Op-Ed: Obama Memo Is A Piece Of Crap

I keep thinking that President Obama must have turned to his handlers yesterday morning and said “get me that fag Frank and that mannish one from Wisconsin, what’s her name, Timmy, to stand next to me when I sign this.” I know that sounds cruel, but if you take time to actually read the signed memorandum that Obama made such a show of on Wednesday, even the non-cynics would have to consider that it was nothing more than that, show...and maybe an attempt to counter the growing criticism this administration has been hearing from the LGBT community over its inactions.

The headlines on most major news services this morning read something like “benefits expanded” or “Obama signs same-sex benefits memo” which admittedly, does sound impressive and noteworthy. Bullshit. First off, this isn’t an Executive Order, it is a memo. The difference between the two may just be semantics, but some experts believe them to be interchangeable and some speculating that a communication constructed as a memo actually “expires” with a changing administration. (An Executive Order issued by one president remains active until specifically repealed by another.)

The memo begins with a shocking revelation. “Millions of hard-working, dedicated, and patriotic public servants are employed by the Federal Government as part of the civilian workforce, and many of these devoted Americans have same-sex domestic partners.” It then goes on to underscore why legal action is so desperately needed. “Leading companies in the private sector are free to provide to same-sex domestic partners the same benefits they provide to married people of the opposite sex. Executive departments and agencies, however, may only provide benefits on that basis if they have legal authorization to do so. My Administration is not authorized by Federal law to extend a number of available Federal benefits to the same-sex partners of Federal employees.”

Then there’s a piece about instructing the Office of Personnel Management to do something that they should already have done. “Within existing law, however, my Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of State, who oversees our Foreign Service employees, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, who oversees human resource management for our civil service employees, has identified areas in which statutory authority exists to achieve greater equality for the Federal workforce through extension to same-sex domestic partners of benefits currently available to married people of the opposite sex.” Note that nowhere does the memo indicate that this administration sees this as an issue of basic equality. In fact, the last line of the intro summarizes the whole initiative as being a recruiting tool. “Extending available benefits will help the Federal Government compete with the private sector to recruit and retain the best and the brightest employees.”

And then there are the specific requests from Obama:

“Section 1. Extension of Identified Benefits. The Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall, in consultation with the Department of Justice, extend the benefits they have respectively identified to qualified same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees where doing so can be achieved and is consistent with Federal law.”

How much courage does it require to direct agencies to comply with existing law?

“Sec. 2. Review of Government wide Benefits. The heads of all other executive departments and agencies, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, shall conduct a review of the benefits provided by their respective departments and agencies to determine what authority they have to extend such benefits to same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees. The results of this review shall be reported within 90 days to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, who, in consultation with the Department of Justice, shall recommend to me any additional measures that can be taken, consistent with existing law, to provide benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal Government employees.”

So that means that executive departments and agencies have been given three months to identify benefits that same-sex couples aren’t receiving but are ALREADY GRANTED under the law. Oh and then there will be recommendations on which ones will actually be granted. Generous.

Lastly, there’s a bit about directing the Office of Personnel Management to recommend to departments and agencies how to comply with existing anti-discrimination laws.

“Sec. 3. Promoting Compliance with Existing Law Requiring Federal Workplaces to be Free of Discrimination Based on Non-Merit Factors. The Office of Personnel Management shall issue guidance within 90 days to all executive departments and agencies regarding compliance with, and implementation of, the civil service laws, rules, and regulations, including 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(10), which make it unlawful to discriminate against Federal employees or applicants for Federal employment on the basis of factors not related to job performance.”

So yes it’s true that this is only the second president to issue a directive specifically targeting gays and lesbians. And yes it is true that this is a first step and that it may get the ball rolling, but the memo itself is really just a piece of crap.

Comments

[Pissed Off]

How much more condescension are we going to have to take?

In case you haven't noticed, we've gotten the "CHANGE" promised to us. Unfortunately the change is the wrapping around the message not the actual message itself.

Like the article says, how hard is it to say that your government needs to comply with the law of the land? Even under the Bush administration shouldn't this have been happening? Why weren't we screaming about this back then?

[Grateful]

Can we all quit complaining and be grateful that SOMETHING is being done? However little it may be, it's still a step. And quite frankly, as much as I want the right to lead a full normal and legal life with my partner, I'm also aware of the heaping agendas on this man's plate. I think everyone is expecting him to just go around and fix everything within 6 months. Well it's not going to happen that way. There is absolutely no reason for us to sit back and wait, but there is also no reason for us to piss on the olive branch.

