By Ethan August (Palo Alto, California) DEC 10 | My email this morning to Joe Solmonese of the HRC, feel free to copy and send to him on your own:
Dear Joe,
The Human Rights Campaign has failed our LGBT soldiers, its contributors, and the American people.
DADT continues to remain in effect despite the tens of millions of dollars contributed to the HRC, public opinion in our favor, Democratic control of Congress and the White House for the last two years, support from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, support from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, a federal court overturning the law as unconstitutional, and a Pentagon report encouraging its repeal.
If the HRC cannot accomplish its mission with all of the factors above working in our favor, the HRC and your leadership have been rendered ineffective and useless. You promised that "This year we are going to bring down DADT.” You have failed to fulfill your promise and should therefore resign your position as President of the Human Rights Campaign.
Yesterday, in your letter to contributors you essentially conceded that we had lost this battle in Congress and shifted the pressure to President Obama. You insisted President Obama issue a stop-loss order halting military discharges and cease defending DADT in federal court. In comparison to an act of Congress, these are relatively simple things for the President to accomplish. Ceasing to defend DADT in court would accomplish the same long-term solution as an act of Congress. This is clearly one of the largest strategic blunders in the history of the homosexual rights movement and you should take responsibility immediately. Despite his excuses to try otherwise, pressuring the President to cease defending DADT in court should not have been plan B. A stop-loss order should be issued and remain in effect until DADT is no longer in place via the courts or Congress.
As you know, another separate bill to repeal DADT was introduced today. Yet just last evening you conceded defeat and switched strategies. This leads me to believe that you and the HRC have no insight into what is really occurring in Washington and are simply observing this process just as we the contributors are also doing. Anyone can create an automated email system that prompts our community to email our elected leaders. At this point, that seems to be all the HRC has been able to accomplish.
What our community and the HRC’s contributors now need is leadership that can effect policy change in Washington. Until you resign, and new leadership has established that capability for the HRC, I will no longer be contributing to this organization. I’m encouraging my friends, family and readers to copy this email to you and take the same position.
Sincerely,
Ethan August
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