Blog swarm descends on HRC

There is a blog swarm forming – and it’s taking aim at the Human Rights Campaign. A host of gay and straight bloggers are joining forces to put pressure on HRC to urge Obama to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell this year

The message from the blog swarm is two-pronged. First, they want President Barack Obama to announce publically he wants Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed this year. Then Obama needs to “take the lead in working with Congress to make sure the repeal happens,” AmericaBlog says.

The bloggers involved include: Joe Sudbay and John Aravosis, AmericaBlog; Pam Spaulding, Pam’s House Blend; Michelangelo Signorile, Sirius OutQ & the Gist; Markos Moulitsas, DailyKos; Andy Towle, TowleRoad; Joe Jervis, Joe My God; Bil Browning & Phil Reese, Bilerico; Taylor Marsh, TaylorMarsh.com; David Mixner, DavidMixner.com and Dan Savage, Slog.

“We’ve had an amazing few weeks of momentum on DADT repeal following the mention of DADT,” Aravosis writes. “But that momentum is quickly slipping away. After talking to people around Washington over the past two weeks, Joe and I have found a vacuum of leadership that is leading to confusion. The Hill has no idea if the President does or doesn’t want them to move ahead with repeal this year. The House has already said that it’s waiting for the Senate to do something. The Senate is in turmoil after the Democrats lost a single seat in January. And the DADT proposals being discussed in the Senate are focused on every possible approach except full repeal this year.”

The group contends it’s HRC’s job to make Obama listen.

“Whatever HRC has been telling the White House about DADT, it clearly isn’t working” Aravois said on AmericaBlog. “In spite of the President’s positive comments during the State of the Union, no one knows where President Obama stands on repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell this year. All the while, unnamed administration officials are telling the media that it could be years before repeal finally happens. The White House clearly didn’t get HRC’s message, and as a result, we are losing this historic momentum.”

HRC responded to the blog swarm with a statement.

“The campaign will continue to push the momentum for repeal of DADT through an on-the-ground campaign manager in key states to build diverse local coalitions; to increase public education; to activate grassroots contacts with members of Congress; to form an online hub for action on repeal; and to partner with other key groups working on repeal including the Center for American Progress, Servicemembers United and Servicemembers Legal Defense Network,” HRC said.

The blog swarm encourages the public to call HRC for a call to action. HRC can be reached at (202) 628-4160 and toll-free at (800) 777-4723.