As usual, the GOP is on the wrong side of history on the repeal of DADT. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe gay men and women should not lie about who they are and should be able to serve their country, die for their country as any other soldier does.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that 75 percent of Americans support ending DADT. A New York Times survey indicated 70 percent support for gay men and lesbians serving openly.
Give it up GOP. You're not going to win this one--not even you, you shameless hypocrite, John McCain.
“I’ll do everything in my power,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said. “I’m going to do everything I can to support the men and women of the military and to fight what is clearly a political agenda.”
From Think Progress:
"In an orchestrated manner, almost every single House Republican took to the floor to condemn the proposal, misrepresenting it as an immediate repeal that does not allow the Defense Department to complete its study. In the midst of considering other amendments, Republicans turned the discussion into an opportunity to condemn gays in the military:
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): “If someone has to be overt about their sexuality, whether it’s in a bunker where they’re confined under fire, then it’s a problem. And that’s what repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell does. It says, ‘I have to be overt, I don’t care. I want this to be a social experiment.”
REP: TODD AKIN (R-MI): “So are we then going to then protect and condone homosexuality in the military?…Is this the sort of thing that George Washington or our founders would be proud of, that we are doing today in this quick flash before Memorial Day?
REP. TRENT FRANKS (R-AZ): “We’re going to say, ‘No. We don’t care what you say. You can die for us on the battlefield, but you have no input into this process.’ That’s a disgrace to this institution and it’s an insult to the men and women who pour out their blood on foreign battlefields for the country that we all love so much.”
MORE FROM THINK PROGRESS:
Far Right Christian Group Warns That ‘Gay Blood’ Will Destroy Our Military If DADT Is Repealed
"The right has been girding for a fight to defend the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy after the White House and some members of Congress reached an agreement this week that will likely repeal it. House Republicans are “preparing to mount a vigorous defense” of the policy, Sen. John McCain is threatening a filibuster, and right-wing Christian groups are pressuring conservative lawmakers to toe the party line.
Today, right-wing hate-monger Cliff Kincaid’s group America’s Survival launched a repulsive fear campaign against repeal, warning that “disease-tainted gay blood threatens our troops.” The group’s abhorrent video — and the 60 page report that accompanies it — present ludicrous stereotypes of gay men and women, going so far as to claim that “open and active homosexuals into the U.S. military could very well result in the spreading of deadly HIV-tainted blood throughout the ranks”
Those of you who identify with the GOP but are not gay haters, call your representatives and tell them you support the repeal of DADT.
5 comments:
I don't think they're going to get very far at the polls with this kind of stupidity.
Oh, Tnlib...the republicans have done just fine being anti everything...
They held on to the Presidency in 2004 by sponsoring anti-gay marriage proposals in a variety of states...
I think we should repeal DADT and then watch as the Repubicans try to find another issue to apply their 'anti' values to...
Looks like anti immigrant is going to be next
It would be interesting to compare some of this rhetoric with the rhetoric from the same kind of people back when the military was racially integrated.
The "tainted blood" concept is especially striking. I have read that for years the military had to keep blood donated by white and black soldiers separate, even though biologically there's no difference.
Love the graphic.
"Those of you who identify with the GOP but are not gay haters, call your representatives and tell them you support the repeal of DADT."
There's no point. I'm not in favor of DADT, and think we'd be better off without it. However, my rep. Dave Camp is a pure party-line stiff with no imagination who tends to ignore constituents. (And if you want to make partisan hay over that, the same is true of my senator Carl Levin.)
This is an attempt to appeal to their base to up turnout, which is critical in midterm elections. The Democrats, run away from their base, even during the midterms, where they need more Dems to turnout.
I hope the Democrats will learn from their errors.
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