The debate over whether AOUSC or OPM should adminster the FEHBP for judicial employees is actually a deep and important one, whether or not we have a DPBOA.
And did I mention this is related to DOMA?
It should be obvious from the profusion of acronyms that I'm talking about federal law. Last January, Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski ruled, in his capacity as an administrator of the federal courts, that the Administrative Office of the United States Courts would violate its own equal employment rules if it denied Karen Golinski, a court employee, health benefits for her lawful same-sex spouse, and directed the AO to provide the benefits. That decision was never appealed to any court or other reviewing body. After the AO processed Golinksi's paperwork under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Obama administration's Office of Personnel Management stepped in to put a stop to this blatant disregard of DOMA's unambiguous demand that the federal government must discriminate against same-sex couples.
The statement from Elaine Kaplan, OPM's General Counsel is reasoned and explicitly recognizes that DOMA is both unfair in general, and is even "painful" to court employees like Golinski. That is why (the statement notes) the President supports DOMA's legislative repeal, and in the interim, the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act. Nevertheless, DOMA is the law.
The administration's stated reluctance to enforce a law it opposes makes it a little harder to view this as a political fight over gay rights; this is a battle over whether the courts are truly independent of the administration when it comes to their own employees, or whether the employees of our constitutionally separate court system are subject to the employment rules applicable to the Executive branch. That is actually a profound argument about the structure of our government, and one whose outcome isn't entirely clear.
But what is clear is that the administration did not need to pick this fight. An uncountable number of administrative issues like this are ignored or neglected or simply never noticed every day. Given government's enormous size and scope in the modern world, administrators have to prioritize their time and efforts.
Consequently, it is no compliment to this administration (and I would single out the Department of Justice, whose judgment the administration is following) that this is the ground they chose to fight on. No one views this as a battle over executive power, and after the Bush administration, it's pretty pathetic that this is the best characterization the administration could hope for. Obama's folks are politically conflicted over how to handle DOMA and gay rights in general, and that weakness is highlighted by the fact that the head of OPM, John Berry, is the highest-ranking openly gay official in the administration.
He is now being held in an undisclosed closet.
UPDATE: It's worse than I'd thought. I assumed Berry was hiding behind the skirts of a heterosexual Elaine Kaplan, but it seems she's openly gay as well. I suppose it's progress that we're in the position where the governmental insults and slights come from our own people, but, as Seth Meyers says so eloquently, "Really?"
7 Comments for “Picking the Wrong Fight”
posted by Debrah on
“He is now being held in an undisclosed closet.”
***************************************
No, he’s just been checking out Dick Cheney’s former bunker.
Obviously, Obama hasn’t acted on so much of the lofty rhetoric he employed with abandon during the campaign.
Obviously, I disagree with the “activists” on some things and agree with Obama’s position on gay marriage.
The key irritant, it seems to me, is that no matter which side you come down on this issue, it will be imperative that the president make his actions compatible with his rhetoric in order to maintain the overwhelming support from the gay community in the future election.
Does all this matter?
I’ve read that many of you think your numbers will not make much difference at the ballot box and that you have to “win the hearts and minds of those heterosexuals who are on the fence” in order to achieve your goal of SSM.
From a purely and wholly objective viewpoint, I don’t think your mission will be all that impossible.
Impression is everything. The atmosphere and the vibe created can change everything.
Not only in a theatrical sense, but among Joe and Jane voter.
I have always liked Obama as a person and think he’d be fun to have a drink with, but like Bill Clinton—and much more effectively—he’s more sizzle than steak.
Obama likes to project a more cerebral image—assisted by the fact that he spent some time in the academy—and that’s the side you have to play to.
Make him feel cerebral with your protestations.
His major concern will always be with his legacy……(and the immediate concern of being re-elected in 2012).
You have to present your case in such a way that he will be made to feel shamed in some visceral way if his administration does not make SSM a reality.
I supported Obama the last time for a number of reasons.
Someone I totally respect, love, and adore was a supporter very early on which stirred my interest.
But when I saw entertainment mogul David Geffen—a man whose hand has been on most of the major music that we all grew up listening to the last 30 years—dropped the Clintons and signed onto Obama, I knew it was all over and that Obama would take the election.
If I were you guys, I’d keep tabs on what David Geffen says in the next few years.
A former Clinton supporter with his billions, he later said of them—“They are exceptionally good liars.”
Make sure he doesn’t end up saying the same about Obama.
posted by Neil D on
I suppose I could be accused of settling for less than full equality with this comment, but we really have got it pretty good right now. Not just in comparison with 10 or 20 years ago, but in general gay people are pretty free to do as they please. It’s odd, I think, for us to be so depressed about the lack of support from the Obama admin. They have a lot on their plate. The GOP is so vile that it’s hard to complain about benign neglect given the alternative.
Time is on our side. Maybe we should celebrate our success.
posted by Debrah on
Here’s something you don’t want to get into if you truly wish to win hearts and minds.
Many inside the academy, as well as society in general, are fighting back against this tide of insanity.
Reading some of this makes me feel as though I’m back in Tokyo on a night out for kabuki theatre.
You really must avoid this arena of the absurd.
Perhaps one of your regular contributors might wish to explore this new condition that has taken the place of the word “sexist”.
Heteronormativity.
And while they’re at it, perhaps they can explain how all of us got here without this particular “norm”.
posted by Jorge on
Hey, I didn’t vote for him. I was much happier with what symbolic acts that statue-covering Ashcroft and that duck-hunting Cheney did for us.
The Bush administration made it possible for Republicans to be pro-gay.
The Obama administration makes it possible for Democrats to be anti-gay.
Which would you rather have?
posted by Jorge on
It’s odd, I think, for us to be so depressed about the lack of support from the Obama admin. They have a lot on their plate.
I don’t buy that. The Obama administration has enough time to break away from saving the country to:
–Order the closing of Guantanamo Bay
–Fly to Europe to give a speech about awarding the Olympics to Chicago
–Fly like a shining knight again to save the climate summit
–Tell NY governor David Patterson not to run for re-election
–Deliberate for 40 days and 40 nights over how many troops to send to Afghanistan
–Fire the head of GM
The President has a right to set policy. It’s time to wake up and realize that this policy does not include gay rights.
posted by Lymis on
This is also to buy into the idea that the President is the only person in the entire executive branch. He may be too busy to actually do the grunt work of the research, prepare point papers, appear in court, and so on and so on, but he’s not too busy to pick up the phone, call the appropriate person in his administration, and say, “Fix this.”
posted by David Link on
This is actually even easier than the president doing something; in this case, the administration had the option of *not* doing anything, which is exactly what I would have advised. In order to insult us this time, they had to actually have meetings, exchange memos and emails, and do all of the other things I imagine an administration in DC has to do to make it clear to us — not to mention any of the rest of America who is paying attention — how degrading and (in Kaplan’s word) “painful” DOMA is to us. It took nothing (literally) for them to just let Judge Kozinski’s order stand, and allow a lesbian in California to have a little bit of equality.
They just couldn’t stand to do that.
Suddenly, that word, “painful,” coming from two openly gay administration officials, takes on a whole new aspect.