Earlier today, there was a press conference announcing the release of the Pentagon's report on the effect of repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy for the military. According to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the report indicates that there would be no major disruption within our armed forces if DADT is repealed, and gays and lesbians are allowed to serve openly. This report was meant to answer those members of Congress who had insisted on some form of in-depth study into the issue before moving forward with any decisive action. So, now we got the answers we were after, and that should satisfy everybody, right?
Of course not, you silly! That would be too easy! I mean, so what if the report says the military can handle repeal? And so what if the majority of Americans favor repeal? And so what if people really don't support DADT anymore? And so what if other nations have managed to allow openly gay men and women to serve without a problem?
The bottom line, very simply, is that the GOP does not want this repeal to happen. In their eyes, it is a political point on which they cannot yield, whether it's due to fear of the far-right, Tea Party element in their base, or whether it's just old-fashioned homophobia and hate. Whatever the reason, there is no report, no poll, no set of facts or figures that will ever change the minds of the many Republicans who oppose repeal.
As evidence, you can check out the responses from Republicans today, including Rep. Joe "You Lie!" Wilson. They are declaring a need for reports on the reports, in true Washington-clusterfuck style. Maybe further recommendations, maybe some hearings, whatever it takes to really, reeeallly be super-dee-duper sure that the world won't explode if we invite people who have The Gay to fight and die for our country. And if all else fails, according to some Republicans, let's just stall until next year, when a repeal will be a bit harder to come by.
Folks, I don't know about your moms, but my mom always used to tell me, "Pick your battles". She told me that not everything needed to be a fight, and that maybe there were times when the struggles weren't worth it. I wonder if the moms of all those GOP lawmakers ever told them the same thing. I know they have only one item on their agenda right now, and that item is, "Stop Obama from succeeding/getting re-elected". I realize that allowing the repeal of DADT would be in direct violation of that sacrosanct agenda. And I realize that the knee-jerk, mob-think mentality to which the vast majority of Republican politicians subscribe makes it nearly impossible for them to respond to the facts and the overwhelming public opinion supporting repeal.
I just wonder if it ever crossed any of their minds that, perhaps, their resistance on this particular issue is a dead-end road. Everyone knows DADT will be repealed. It's no longer an "if", but a "when", and those who oppose its repeal will undeniably be on the wrong side of history. There is no credible reason to ask men and women to hide their sexual orientation as a requirement to serving in the military. It simply makes no sense.
Would it be OK to ask troops to pretend they weren't black, or Jewish, or athiestic, or anything else? Would we ever accept a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on behaviors which actually have the potential to affect others, such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking or gambling? How is it considered bad for morale and cohesion in a military unit when someone is gay, but not if they're intolerant of gays - or certain ethnic groups, or Muslims? Why don't we ask troops to conceal that sort of despicable mentality if they want to serve? It really doesn't matter why we don't place restrictions on things like that. The point is, we don't. We couldn't. And it makes no more sense to ask gay troops to pretend they're not gay. It's ridiculous, it's illogical, and it is ultimately indefensible.
Republicans might not care how ridiculous they appear. With Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and so many other truly loopy people representing them, they certainly seem to be okay with the whole "lack of public credibility" thing. But if they really did want to fix their image, be seen as more than just "The Party of No", and gain some traction with the majority of America, a good way to start would be to stop being so crazy about the DADT policy. There are plenty of battles to fight on Capitol Hill. It makes sense to pick those that will actually lead somewhere, and abandon those that can't be won, and really shouldn't be fought in the first place.
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