A new poll by Gallup shows that 69% of Americans favor repeal of the military Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Repeal of the policy is even favored by 58% of people who call themselves conservative and 60% of people who attend church weekly.
I think it’s difficult to get 70% of Americans to agree on any issue, so why are we delaying acting on DADT repeal? Why is the Obama administration allowing Arabic linguist Lt. Dan Choi to be dismissed under the policy? I know the Obama administration is cautious and extremely focused on healthcare reform and thinks that a fight on DADT would be a distraction. In some ways the administration is probably right, Congressional Republicans aren’t really focused on what the American public wants but on picking fights with the administration. Repealing DADT is the right thing to do and the sooner it’s done, the better as far as I’m concerned.
BTW, the new nominee for Secretary of the Army, Republican Congressman John McHugh supports the repeal of DADT:
But the former ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, who voted in favor of the policy in 1993, said Thursday that a lot of things have changed since then, including his views.
“I have no interest as either a Member of Congress or as … secretary of the Army to exclude by some categorization a group of people otherwise qualified to serve,” McHugh told Roll Call.
He noted that the Armed Services Committee has not considered the policy “in any formal way” since 1993. In the meantime, “certainly, the recruiting-age population’s views have changed on that whole matter,” he said.