HRC President Joe Solmonese says DADT will be Repealed by Spring

In an interview with US News and World Report, Human Rights Campaign's Joe Solmonese addresses his critics and tells queer Americans to trust Barack Obama to keep his promises to the LGBT community.

When asked if he was confident that the president would overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), Solmonese said, "I'm certain. The president has made the commitment, and people working for the president that we work with have made the commitment. I have no doubt it will be overturned."

When asked about the frustration in the LGBT community about the Obama administration putting LGBT issues on the back burner, Solmonese said, "The administration views this in the context of the broader issues agenda they are working with Congress on, everything from the economy and health care to hate crimes. They see the overturning of Don't Ask, Don't Tell along that spectrum as something that will likely happen next spring."

LGBT bloggers have accused Solmonese of being Obama's lapdog and making excuses for the president's lack of movement on gay rights. The HRC president responds by saying, "With a community as diverse as the LGBT community, there is little one can do that isn't going to be met with criticism from somebody. A lot of that has to do with frustration of being woefully behind in securing a fundamental set of benefits and a fundamental sense of equality. But I also have a very clear road map and a plan of how this is going to get done."

Time will tell if Joe Solmonese is selling out his community in order to maintain his unprecedented White House access or if he knows something the rest of us don't.