ENDA: The New Strategy

Just like the old strategy: Pelosi will do just what she and Frank felt was best to begin with: pass ENDA now and pass GENDA when the self-righteous have done their job and drummed up the support.

This statement by Joe Solmonese is face-saving at it's best:

"Speaker Pelosi's promise to put a fully-inclusive ENDA to a vote continues to underline HRC's passionate advocacy on behalf of the entire GLBT community," HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a statement. "Our strategy throughout has been to stay at the table and fight for the ultimate goal that we all share. Today, that strategy has proven to be successful. With this commitment, the inclusive ENDA bill will continue to receive legislative action as it moves through the committee hearing process during the time HRC, and other coalition organizations, continue to advocate directly with [Congress] members to support this critical inclusive workplace protection bill."

Gee, and this is all brand new, now, isn't it?

This whole imbroglio demonstrates one thing and one thing only: Congressional Democrats, led by Pelosi and Frank, are committed to getting protections at the federal level for gay and lesbian citizens. The "gay leadership"? Not so much.

Thanks to John Aravosis.

From Pam Spaulding, this analysis, which incorporates most of what has troubled me about the controversy. There's all the rhetoric, both in her comments and the quotes she includes from other sources -- "throwing transgenders under the bus" is one of the phrases I've seen most frequently in this. There's all the mushy thinking -- "support" for a trans-inclusive bill in left-speak translates into "push for it right now and damn the consequences," and "pragmatism" is a dirty word. (And, keep in mind, this is Spaulding trying to be fair and balanced.)

The bottom line is pretty much where my side of the argument -- and that includes Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, John Aravosis, Chris Crain, and a few others -- has been all along: you don't want to negotiate, you don't want to compromise, you don't want to be patient and educate people about your cause and change their minds, no one's going to get anything, because if you have two intransigent parties, the one with the votes is going to win -- and we don't have the votes.

If it comes to a choice between making progress and keeping my virtue intact, I'll go for progress.

(Speaking of virtue, you really should read the HRC press release quoted in Spaulding's post. It's the most astonishing piece of self-serving cant I've ever seen. Well, one of them. Once you dig through all the mush, it's pretty obvious that Pelosi told HRC what's going to happen, and HRC is scrambling to make itself look like it is somehow relevant: the "compromise" is exactly what Barney Frank proposed that set off the firestorm to begin with. Spaulding's headline echoes the meme.)