Last December, during the House debate on DADT repeal, there were a number of really bizarre homophobic outbursts from anti-gay Republicans. One of the most inane was the statement from Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who obsessed over the fact that the military is "not the YMCA." Duncan Hunter has listened to too much Village People over the years. Now, that his party is in power, Hunter is back with amendments to delay the end of DADT. The House could end up passing some legislation that would thwart DADT repeal. I have a hard time thinking anything would pass in the Senate.
Chris Johnson has the report:
In a statement Monday, Hunter announced he would introduce the amendment to expand the certification requirement during the House Armed Services Committee's markup of the fiscal year 2012 defense authorization bill. The measure would interfere with the repeal law that President Obama signed in December, which allows for implementation of open service after 60 days pass following certification from the president, the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.SLDN's Aubrey Sarvis blasted the move:
"The four military service chiefs are far more closely connected to the day-to-day realities facing each respective service branch than those who are currently required to sign off on the repeal — including the president,” said Hunter said. “The president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs should all take part in the certification process, but excluding the service chiefs is a mistake."
Hunter, who introduced standalone legislation earlier this year mirroring the planned amendment, added the military service chiefs may agree to enact repeal at the same time as the president, the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or they "may have other recommendations for implementation and timing."
The Hunter amendment could be one among several amendments that could be introduced by opponents of gays in the military to disrupt the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal process. Informed sources said other measures could be an outright abrogation of the repeal measure that Congress passed and Obama signed last year as opposed to merely implementing a certification expansion.
“Make no mistake. The expected Duncan Hunter amendment is designed to slow down repeal. It serves no constructive purpose, as the service chiefs themselves recently testified they are already very much a part of the certification process with Chairman Mullen and Secretary Gates and see no need for the amendment Mr. Hunter is offering.It's past time for them to move on. Now, Hunter does have some support from the nation's top teabaggers:
“Put quite simply, it’s time for these opponents of repeal to move on. The Congress, the President, our nation’s senior military leaders, and the American people have spoken on this issue.”
[Chairman of the Tea Party Founding Father William] Temple and his activists included on their list a demand that Republicans use the debt-limit fight to keep gay soldiers from serving openly in the military. Temple condemned the “effeminization” of the military and opposed “injecting open homosexuality and females into forward-combat roles.”There you have it.
If the GOPers want to re-fight this battle, let's do it. An overwhelming majority of Americans are on our side. The American people have moved past this debate -- and most think DADT is already over
And, let's not forget, if the White House followed its initial strategy, there would have been no votes on DADT repeal in 2010. We'd be fighting it now instead of worrying about inane amendments. Good thing the rest of us forced action -- and gave Obama one of his biggest legislative wins.
