Asked and answered

Why did we work to elect Obama, Jonathan wants to know. John McCain’s comments on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell provide one answer.

Jonathan wonders why he worked for, and gave to, Barack Obama. John McCain, a compassionate conservative if there ever was one, feels Jonathan’s pain, and answers his question for him:

In his State of the Union address, President Obama asked Congress to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. I am immensely proud of, and thankful for, every American who wears the uniform of our country, especially at a time of war, and I believe it would be a mistake to repeal the policy.

This successful policy has been in effect for over 15 years, and it is well understood and predominantly supported by our military at all levels. We have the best trained, best equipped, and most professional force in the history of our country, and the men and women in uniform are performing heroically in two wars. At a time when our Armed Forces are fighting and sacrificing on the battlefield, now is not the time to abandon the policy.

John McCain says that he’s proud of and grateful to the thousands or tens of thousands of gay and lesbian Americans now in uniform, and thinks that while they’re risking their lives for the rest of us they should be forced to remain in the closet.  Knowing that the change is going to be made and that the brass has already signed off on it - else it wouldn’t have been in the SOTU, with the SecDef applauding - McCain decides to make the transition harder rather than easier, merely to f*ck with the man who defeated him a year ago.    And the rest of the Republicans think of McCain as a moderate, a RINO.

We gave to and worked for Obama because - among other reasons - the other side is flat-out evil.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

5 thoughts on “Asked and answered”

  2. Oh, because you really think Obama means what he says. On the basis of what evidence? What promise has he actually fulfilled?

    Also note his weasel words: He's not actually going to take an immediate step (heavens no!), he's going to get Congress going on this…to see about maybe sometime…in the future…one day…maybe…start talking about…some kind of plan to maybe, at some point, possibly, think about changing it. Maybe. Some time. But not right now.

    Did you hear the words "executive order" anywhere in there? Me neither.

    As usual, Obama talks and his followers create the WORM: What Obama Really Meant. While blissfully ignoring what he actually said.

  3. Dancing, when last I looked, months ago, DADT repeal had around 200 House sponsors. And that'd be the harder way; they plan to make it an amendment to the defense spending bill, a bill that will pass.

  4. Oh, and since I missed your "executive order" last time, do you want the president to overrule laws with executive orders whenever it suits your idea of justice? Think it'll only be used that way?

  5. I voted third party because… both sides were flat out evil. They just specialize in different forms of evil.

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