Ya Really Hafta Wonder . . .

what benefit the Obama administration sees in systematically alienating its constituency.

I don't think at this point I have to run down the list of the occasions on which the president and his minions have screwed the GLBT community -- it's getting pretty long by now, and it's not just things they haven't done -- the latest almost beggars description:

Though Congress has not yet passed a bill providing for conditional repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, government lawyers contend the prospect of such a measure's passage should be sufficient for the courts to stay out of the issue.

"Defendants urge this Court ... to stay all further proceedings in this case because the political branches have taken concrete steps to facilitate repeal of the DADT statute," the Justice Department wrote in a brief filed in a suit brought in California by the Log Cabin Republicans.M

In other words, because Congress has not yet passed a bill that does not repeal the current policy, the courts should stay out of it. If you're scratching your head over that one, you're not alone.

So, instead of getting the message that their DINO of the week, Blanche Lincoln, is maybe not the best bet to win in November, the White House pulls another stupid stunt:

Shortly after Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) emerged victorious, an anonymous White House aide began spreading word that the President Obama's political team thought that the money unions had spent on Halter's candidacy was a massive waste and damaging to the party.

"Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members' money down the toilet on a pointless exercise," the unnamed official said to Politico's Ben Smith. "If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November."

Another senior Democrat (who also would not be quoted by name) echoed the point in an exchange with the Huffington Post. "Labor is humiliated," the source said. "$10 million flushed down the toilet at a time when Democrats across the country are fighting for their lives, they look like absolute idiots."

The response from labor was about what you'd expect:

"We are not an arm of the White House or the DNC or a political party," said AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale. "We work on issues. And if we feel like someone is standing up for working families, we support them, and if they don't, we won't support it. In the past, people would have assumed that was talk, but now we have backed that up with action."

"Is the lesson they are taking out of tonight that they can go after labor and anonymously trash us and we will put our tail in between our legs and slink home? That ain't happening," Vale added.

Driving home the point that the White House was cravenly hiding behind the cloak of anonymity in their attacks, the AFL-CIO spokesman signed off the conversation with the following: "My name is Eddie Vale of the AFL-CIO and I'm proud to fight for working families and I don't hide behind anonymous quotes."

(I'd like to see something on that order from GLAAD or HRC, but I ain't holding my breath. Maybe the gay movement needs some good union organizers.)

I can hardly wait to see what Obama and the Democrats come up with on immigration reform to alienate Latino voters.