U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips’s decision to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” puts President Obama in a no-win situation. If the administration appeals (and there are sixty days to do so), Democratic voters, already disgruntled by the economy, will become further disenchanted with the president, especially those interested in human rights and invested in gay rights. It also would not be the first time this president, who promised to end DADT, acted in complete contrast by taking legal action to keep DADT in place. This time around, if Obama appeals the latest DADT decision, he’s lost a lot of votes. (If he, in fact, chooses to run for reelection, which I find unlikely.)

But if President Obama does not appeal, the Republican Party, especially its extremists—the Tea Party—can use that fact for the next few weeks before the elections to further rally supporters into voting against Democrats. It has nothing to do with whether or not they actually care about gays in the military; Republicans have demonstrated repeatedly that it’s all about doing the opposite of what Democrats do just because they can. And since the main Republican interest is keeping the little people little in terms of money and rights, Republicans want to keep DADT alive as long as they possibly can.