The president is planning to sign an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination by federal contractors:
The White House had long declined calls to proceed with the order, arguing it was pressuring Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA, which would apply the protections to all American workers. Like the prior orders on wages, proceeding with the unilateral executive action is a tacit admission by the White House of the grim prospects for getting legislation passed through Congress in the coming years. The Senate passed a version of ENDA last year, but House Republicans have indicated they will not bring the bill to the floor in that chamber.
Not now and not ever. At some point, the administration ran out of arguments for not issuing an executive order like this. I have no issues with it – the government should not be a party to discrimination against some of its own citizens, period. And it may have an impact in shifting the policies of a lot of big contractors. But it will only cover one in ten Ls, Gs, Bs, and Ts in America (although the inclusion of protections for trans people is a real gain). And what will the Republicans do?
Greg Sargent expects a muted response:
Congressional Republicans are under heavy pressure — from people inside the party who want it to broaden its national appeal — to evolve on gay rights. That RNC autopsy into what went wrong in 2012 called for more sensitivity to gay rights as a way of keeping pace with evolving attitudes among young conservatives. A recent WaPo poll found that support for the idea that the Constitution protects the right to gay marriage has hit 50 percent, with 60 percent of those aged 18-39 agreeing.
Family-oriented conservative groups may well criticize this latest move. But his time — unlike in 1998 — if there is no serious backlash among GOP lawmakers to speak of, it will be yet another sign of the speed with which the ground is shifting, and an indication that even Congressional Republicans are increasingly acknowledging the need to keep pace with the culture’s evolution on the issue.
Jonathan Bernstein agrees:
[S]ome Republicans are still running against marriage equality, at least in some states. But has any Republican said one word about the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the last two years?
If you remember the 2004 campaign, or the Clinton presidency, or the years before that, it’s amazing how much things have changed. Republican opposition remains so intense that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act can’t get a vote in the House (though it isn’t intense enough that Speaker John Boehner can allow a vote on the measure and expect his Republican conference to thwart it). Greg’s guess is correct: Very few Republican politicians want anything to do with LGBT issues in this election cycle.
The Dish 