Democrats prepare for battle over lifting of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/22/8 | Carolyn Lochhead

[SmithL]

Democrats are preparing next year to lift the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays in the military, an uneasy culture-war compromise instituted under the last Democratic administration, should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the Walnut Creek Democrat, said a hearing Wednesday by a House Armed Services subcommittee is aimed at educating Congress and the public in preparation for a full-scale push to end the policy, first imposed in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, in the next Congress. By then, Democrats expect to have won the White House and to have expanded their House and Senate majorities.

Tauscher introduced the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal the ban and allow gays to serve in the military, along with 121 co-sponsors in 2006. But Democrats have not moved it forward under President Bush because they are certain of his veto. Another 11 co-sponsors have since signed onto her bill, but so far only five Republicans have done so.

Obama supports repeal.

Should Republican Sen. John McCain, who opposes repeal, become president, Tauscher said Democrats might force the issue.

Polls show solid public support for lifting the ban, which passed its 15-year anniversary July 19. An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 75 percent favor repeal, a number that has climbed steadily since the start of the Iraq War.

Still, many Democrats are wary.

"Politicians are well known for not wanting to take a position until they have to," Tauscher said. "But I'm confident that under the right political environment, with the right president ... we'll have all conditions that will be right for us to pass the repeal and have the president sign it."

[SmithL]

Yeah, well McCain was never my first choice, but he's still not my last choice.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Why do the liberal girlymen insist on using macho terms like “battle” or “fight” or “war” every time they throw one of their childish tantrums?

[Seaplaner]

This issue from the Democrats has little to do with homosexuals, with the broader goal being that of trying to weaken our military with ...

A. lawsuits,

B. bad press,

C. morale busting changes in approved behavior,

D. restrictions on military duty by military-haters, and of course,

E. promotions priority given to homosexuals (which brings us back to A. thru D.)

Is the military-hating Marxist Obama for it? Of course!

[max americana]

Simple: why do the GHEYS simply cannot adhere to the rules of the military instead of the military adhering to their immoral lifetsyle?

[Libertarianize the GOP]

Here are the poll results and questions, question number 33 and 34
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/postpoll_071408.html

[Bishop_Malachi]

Is this what the Dems are basing their strategy on? This poll (or polls like it)? What is the general opinion on this board? Is open homosexuality the wave of the future for the Army? Marines? Are the Dems engaging in wishful thinking?

[fwdude]

If homosexuals are ever allowed to openly serve in the Armed Forces, they will be untouchable. Anyone daring to remotely appear to criticize or routinely discipline a homosexual will wish he'd never considered a career in the military. His career will be destroyed, his personal life will become a living hell, and he will be ostracized from "society." Our national self-defense will have died.

Homosexuals, having been allowed in, will not stop there. Homo-recognition will be demanded insatiably just as it now is in much of civilian society, increasing paid for by taxpayers.

Such is life in the PC world we have unwittingly (allowed to be) created.

[Azzurri]

I miss my country. Can’t believe how much public opinion has shifted in the past 15-20 years. I can only attribute it to the passing of the WWII generation, replaced with a left-wing youth crowd.

[Enchante]

I have seen this dynamic first-hand in a major civilian organization -- God forbid we should ever see the liberals turn our great military into the kind of mess I've seen with "invulnerable" and clubby gays able to throw their weight around while anyone who dares to question unprofessional conduct gets trashed forever:

"If homosexuals are ever allowed to openly serve in the Armed Forces, they will be untouchable. Anyone daring to remotely appear to criticize or routinely discipline a homosexual will wish he'd never considered a career in the military. His career will be destroyed, his personal life will become a living hell, and he will be ostracized from "society."

[hsalaw]

Also see questions 904-905 - Republicans, as usual, very underrepresented.

[ari-freedom]

future of the military once dems are in charge:

[4woodenboats]

Dems to Republicans in poll - 37 to 24

[mtntop3]

Good summation. The left indeed has as its goal the ultimate demise of the U. S. military and of the U. S. itself.

[RightWingConspirator]

Note some of the really stupid questions, like #21.d. “would do more to improve America’s image abroad”. I really don’t give a rat’s a** how the French, Germans or Iranians perceive us, as long as we are strong enough to kick a** when the need arises.

[RightWingConspirator]

"This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone July 10-13, 2008, among a random national sample of 1,119 adults, including additional interviews with randomly selected African Americans, for a total of 209 black respondents."

I think this poll may be a bit biased because blacks constituted 18.7% of the sample while according to the US Census Bureau in 2006 blacks constituted 12.8% of the population. Now with polls of blacks indicating that around 95% of them favor the Obamanation, that would skew the results somewhat.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

The additional interviews (commonly referred to as an "oversample") were completed to ensure there were enough African American respondents for separate analysis; the group was not over-represented in the reported results from the full sample.

Supposedly blacks were not over represented in the poll, the extras were to make sure that any breakdown of blacks would represent a large enough sample to be an accurate representation of blacks.