.

Our needs are in the legislative queue with all of his objectives. He has a strategy. He must disclose his agenda in a strategic fashion. He cannot hand it carte blanche to the opposition.

Be patient. Have trust.