Defense Authorization Act Stalls Over DADT, Repeal this year unlikely.

Just as we feared, the Do-Nothing Dems have successfully dragged their feet through another legislative session, without acting on DADT repeal and all of our other issues. Even Gay, Inc. has to admit that all of their elite, inner circle access was worthless. They used to say in D.C., "it's not who you know, it's who you blow." You'd think we would at least have had things covered in that department. 
The Huffington Post reports that Joint Chiefs Chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen reiterated his belief that DADT should be repealed:

This past week, the upper chamber declined to pass a defense authorization bill that included DADT's repeal. And at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday, Mullen registered disappointment, stressing again that he believes the policy needs to end.

"I am very clear where I was on February 2 and where I am today," he said. "This is my personal view. I struggled greatly with the fact that we asked people in an institution that values integrity, which is who we are, that we would ask individuals to show up everyday and basically lie. So my position on that hasn't changed at all."

The Joint Chiefs chairman acknowledged that both he and his staff are subject to the whims of the congressional process. But he did offer a preference for legislative action that will likely be cheered by those seeking to slow down DADT repeal. The military brass, Mullen said, would prefer to get the results of a yearlong survey of service members and their families (set to be done on December 1) before revising its policies towards gay members.

Meanwhile over at Advocate.com, Kerry Eleveld writes that the whole process is now, once again, in the grubby little hands of Republicans, led by that homophobic throwback to the Ice Age, John "Grumpier Old Man" McCain. When it comes to missed opportunities and lying to constituents, and being all around prick-teases, the Democrats, up to and especially including President Obama, take the cake.

A nearly insurmountable series of negatives seem to be stacking up: The White House is not engaged, time is running terribly short, Republicans are winning the political battle on the legislation, the midterms only stand to weaken Senate Democrats, and many fear the release of the Pentagon’s study of repeal in early December could deal a final blow to the effort.

“When you actually look at how much time Congress has to be here in lame duck, and the appetite to get difficult bills done, it will be very difficult to move the defense authorization bill,” said Winnie Stachelberg, who is vice president of external affairs at the Center for American Progress and has worked on the repeal effort.

Stachelberg tempered her comments with glimmers of hope, pointing out recent remarks from White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina, who last week spoke to a group of students at The University of Montana about DADT and said, “We’re going to get that done this year.”

Still, she added, “when you throw in the fact that Secretary [Robert] Gates continues to say the legislation should come after the Pentagon’s working group study, which is due December 1, it’s an unbelievably narrow needle to thread with many competing legislative priorities.”

For a thorough look at HRC's role in the fight for DADT Repeal and accusations that the largest LGBT rights org was taking it's lead from the White House (and what they have to say about it) check out "Rift Widens Among Gay Rights Groups" at congress.org.

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