Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Kip Williams Arrested at Obama Appearance Fund Raiser; Dan Choi Slams DADT "Compromise"

Life can be a bitch for a politician when people start actually demanding that they deliver on their promises. A case in point is the peevish Barack Obama who doesn't like it when people try to "hold him Accountable" - something he's claimed to want in the past. Obviously, Obama didn't mean it - just as he apparently hasn't meant anything he said about ending DADT this year. Even in his State of the Union Address. All Kip Williams did was demand to Obama's face that he keep his promises. In an e-mail from Williams that I received this morning he stated in part:
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"I was arrested, cited and released. Disturbing the peace. ... It was the first time I've done something like that by myself. ... I was close enough to see Obama's face. I worked so hard on his campaign and I still believe in him and I support him, and I wish I didn't have to have that exchange with him, and I saw the anger on his face when I started speaking. But I'm angry too, and I can't be silent."
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For the record, I didn't "heckle" my President tonight. I simply asked him to do the right thing - what he already promised he would do.
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Unlike Williams, I cannot say that I believe in or support Obama any more. Lie to me enough times and I'm sorry, but I am over it and will only be convinced by REAL action. Not some sort of abortion like compromise that leaves our LGBT service members subject to discrimination and witch hunts. I'm not the ony one over Obama's lies and disingenuous political games. Dan Choi (who I was lucky enough to speak with last fall) is likewise fed up and stated in part as follows in a message I received last night:
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While we're glad that there is movement on DADT, it is not enough for the servicemembers who have been discharged under the legislation -- some of whom stood with us as we handcuffed ourselves to the White House gate on April 20. For the two of us -- and many more who have been working for the repeal of this legislation for months and years -- this effort is simply a way for Congress, the White House, and the Pentagon to shift responsibility to one another indefinitely.
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[H]old the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and our LGBT organizations accountable to enact repeal this year and, in the meantime, to issue an Executive Order to end military discharges immediately. Our Commander-in-Chief made a promise this year in the State of the Union address to repeal DADT this year
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Obama claimed he was a different kind of politician - now it's time for him to deliver. Plain and simple.

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