Obama: No Health Insurance For Families of GLBT Federal Employees
17 June 2009 10:11 am by JoeCHI
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/06/16/some-federal-employees-are-more-equal-than-others
As always, the devil’s in the details and Dan Savage is having none of it. Read it and weep, my fellow gays!
Savage: Obama: Some Federal Employees Are More Equal Than Others
Bet you can’t guess which. The straight ones.
President Obama will sign a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, administration officials said Tuesday evening, but he will stop short of pledging full health insurance coverage.
Could the Obama administration possibly be ANY MORE incompetent when it comes to gay issues? Let it leak that you’re going “extend federal benefits” to the partners of gay federal employees, hope that this move mollifies furious gay rights organizations and activists still reeling from your DOMA betrayal, and THEN announce that—sorry!—the package of benefits doesn’t include the single most important work-related benefit: health insurance.
I’m speechless.
UPDATE: I’m reacting in real time, as I read this story at the NYT and analysis on the blogs. Guess what? It’s not an executive order, it’s just a “presidential memorandum,” which means this directive expires when Obama leaves office. Such fierce advocacy. So brave. And the package was pulled together not because the Obama administration had a secret plan all along to protect and expand the rights of gays and lesbians. Nope. The whole thing was hastily pulled together to save the DNC’s big gay fundraiser next week. That’s it. The White House admits to the NYT that this isn’t about principal. It’s damage control:
But administration officials said the timing of the announcement was intended to help contain the growing furor among gay rights groups. Several gay donors withdrew their sponsorship of a Democratic National Committee fund-raising event next week, where Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is scheduled to speak.
Says Pam:
This administration, the Congress and the DNC need to see the LGBT ATM shut down. NOW. That June 26 LGBT DNC fundraiser is toast. No one is buying a partner benefit plan that doesn’t include health insurance, for god’s sake.
As Keshmeshi helpfully points out in comments, Obama can’t extend health care benefits to federal employees himself:
Mr. Obama will be weighing in for the first time on one of the most delicate social and political issues of the day: whether the government must provide benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. While he will announce a list of benefits, officials said, they are not expected to include broad health insurance coverage, which could require legislation to achieve.
Which brings us back to sheer insulting incompetence of this idiot maneuver. Why announce a bold plan and an Oval Office signing ceremony for a something-or-other that will “extend federal benefits” to the partners of gay employees… when that package does not include the only workplace benefit that most people can name off the tops of their fucking heads: health insurance? This is your big gesture to mollify your gay critics? This is designed to calm the waters in the wake of your DOMA betrayal? When I wrote earlier tonight that the federal benefits Obama is extending “are by no means trivial,” I was naturally operating under the assumption that these benefits would include health insurance. They do not. What benefits will federal employees enjoy the day after tomorrow anyway? Discounted entrance fees to our national parks?
And will Obama send legislation up to Capitol Hill to extend HEALTH BENEFITS to the partners of gay federal employees? The same president who talked such good game—”all that’s required is leadership”—on ending DADT and has done fuck all since taking office? The same president who said “I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples” and then turned around and argued that the states could ban gay marriage to save money? That guy is going to get legislation through Congress awarding health benefits to gay couples? I kinda doubt it, don’t you?
This is worse than insulting. This is outrageous, another slap in the face, salt in the wound left by last week’s DOMA betrayal. Fuck the Obama administration. That DNC fundraiser next week has to be shut down.
This post was submitted by JoeCHI.
Tags: Barack Obama, civil rights
John Aravosis weighs in:
What are the benefits that are included? Hmmm, using the company gym?
Free coffee mugs and key chains?
What planet does Saint Obama think he is living on?
Mike Signorile is disgusted, too!
Just checked in with the Washington Blade:
http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25788
This article has the details.
Clearly, DOMA and DADT must be overturned, NOW.
AliceP says:
17 June 2009 at 10:17 am
What planet does Saint Obama think he is living on?
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The one where his family gets health insurance and ours do not.
This doesn’t sound good at all and frankly could make things worse. If this is truly the case, then the DNC fundraiser needs to be shut down and people need to call the White House and elected officials. There also needs to be some transparency about the details from Obama on this. You can’t jerk people around while trying to do damage control.
AliceP says:
17 June 2009 at 10:19 am
So the article is saying that DOMA prevents Obama from offerring health benefits to families of GLBT federal eployees?
Such an important diary, JoeCHI. Thank you for staying on this for everyone, including the lurkers(!).
It seems that optics are seen as more important than substance, trying to create a perception that falls well short of equal or fair.
Morning -
How the hope changey thing working for everyone?
I am not the least bit surprised. Taylor is correct – optics mean more than substance to this guy. I never bought into him being a supporter of gay rights. As far as I’m concerned Obama is nothing but smoke and mirrors.
And let me add this. For those of you on this site who have said Obama has alot on his plate with the economy, foreign affair issues, etc. so this is not a priority for him right how -
Since when are human rights, civil rights in this country a back burner issue? I’m sick of hearing this lame excuse and hope to not hear or read it again.
Obama should have alot on his plate. He’s the President for God’s sake, he’s supposed to. That is not a legitimate argument for not taking a principled stand on rights for EVERYONE in this country.
lynnette says:
17 June 2009 at 10:32 am
AliceP says:
17 June 2009 at 10:19 am
So the article is saying that DOMA prevents Obama from offerring health benefits to families of GLBT federal eployees?
YES. That’s how I read the article.
If Obama does not call for a reversal of DOMA and DADT (and tell how he is going to fight for it) today when he rolls out his “good news” for gay federal employees, his credibility from this day forward with the gay community is ZERO.
It already is zero AliceP from what I read and hear.
BTW, I believe the benefits that Hillary enacted for the State Department were primarily to include ALL the members of the family of gay diplomats so they could do their jobs in other countries without problems: ie, travel and moving arrangements, visas, emergency services, inclusion in using diplomatic privileges etc.
I haven’t seen (or researched) any deep details on this.
The Gays (and our straight-supporters) need to step away from the Kool-Aid, stop circling the wagons, grow a pair, and demand that Obama fulfill his campaign pledges!
After all, self-loathing is so 1980’s!
As to process, from CBC:
http://twitter.com/markknoller/status/2208863525
The latest from Aravosis as of 12:55pm:
there’s more to it:
Update 1:40 pm ET: An openly gay member of the House, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., is defending the president. “As I understand it, it goes as far as he can legally,” Frank said of Obama’s benefits plan. “The president will do the maximum he can under the law. It’s up to the Congress to change the law.”
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/06/68206447/1
JoeCHI says:
17 June 2009 at 12:03 pm
The Gays (and our straight-supporters) need to step away from the Kool-Aid, stop circling the wagons, grow a pair.
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those buzz words are impediments to dialogue not a boost, IMO.