Sep 24, 2011 by whitehouse
President Obama explains that states will have greater flexibility to find innovative ways of improving the education system, so that we can raise standards in our classrooms and prepare the next generation to succeed in the global economy.
On Thursday, Republicans in the Senate stood in the way of progress, blocking legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
No surprise there — they’ve been turning a blind eye to the majority of Americans, legions of grassroots Democrats, and fellow lawmakers who’ve supported repeal for some time now.
But now, they’re also ignoring top military leaders — from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen to former Secretary of State Colin Powell — who support overturning this policy. They’re ignoring the 70 percent of American servicemen and women who say that repeal wouldn’t negatively affect morale, and the Pentagon study that says it won’t affect troop readiness.
They’re no longer simply holding up progress that would advance the American values of fairness and equality, enrich our military, and strengthen our national security — they seem to be willing to tune out just about anyone, all in the name of a political tally mark.
But we’re not done fighting.
We need just three votes to move forward on repeal — and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and our allies in the Senate have promised that the Senate will vote on repeal again before the year is out.
Your voice could be the difference right now: Write the Senate Republicans who are currently blocking repeal and tell them to stop playing politics with people’s lives.
We couldn’t have gotten to this point without your support.
Thousands of you added your names in support of the President’s call for repeal. Those petitions — 582,000 in total — were delivered by volunteers to Senator Susan Collins‘s office on Thursday morning.
Now, your voice could make sure this discriminatory policy is overturned before Congress adjourns — and that it doesn’t have to wait another year, or for another Congress to take it up.
And by reaching out to senators standing in the way, you will make this issue harder and harder for them to tune out.
Three more votes is all we need. The letter you send today could be the final push that gets us there.
Write Republican senators standing in the way of progress today — and let’s make sure we repeal this thing before the year is out:
http://my.democrats.org/DADTRepealLetters
Thanks,
Jen
Jen O’Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee
This afternoon, a discriminatory policy that deprives our military of qualified troops, endangers our national security, and violates the simple American principles of integrity, fairness, and equality was allowed to remain law.
Every Republican senator but one — Senator Susan Collins — voted to prevent the passage of legislation to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Several of them had previously claimed to support repeal, but voted “no” today.
It’s a frustrating setback, but here’s the good news: We are just three votes away from moving forward on repeal.
And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and our allies in the Senate are promising another vote on repeal before Congress heads home for the year. There is still a chance for this to pass.
Allies in the Senate are not done fighting. The President is not done fighting. And I know you’re not, either.
Write the Republicans standing in the way in the Senate — and tell them to get on the right side of history.
There’s no question that today’s vote was disappointing.
But we also have a lot of reasons to be proud today.
The letters to the editor you wrote and the phone calls you made — and the 582,000 petitions you signed — have been crucial in building support for repeal.
This morning, OFA volunteers delivered those petitions to Senator Collins’ office. And this afternoon, she voted to move this bill forward.
Now your work can help make sure we secure the votes necessary to finally put an end to this unfair policy.
One final push might be all it takes.
I know we still have a lot of fight left in us. Write Republicans now — and tell them to stop standing in the way:
http://my.barackobama.com/DADTRepealLetters
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
I know you must have been disappointed when you saw my earlier email tonight saying that the U.S. Senate stopped action on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, the discriminatory law that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. This news certainly draws attention to the actions the President can take to end the discharges, and it’s important that we continue to urge him to do so. Aside from that, I also wanted to share some late breaking news that keeps congressional repeal as a possibility THIS YEAR.
After the failed vote to bring up the Defense Authorization bill today, two champions for repeal – Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins – announced that they would introduce repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as a stand-alone piece of legislation. While passing this new bill will be an uphill battle, it is another chance for a durable legislative solution.
Over the past few days we’ve seen a number of senators speak out for repeal and it’s clear that under the right circumstances, we can get above the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. What got in the way today was procedure.
Thankfully a bipartisan group of senators has committed to finding an alternative method of achieving repeal. We encourage all senators to take up this bill and pass it quickly so that the military has the power to implement a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
I’ll be in touch in the coming days to give you ways to get involved and help pass this stand-alone bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The fight for open service has had many twists and turns but until “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is left in the dustbin of history we will never give up the fight.
Thank you,
Joe Solmonese
President
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MONTHLY NEWSLETTERNovember 2010
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