Obama to delay repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”
posted at 7:09 pm on November 21, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Patterico applauds a prudent move, as do I.
Actually, I’m applauding the fact that he’s further antagonizing the left. But prudence, too!
Repealing the ban was an Obama campaign promise. However, Mr. Obama first wants to confer with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his new political appointees at the Pentagon to reach a consensus and then present legislation to Congress, the advisers said.
“I think 2009 is about foundation building and reaching consensus,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The group supports military personnel targeted under the ban…
The incoming administration is well aware of how President Clinton botched the same issue 15 years ago. Shortly after taking office in 1993, the president ordered the Pentagon to rescind the regulation that excluded gays…
Ban proponents say removing the restriction would hurt recruiting by discouraging conservative, religiously oriented youths from signing up.
“It’s true that many in the military have looked the other way and served alongside people they know are into homosexuality,” Mr. Knight said. “But that is with the ban in place. Open acceptance would change the atmosphere entirely. If fraternization is a problem now between men and women, imagine the conflicts with openly gay officers who no longer have to be reticent.”
Isn’t the culture of the military going to encourage that reticence anyway? I’ve always thought that was a much greater deterrent to coming out than the feds’ policy. Exit question: How does this shake out vis-a-vis the economy? If the recession’s still in effect a year from now, does this push The One further away from tackling this issue, lest the subject imperil him with disgruntled centrists, or does it encourage him to embrace it as a way of trying to energize his base? Exit answer: Depends on how many concessions he’s made to the left by then.
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Wow, I don’t think I can match that one. Or even care to try.
Count to 10 on November 21, 2008 at 9:22 PM
Darfur 2008
baldilocks on November 21, 2008 at 9:24 PM
I see your point, but I stand by my inability to call someone on something with that kind of gravity.
Count to 10 on November 21, 2008 at 9:27 PM
And this is exactly why Obama did not earn MY gay vote.
I never trusted him, and knew the DADT (and DOMA) claims were just pandering. I threw my lot in with McCain/Palin, because I knew that outside of Hillary, none of them would push for this.
But I trusted in John and Sarah’s sincerity on gay issues.
This is why McCain picked up more LGBT votes than Bush did in ‘00 or ‘04.
And this is also why I wish you conservatives wouldn’t extrapolate that the Prop 8 crazies represent all of us. I loathe the Prop 8 brigade, and I loathe the “Day Without a Gay” farce. I could go into policy as to why, but, meh. It’ll be tl;dr (too long; didn’t read, for those of you not up to netspeak).
Either way, this comes at no surprise. The One is no friend to the gay community, and that’s why so many of us sensible ones jumped ship.
lansing quaker on November 21, 2008 at 9:31 PM
I hadn’t heard of that one.
You need not worry on my part. I have family living the monogamous homosexual lifestyle. I know they are not going to be involved in such things, even if I don’t approve of the choices they have made in their lives.
Count to 10 on November 21, 2008 at 9:38 PM
Thanks. Didn’t mean to be grave, though the subject matter is such, so I guess I should have known. Just used the starkest example to illustrate the point.
baldilocks on November 21, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Is there a tag for “I’m goofing on myself”, or do we just have to hope the context says so? It’s not exactly sarcasm.
Count to 10 on November 21, 2008 at 9:46 PM
You’re goofy. :)
You’re a welcome addition here.
baldilocks on November 21, 2008 at 9:49 PM
Oh yeah, those poor gay Arabic translators that came back the day after they were discharged and were hired as civilian gay Arabic translators for a lot more money.
schmuck281 on November 21, 2008 at 11:38 PM
First it will be open “gayness”.
Then gay male servicemembers will want to wear gowns to birthday balls. Then is will be housing and substitance allowances for gay couples. Not to mention unit cohesion.
I don’t know a single Alpha male that wants to spend his time with a guy that just got done tossing another guy’s salad… and the U.S. Military as far as men go is predominately Alpha Male.
Hog Wild on November 21, 2008 at 11:40 PM
are you suggesting gays have never been murdered for who they are or are discriminated against? are you typing that w/ a straight face? you really wanna get in a pissing match over hate crime statistics?
Noneya on November 21, 2008 at 11:50 PM
heteros eat salad too, i can direct you to about 10000 sites that show it. they stick it in the poop shoot too. do you wanna kick them out too?
Noneya on November 21, 2008 at 11:53 PM
I’m not suggesting anything. I’m stating that homosexuality and race are two different things and I demonstrated how and why.
Why yes, yes I am.
You can be Hot Air’s guest and get pissy all you want.
baldilocks on November 22, 2008 at 12:20 AM
You can try to change the focus of what’s being said, Noeya, I’m not going there with you.
baldilocks on November 22, 2008 at 12:21 AM
We’re sure you can.
baldilocks on November 22, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Will this get Obama called “The N Word” when he visits ‘Frisco?
SuperCool on November 22, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Allahpundit, you definitely were never in the military.
Obama’s plan would turn the military into the village people. Men would refuse to shower or bunk with other men that they suspect or knew were homosexual, so who do the homosexuals live with?
Why stop there? The main reason we separate the genders in the military is because of sexuality, so this defeats the purpose. We would have to start having men and women shower and bunk together, after all, men and gay men would shower and bunk together.
This would do nothing but strip the honor and dignity out of the military. I always hear people talk about how other militaries include homosexuals – ALL OF WHICH SUCK! The israeli military got spanked by hezbollah in 2006, the british navy got spanked by Iran about 1 year ago with their captured sailors, etc. This is what happens when you have a PC force.
If you guys want to turn the military into a social project, that’s fine, just don’t expect me to stay in and protect you.
TTheoLogan on November 22, 2008 at 12:53 AM
I feel bad for all our great people in the military. Gays in the military is a terrible idea. The military is there to kill, maim, injure people and break things. Don’t turn it into a social experiment. I was an Army infantryman cum artillery officer when we changed to Clinton. It SUCKED when he came up with that stupid don’t ask don’t tell policy. Does he want a bunch of girly men to be Navy SEALs?
Mojave Mark on November 22, 2008 at 1:02 AM
Please don’t speak to me if you are so clueless. I was referring to a sickening gay sexual practice, not a eating lifestyle.
But yes, every gay male that tosses a salad, I want them out.
Hog Wild on November 22, 2008 at 1:02 AM
Ya think?
corona on November 22, 2008 at 1:42 PM
I second that…very well said. The military is no place for political correctness. Some of us still consider it an abomination and there is no honor in that. The last thing we need is to put the ultimate trust in people with such huge character flaws.
hamer500 on November 23, 2008 at 4:22 PM
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