Rep. Alcee Hastings explains how White House staff worked against his amendment to stop funding Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

I wrote about this controversy earlier today at gay.AMERICAblog.com:

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) had an amendment to the Defense Appropriations that would have prevented funding any DADT investigation. That’s the kind of procedural tactic Republicans have used for years to stop funding of programs they didn’t like. For years, Republicans blocked federal funding of DC’s domestic partnerships and needle exchange. I’m not sure if this was the best approach, but, sometimes, the only way to make progress is to use (or abuse) the appropriations process. But, a funny (or not so funny) thing happened on the way to the Appropriations bill mark-up. In his own words, Hastings was pressured by the White House and others to drop his amendment.

There is no White House strategy to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Still.

Tonight, Hastings was on Rachel Maddow’s show to explain what happened. I’ll put the full clip of the interview up when it’s available. But, here’s a clip: Wow, those Rachel people are fast. Here’s the full interview:

(YouTube link here.)
We wouldn’t be having these problems if we knew the White House even had a strategy. But, there’s nothing. When this White House wants to get something done, they let “people” know. When they don’t want to get things done, “people” know, too.

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