or at least, that will be the headline if we don't get our collective shit together. There are already rumblings in the press that this may be the case - they're allowing the headlines to be dominated by Republicans and anti-repeal Democrats to voice their "skepticism", or focusing on strategy disputes among repeal advocates - because, as anonymous sources will tell you, the chances of repeal are "anybody's guess".
Today, Levin met with McCain and Reid... they were supposed to begin hammering out details. Our voices cannot be absent from this debate, and if there were ever a time to push back, it's NOW.
Reposting this contact info from my last diary:
On keeping DADT repeal in the bill, we need to call/write/email
--Harry Reid (D-NV) - (202) 224-3542
--Carl Levin (D-MI) (especially!) - (202) 224-6221
Levin, especially.
And for the vote itself:
--Susan Collins (R-ME) - (202) 224-2523
--Olympia Snowe (R-ME) - (202) 224-5344
--Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) - (202) 224-2353
--Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) - (202) 224-4843
--Richard Lugar (R-IN) - (202) 224-4814
--Judd Gregg (R-NH) - (202) 224-3324
--Scott Brown (R-MA) - (202) 224-4543
--George Voinovich (R-OH) - (202) 224-3353
--Kit Bond (R-MO) - (202) 224-5721
--Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) - (202) 224-6665
I'll also add this:
Reid still consistently says that DADT repeal will move forward. The White House still consistently says that it wants DADT repeal in the Defense Authorization. So why has the media narrative become "unlikely"?
In part because we let it:
Unease and discord are sexy topics for reporters. McCain has sucked all the energy out of the room, and the networks have been happy to follow his lead. Despite months of unified talking points by our advocacy orgs, a single point of disagreement has become the story. If people didn't doubt the possibility of repeal before, they certainly do now.
We may not own media conglomerates, but we can make repeal a more prominent part of the conversation by writing to your newspapers. Yes, no one reads newspapers anymore, but letters to the editor are still a significant way not only to signal to the editors when an issue is hitting a nerve, but to your local representatives to see what's agitating their voters. An LTE in your state's biggest newspaper can be worth a hundred calls: so if you're sick of dealing with the Capital switchboard, start hitting your papers. They may not get published until some preliminary decisions get made, but at this point we need to have all our bases covered. Call your Senators first, but hit this at every level you can.
Because while we don't, they are. We've already seen the Family Research Council insert themselves into the repeal debate last week, and without linking to their site I can tell you that they (and others) have action items for their memberships to barrage the outgoing Congress with their demands that they don't use the lame duck session to advance a 'homosexual agenda', citing Republican gains as evidence that America opposes radical progressivism. Or something like that. Oh, and Boehner and McConnell are both on the record saying they'll hold the Republican vote together against repeal (at another site I refuse to link to, but it's easily googleable.)
There is a lot at stake for Republicans here: a victory over DADT repeal will not only energize their conservative Christian base, but it will divide an already tense Democratic coalition, probably irreparably. Don't think they don't realize that. This is a major, major opportunity for Republicans to erode whatever confidence Democratic voters have left in their party. Plus it's easier to maintain the status quo, even for bad policy, than to stick out your neck for change... this is why the potential Republican swing votes are both extremely vital and extremely tenuous.
So please, whatever your feelings about this: call, call, call. Then write. Then call some more.
Every single day until repeal comes to the floor.
Think about those serving this country honorably, but secretively, in the face of constant physical threat, willingly laying down their lives for their country.
They deserve supporters at home willing to fight for them, too.
+++
edit: one note on the supposed discord among repeal advocates that burst into something of a mini-flame war in the media today. I thank every single one of the groups that is fighting for us whether I ultimately agree with their strategies or not. Movements are big, cumbersome things, and we won't always like our allies' approaches. Whatever happened today, let's move past it: let's thank the advocates, the lobbyists, the direction-action rabble-rousers, the lawyers, the men and women who've served in silence and those who've risked everything to come out publicly. We are a movement.
+++
Here is the list of contacts that jpmassar has been diligently providing, as well:
MARK PRYOR - ARKANSAS
202-224-2353, email
501-324-6336
The River Market, 500 Clinton Ave Ste 401, Little Rock, AR 72201
BLANCHE LINCOLN - ARKANSAS
202-224-4843, email
501-375-2993 870-382-1023 870-910-6896 479-251-1224
912 West Fourth Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
EVAN BAYH - INDIANA
202-224-5623, email
317-554-0750 812-465-6500 260-426-3151 219-852-2763
1650 Market Tower, 10 West Market St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
SUSAN COLLINS - MAINE
202-224-2523, email
207-622-8414 207-945-0417 207-780-3575
One Canal Plazam, Suite 802, Portland, ME 04101
OLYMPIA SNOWE - MAINE
202-224-5344, email
207-786-2451 207-622-8292 207-945-0432
3 Canal Plaza, Suite 601, Portland, ME 04101
SCOTT BROWN - MASSACHUSETTS
202-224-4543, email,
617-565-3170
2400 JFK Federal Building, 55 New Sudbury Street, Boston, MA 02203
GEORGE VOINOVICH - OHIO
202-224-3353, email
216-522-7095, 513-684-3265, 419-259-3895
1240 East 9th Street, Room 3061, Cleveland, OH 44199
LISA MURKOWSKI - ALASKA
202-224-6665, email
907-456-0233, 907-271-3735
101 12th Ave, Room 216, Fairbanks, AK 99701
DICK LUGAR - INDIANA
202-224-4814, email
812-465-6313 317-226-5555
180 Market Tower, 10 West Market St., Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
JIM WEBB - VIRGINIA
202-224-4024, email
804-771-2221 276-679-4925 757-518-1674 540-772-4236
507 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219
KIT BOND - MISSOURI
202-224-5721, email
816-471-7141 314-725-4484
7700 Bonhomme, #615 St. Louis, MO 63105
MARK KIRK - ILLINOIS
202-225-4835 (Congressional office), email
847-940-0202 (local Congressional office)
707 Skokie Boulevard, Suite 350, Northbrook, IL 60062
JUDD GREGG - NEW HAMPSHIRE
202-224-3324, email
603-225-7115, 603-622-7979
125 North Main Street, Concord, NH 03301
JOE MANCHIN - WEST VIRGINIA
1-888-438-2731, email (governor's page)
304-205-5889 (senate campaign office phone)
Edited with new contact info
LINDSAY GRAHAM - SOUTH CAROLINA
202-224-5972, email
803-933-0112 864-250-1417 803-366-2828
508 Hampton Street, Suite 202, Columbia, SC
HARRY REID - NEVADA
202-224-3542, email
702-388-5020 775-882-7343 775-686-5750
Lloyd D. George Bldg., 333 Las Vegas Blvd S, Suite 8016 Las Vegas, NV 89101
CARL LEVIN - MICHIGAN
202-224-6221, email
517-377-1508 313-226-6020
124 West Allegan, Suite 1810, Lansing, MI
and, why not?, the White House:
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
Don't take "we support repeal" as an answer. Support is fine, but advocacy is vital.