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Why did Obama refuse executive order?

If President Obama had issued an executive order prohibiting discrimination by federal contractors against gays and lesbians, he would have followed a proud tradition set by Democratic and Republican presidents.

Instead, he punted.

At least five previous presidents issued anti-discrimination directives, according to a count by the American Civil Liberties Union, but those did not cover gays and lesbians in companies doing business with the government. Seventy-two members of Congress sent the president a letter last week urging an order prohibiting discrimination against that group.

When the administration decided not to go that route, it issued a statement that made no mention of the proposed order, instead focusing on an unlikely legislative fix.

The president “has long supported an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit employers across the country from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Shin Inouye, a White House spokesman. “The president is committed to lasting and comprehensive change and therefore our goal is passage of ENDA, which is a legislative solution to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) employment discrimination.”

But no one expects that legislation to pass anytime soon.

“There is no way the ENDA .?.?. will pass this Congress,” said Winnie Stachelberg, an executive vice president of the Center for American Progress, a think tank with close ties to the White House.

So why not issue the order now?

Gay activists blame election-year politics.

Tico Almeida, founder and president of Freedom to Work, a national LGBT advocacy organization, and other gay activists attended a meeting with top White House officials who provided a rationale for declining the order, explanations Almeida found “completely unconvincing and shallow.”

“This is a political calculation that cannot stand,” he said.

“Absolutely not,” replied White House press secretary Jay Carney. “The approach we’re taking at this time is to try to build support for passage of this legislation, a comprehensive approach to legislate on the issue of non-discrimination.”

If the calculation is to avoid upsetting some voters by pushing for gay rights, it’s too late now. The Human Rights Campaign has a document called “Obama Administration Policy, Legislative and Other Advancements on behalf of LGBT Americans” that is six typed pages long.

“This is an administration that is fully committed to LGBT equality and has worked tirelessly” for it, Stachelberg said.

That’s why the administration’s refusal to issue an order that would have been mild compared with its other positions is confusing. Obama’s advocacy for gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military and his opposition to a law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples for federal purposes have been much more controversial.

An executive order is needed, “even if Congress were to defy the political odds and pass ENDA today,” says a paper on the Center for American Progress Web site. An executive order, the paper by Jeff Krehely and Crosby Burns explains, would cover more people than the legislation, which would apply to firms with at least 15 employees. An executive order also could provide an additional enforcement mechanism and another level of compliance evaluation, the authors wrote.

Those arguments, however, apparently weren’t persuasive enough for the president.

“I hope this decision will be revisited,” said Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), who signed the letter, “especially since the American people don’t want their federal tax dollars used to support discrimination.”

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Originally posted by Geezer:

Heard comments on NPR that he suggested the ENDA legislation instead of signing an executive order so he could get Republicans to vote no on it as a campaign tactic. Like many in the LBGT community are gonna vote Republican anyway?

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

It's not bad politics to keep reminding the majority of Americans how much the GOP despises them.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
It's pure politics to sow the seeds of hatred and division, as this president loves to do, more so than any other. In his eyes, Americans are too stupid to think for themselves, so distortions and distractions need to be shoveled on the people, daily. Or, as John Dingel ( D- MI ) puts it, " it takes a long time...to control the people" .

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
It's pure politics to sow the seeds of hatred and division, as this president loves to do, more so than any other. In his eyes, Americans are too stupid to think for themselves, so distortions and distractions need to be shoveled on the people, daily. Or, as John Dingel ( D- MI ) puts it, " it takes a long time...to control the people" .

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Well he is a politician. Plus he can only do that because of the GOP's unwillingness to support equal rights.

I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.

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Originally posted by WHOZIT:
Sorry this is all Barry, you can't pin this on the GOP. If they could they would have had their union buds make a big deal out of this, like they've been getting their friends in the MSM to say the GOP is anti woman because they're against giving away free birth control and Ann Romney never having a PAYING job. Don't worry, the MSM will ignore this like Gitmo staying open and Barry resigning the Patriot Act...and not blaming Barry for high gas prices like they did on Bush.

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by WHOZIT:
Sorry this is all Barry, you can't pin this on the GOP. If they could they would have had their union buds make a big deal out of this, like they've been getting their friends in the MSM to say the GOP is anti woman because they're against giving away free birth control and Ann Romney never having a PAYING job. Don't worry, the MSM will ignore this like Gitmo staying open and Barry resigning the Patriot Act...and not blaming Barry for high gas prices like they did on Bush.

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Explain to me how the President could take advantage of this if the GOP position was different.

The MSM did not ignore those things, that is how you heard about them you twit.

Not free birth control, you are wrong on this every time.

...and the market controls gas prices not the President.

You're stupid, but good enough to repeat those talking points.

I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.

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Originally posted by WHOZIT:
The market contorls gas prices! When Bush was Prez you libs blamed him Cheney and Halliburton, now under Barry EVERYTHING is beyond his control. All you libs do is make excuses for this jugeared douchebag.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Keep reminding them how much the right hates and despises them, and keep bringing it up so the right will keep SAYING SO with their votes, and you erode support for the right and their positions.

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"As Africans, we want to ask Barack Obama to explain to us, is this what he wants to bring to Africa, the human right to eat da poo poo?"
-Dr Martin Ssempa, both his brother and sister died from HIV AIDS
http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=2&t=49790

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Originally posted by m52nickerson:

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Originally posted by WHOZIT:
The market contorls gas prices! When Bush was Prez you libs blamed him Cheney and Halliburton, now under Barry EVERYTHING is beyond his control. All you libs do is make excuses for this jugeared douchebag.

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Some people did blame Bush, those people were idiots, just like you are now.

I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.

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Originally posted by Geezer:

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
Keep reminding them how much the right hates and despises them, and keep bringing it up so the right will keep SAYING SO with their votes, and you erode support for the right and their positions.

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Thank you for your concession that, since I do not hate and despise the LGBT community, I am not of the Right.

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Originally posted by kpo:
It's good politics, and it might even serve LGBT rights more if it helps keep the Republicans out of power for another 4 years. Think of it that way.

It's not personal. It's just war.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:

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Originally posted by kpo:
It's good politics, and it might even serve LGBT rights more if it helps keep the Republicans out of power for another 4 years. Think of it that way.

It's not personal. It's just war.

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Exactly. All Democrats have to do to move LGBT rights forward is to put the GOP on record with their votes.

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Originally posted by Kwicko:
You say you're not "of the Right", but you've yet to speak out against them or vote against them as far as I can see.

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Far from doing nothing, you will, at every single turn defend your beloved right, all while claiming not to be "of the Right".

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Originally posted by WULFENSTAR:
LGBT, blacks, browns, atheists, vegans, whites, Christians, muslims, jews, women, tards, non-tards, (every other box I've missed)

YAY, WE CAN ALL CLAIM VICTIM STATUS NOW!

Cus, you know, the world owes us fluffy bunnies.

Seriously, how many of you have actually watched this show?

"None of you seem to understand. I'm not locked in here with you... YOU are locked in here with ME."

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