Maybe showing some gratitude instead of outrage will further our cause more effectively....

[Dear Grateful]

I didn't realize Barack Obama was the only person actually working in Washington, D.C. Thank you Grateful (commenter above) for explaining that one.

Come on now people! He's been in office 5 months, was elected 8 months ago and has been planning to be President for at least 2 years! He has had plenty of time to plan his course of action on items that haven't changed since he's been in office.

He has thousands of people at his disposal to work on things. All that's needed is for him to get them started and tell them what he wants. It's called delegation.

I realize he has a lot on his plate and I don't envy him that. But the things he made huge promises in his campaign should have had plans in place to start moving on as of Jan. 20!

[Wake Up]

Wake up, people. Obama has not kept any promises except the one to take Michelle to dinner and a show in New York. While he has had a lot on his plate--nationalizing the banks and GM, increasing the Federal deficit to a trillion or so dollars with no end in sight, giving a box of dvds to a visiting foreign dignitary, watching the unemployment rate rise to depression-levels, proposing a health care plan that we cannot possibly afford, socializing America, etc.--Obama has done nothing but extend economic downfall.

Its not all his fault; Congress is to blame as well. But still, why is Obama wasting time drafting a piece of paper that accomplishes the status quo? He is pushing an unrealistic health care bill to be voted on before anyone has time to read the thing, and is distracting the press by "promoting" gay issues while doing nothing to change things.

Again, wake up. This memo was a diversion to distract from his agenda to insert government into every aspect of every citizen's life. And if you think that if our status as second-class citizens is going to change under this administration, I'd like to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn.

[Bob Fisher]

Good grief!
People get so up-tight and impatient. Obama has many taks on his plate, so please give him some space. There is only so much he can do one sttep at a time. I beleive down the road Obama will push for a law change in congress. Meanwhile, he is doign what he can with the territory he can cover on him own with this memo.

[truthhurts]

The truth hurts but the Obama Team only gave the indication of support (the ever so popular "We feel your pain, We are with you" . No Promise was made
Those who voted for "Change" bought the package of change, not the reality of Obama and his team
consistantly not committing to specifics on GLBT issues. And specifically Obama stated multiple times
he was not in favor of gay marriage, (read into that - not in favor of gay equality either)
Want Change - quit feeding the machine - the party.... drop the democratic party.
Register independent, Register Libertarian,,, vote for anyone who is not Republican or Democrat at
every chance......

[Troy]

FIRE the Democrats! Why have big goverment if we are excluded from it? Excluded from benefits, excluded from military, excluded from tax benefits.

I will not vote Obama again.

Democrats need to lose in 2012 or we become irrelevant

[Greg]

In response to Wake Up's comments, that's just not true. He also got the girls their dog.

[juh]

Truthhurts,

Right on! So many assumptions have been made about his campaign promises. He has never been for gay marriage but has said he thought civil unions were a suitable alternative. This is why Obama signed in support of the legal brief supporting DOMA. Separate is not equal but it's because people want to piece meal out our rights or only give us some by calling it civil union But if we do like New Zealand and others European countries have we may actually get somewhere. They made civil unions for everyone gay or staight and marriage was made something separate churches could do if they wanted.

This memo offering federal benefits is a joke too as the author of this article stated. What we need to focus on right now is DADT, everyone needs to head over to the Courage Campaign Website and sign on to help Lt. Choi. Obama did make promises to overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell.

[Schadenfreude]

I hope it's becoming clearer to us all that Obama is a fraud who, just as a good politician does, merely played on America's sympathies and guilt to get in. People readily say McCain and Hilary tried this on them, but are reluctant to admit Obama got them this way too. C'mon folks, a dog is a dog is a dog.
I'm sick and tired of people telling me to cut him slack. As another comment here said, he had enough time to dole out ridiculous amounts of our money to the banks and auto companies, push for a ridiculous (and costly) health care plan, and whatnot; yet he "needs more time" to get civil rights in order? Completely absurd and unacceptable.
People are too bedazzled by his glorious, Jesus-like campaign. If they ever took time out of la-la land to look closer they'd see that it's composed of nothing but mirrors, smoke, and hot air. He wasn't our friend when he was running last year, and I doubt that he be when 2012 arrives...

[RJ]

While I agree 100% that the Obama has done little for the LGBT "community," I do not like the tone of this editorial at all. I view it as regressive, immature and destructive to our shared goals. Instead of hurling microscopic grenades at the President and his administration, we need to continue to work collaboratively and never stop pushing ahead, recognizing issues of political expediency. The first two years of this administration are key to the second four years...we do not want to lose those.