So obviously Washington ignored my post about the DADT repeal...Because they totally see that sort of stuff and it changes their mind. *nods seriously* Anyway, I blame three people for the repeal being defeated: Harry Reid, John McCain...and Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga doesn't have much to do with it, actually. She lead a rally yesterday in favor of the repeal...but things could have gone better. Remember those fabulous gay pride people I talked about, the ones who make the social conservatives worry (rightfully so) that our military will go the way of Rupaul's Drag Race? Yeah, perfect example. Some people will be mad at me because they thought she was amazing. Though a few of my friends were at the ralley and I wasn't, I have managed to find a few excerpts from her speeches. One which seems to be prevalent in the press (who seems to be treating her as having any sort of actual political experience...which confuses me to no end) was "Our new law is called 'If you don't like it, go home!'" Am I the only one to whom that sounds more like something screamed at a pepralley by the head cheerleader than a political statement? Also she compared America to a cut of prime rib and claimed she wasn't getting as much out of it as she could. Even on a planet where that statement makes sense, she wasn't the death knell of the repeal, but she definitely didn't help.
As much as I'd love to blame Maine for all of our problems, I don't even blame Republican Senator Susan Collins, who changed her mind last minute to vote the bill down. Considering the circumstances, she had every right to do so. Front and center in the absolute failure of this whole thing are Senators Harry Reid (Majority leader) and John McCain. I'm not bothering to pull up any links or anything, I'm just going to state my opinion: they are both enormous tools.
McCain, for one, is a grouchy old man which automatically makes him opposed to change. It's in the Grouchy Old Man Handbook. For another, and something based slightly more in fact, he seems to oppose anything the Democrats want just for the sake of opposing them. If he can't have the presidency, then the Dems can't have anything they want. Nahny nahny boo boo.
Then there's Reid, who I know next to nothing about except he seems to like poking at the GOP with a stick. I think if the DADT repeal were the only thing on the military spending bill, it probably would have gone through. Then an ammendment was added having to do with military abortion clinics. Then he wanted to allow illegal immigrants who had been here since before age 15 and gone to college or served in the military to become citizens. It's like he decided to pick social conservatives' three big issues and tack the word "military" on somewhere in there to make it all related, then refused to let them debate further on it. Nevermind he pushed it at a time when elections were so close and nobody really wanted to go into it. Now it could be years before DADT gets another reasonable chance at repeal unless the Pentagon study due December 1 comes back extremely favorably. You dropped the ball, Harry...Ever heard of the expression "cutting off your nose to spite your face"?
This partisanship, this voting things up and down just to spite each other, is why America can't have nice things.
I'll have to disagree with your comments about Lady Gaga being at 'fault' at all, Ashely. I'm not sure if you actually saw her speech, I did. It was actually very powerful and moving, I have the whole thing on video and I'll post it on facebook soon. The exerts you have seen or read won't bring the meat of her argument, which was actually pretty thought out. She added some 'quirky' humor (as could be expected), but she also came off as someone passionate for the cause. Also, if you saw my pictures, she was dressed very 'professional', not in her stage outfits. She also managed to bring hundreds of people, on a days notice, to a rally. Even the ones who only came to see her (and I'll admit, there were a lot, and it pissed me off), they heard all the same speeches, including the ones not made by the pop star herself. In the end, even if you believe she's only doing it for the press coverage, I think she does bring something to the cause, not take away.
ReplyDeleteBesides that little tidbit, because I was there (and by the way, I don't even care for Lady Gaga, I like only three of her songs and find her stage outfits.... really stupid. And this is coming from me (you know how I dress.)) I do agree about the rest. There are a lot of people who vote down on anything the other party wants JUST because the other party wants it. Both sides are guilty of this. Not based on the actual people it effects, just based on 'democrats want it' or 'republicans want it'. It's ridiculous, and the reason positive change (or negative change, or ANY change, really) is pretty much impossible to move forward.
Here's her whole speech, by the way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MosKyMBihk
ReplyDeleteIf you pay attention, you can here me sometimes, and see my hand.
I saw your hand! ^__^
ReplyDeleteI would give Gaga an A for effort if I still didn't firmly believe it was nothing but a publicity stunt. Obviously I agree with her over-all argument of "repeal DADT," and I give her points for not dressing as crazy as she normally does, but honestly she delivered her lines--excuse me, speech (she spent 48 hours "writing it herself" and still had to look down at it that much?)--with all the passion of an unexperienced tenth grade actress trying to convince the people in the back row that she IS upset! Really! She had her moments where she DID sound like she knew what she was saying, believed in it, and wanted to actively campaign for it. If you notice, though, when she's not looking down at the paper she's looking not at the crowd but at the cameras. What do you want to bed most of the paparazzi were on her left side? She gestured a lot (far too much and in far too a rehearsed [or badly adlibbed] way) with her right hand so the press could get good action shots.
Bri, those who came only for Lady Gaga only got the experience they wanted to; doing their good deed for the day but mostly getting to see a pop star. They may say "yeah, it's a bad thing" but they've not really got much of a stake in it do they? Not quite convincingly passionate enough. They went to the ralley then forgot about the whole DADT thing after it failed. The people who came for the actual cause are still for the cause and still actively against DADT. The only thing that Lady Gaga did was create more of a parking problem.
She should have cut out the meat thing altogether. It was only a 15-minute-long run-up to an allusion to her ridiculous meat dress. Somebody really needed to have edited it for her, and it made her sound incredibly stupid.
On the editing note, she doesn't seem to realize that soldiers--gay or straight--are restricted in that constitutional right, freedom of speech. You need to be very careful in what you say as being a soldier it's a lot easier to commit treason. It's unwise to be critical of any specific politician and most especially the president, no matter who it is and who you express these criticisms too. There's a reason most soldiers don't talk politics with other soldiers; poor form, poor office ettiquette, and if someone who doesn't like you takes something you say the wrong way, next thing you know you're being brought up on treason charges.
Roaring "ARE YOU LISTENING" doesn't do much for her credibility, either. It was a speech based not on fact but on eliciting an emotional response from a crowed who was easily wowed by someone of note actually coming to Maine for once.
Gaga could have held the ralley a week after the judge ruled Don't Ask Don't Tell unconstitutional, she could have done it the Thursday before when they announced they would vote upon it the following Tuesday. But no. There was no ralley, no speech, not a peep from anyone until the day before. It was a disgusting cry of "look at me!" from a pop star desperate for attention preying upon the hopes of those who actually cared about the cause because it actually effected them. I'm equally disgusted with the media--and everyone else who seems to act the same as them--who treat a pop star as if she were an actual political source.