Connect with us

BREAKING: DADT Study: Majority Of Troops Say, “Gay? OK.”

Published

on

In an exclusive report on the Rachel Maddow show Thursday night, NBC News’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel revealed that a majority of America’s troops either would have no issue at all serving alongside an openly-gay service member, or if there were an issue, they would have no problem bringing the issue directly to the attention of the gay or lesbian service member. This is a critical component to debunking the GOP’s fraudulent comments regarding repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Here’s the transcript, thanks to the excellent work of Igor Volsky at Think Progress‘ “The Wonk Room“:

ENGEL: The findings are that for most soldiers, and this wasn’t the sum total of all soldiers, it wasn’t that big of a deal…The majority — the number one answer, first answer was ‘I don’t care.’ That’s significant.

MADDOW: Predominant answer is ‘no big deal.’

ENGEL: Most common, number one. Number two was, ‘I would deal directly with the person involved.’ So when you put the two of those together, it is the majority. Now, there were some people who said, three, they would go to the chain of command and some four, who hated it, hated it. But the answers one and two are considered positive. So these studies show a relative if not positive outlook, at least an accepting outlook.

MADDOW: So the military study is, as you said, the survey of the troops is part of it. It’s an overall study of the feasibility of the issue….this survey of the troops, what you’ve learned is that a majority of troops it’s not going to be a major deal.

ENGEL: Not a deal breaker, that they they’re not going to be running from the army in droves. A key thing this study kept coming back to is that it’s very important about the chain of command. What commanders say. How far commanders act. What tone they set. The marines were the most negative out of the services. They had the most people who were — with negative responses. And the marine corps leadership has taken a stance and has been very vocally against this issue. And the study found that most soldiers and sailors and all different service members follow a chain of command. So if the chain of command accepts this as the law, the data is that so will the soldiers.

Volsky reminds us that the GOP has consistently said they “listen to the troops,” and wait for the study before making any decisions.

In my opinion, it’s important to remember that the Republicans are fond of claiming to want to follow “the will of the American people.” (Personally, every time I type that phrase I hear John Boehner’s voice in my head. Pity me, please?) Well, as a reminder, seventy-eight percent of Americans want “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to be repealed. So, I ask you, what is keeping the GOP from voting for repeal?

It’s also important to remember that, as we begin to hear these drips of details of the survey, the GOP will do everything they possibly can to vote against repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” For whatever reason, the GOP will filibuster, will hem and haw, and absolutely do everything they can to stop the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Never mind the fact that a federal judge has already declared “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional. The GOP will march in lockstep to keep “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as official policy.

At what point do we stop allowing them to control the debate, and the rules, and our lives?

Oh. One last point: You’re voting on Tuesday, right?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640


Subscribe to
The New Civil Rights Movement

// <![CDATA[
google_ad_client = “pub-6759057198693805”;
/* 468×60, created 10/21/10 */
google_ad_slot = “8507588931”;
google_ad_width = 468;
google_ad_height = 60;
// ]]>

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Don’t Feel Sorry for Him’: Trump Rips ‘Vicious’ Biden

Published

2 days ago

on

May 30, 2025

By

During a wide-ranging Oval Office question-and-answer session on Friday, President Donald Trump was asked about former President Joe Biden, who is now battling an aggressive form of cancer. Trump told reporters he does not feel sorry for his predecessor.

“He’s been a sort of a moderate person over his lifetime,” President Trump said, “not a smart person, but a somewhat vicious person, I will say.”

“If you feel sorry for him, don’t feel so sorry ’cause he’s vicious, what he did with his political, all of the people that he hurt, he hurt a lot of people by and so I really don’t feel sorry for him.”

READ MORE: ‘Afraid, Corrupt, or Don’t Care?’: Ernst Slammed for Trump Support at Fiery Town Hall

Earlier this month aboard Air Force One, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity, “Biden is a vicious person. Biden’s a stupid person. He’s a low IQ person, but he’s vicious and that’s a bad combination,” according to a transcript from Roll Call.

President Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election by over seven million votes. Biden won 51.3% of the vote, Trump received only 46.8%. Trump has baselessly maintained the election was “rigged.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘We Are All Going to Die’: GOP Senator Shrugs Off Possible Deaths From Medicaid Cuts

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Afraid, Corrupt, or Don’t Care?’: Ernst Slammed for Trump Support at Fiery Town Hall

Published

2 days ago

on

May 30, 2025

By

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, already under fire for shrugging off possible deaths from Medicaid cuts by telling constituents at a fiery and contentious town hall that “we are all going to die,” was strongly admonished over her support of President Donald Trump by another attendee, a former high school history and political science teacher.

The man, identified by the Des Moines Register as Harrison Cass Jr., a former Navy officer and retired superintendent, chastised Ernst and her fellow senators during the town hall, saying of the Trump administration, “this has been like a Nazi Blitzkrieg, and you folks have sat and done nothing.”

“Are you afraid of Trump?” he asked the Senator. “Are you corrupt like Trump? Or are you just at the point you don’t care anymore?”

READ MORE: ‘No!’: GOP Rep. Repeatedly Booed and Shouted Down at Raucous Iowa Town Hall

Cass began his remarks by pointing to the “destruction of the checks and balances that the president has already put in place.”

“He’s fired Inspector Generals. He’s fired the leaders—any leader of the federal government that disagrees with him on any political notion. He has fired, and he’s even pursuing lawsuits against those who lawfully acted and challenged him in the past, when he was trying to overthrow the government.”

“Now, he has taken over the government, and he’s been very clear about it,” Cass continued. “He’s made it into a dictatorship.”

He also lamented that “the worst thing is the Senate, and the House of Representatives have been rendered useless! And you folks have let it happen. You’ve sat back and done nothing.”

Cass also blasted Ernst for her apparent about-face on Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense whose confirmation had been in question.

READ MORE: Major Shift in GOP Views on Same-Sex Marriage: Report

“Now, I know, I know that you were going to go against Pete Hegseth, who was an incompetent fool, running the Department of Defense. Then you got scared. So my question is this: Are you afraid of Trump? Are you corrupt like Trump, or are you just at the point you don’t care anymore? And that’s why you don’t do anything?”

Cass’s remarks received loud cheers and applause.

Senator Ernst thanked Cass for his service, then responded, “Obviously, I don’t agree, because I don’t think our country is being destroyed.”

Her comment was met with loud boos.

She then went on to explain to the former history teacher why she believes the federal government was established.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Coup’: Trump Expected to Seek SCOTUS Block as Officials Attack Judicial Branch

Continue Reading

News

‘Food Fight’: Trump’s Anger Defies Magna Carta and Constitution, Law Professor Says

Published

2 days ago

on

May 30, 2025

By

President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism over his sweeping, multi-front attack on the U.S. Court of International Trade, an influential conservative legal activist who shaped his first-term judicial picks, and the Federalist Society — with one prominent law professor calling it a clash between “MAGA men” and conservatives.

“MAGA men and conservatives aren’t the same. The food fight on the right is now in the open,” wrote Professor Richard Painter, the former Bush 43 chief White House ethics lawyer who is now a political independent.

President Trump had attacked the three-judge panel on the International Trade Court, which blocked almost all of his “Liberation Day” tariffs, declaring that presidents cannot arbitrarily declare emergencies. That ruling, currently on hold, was decided by judges appointed by Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Trump himself.

READ MORE: ‘We Are All Going to Die’: GOP Senator Shrugs Off Possible Deaths From Medicaid Cuts

“Where do these initial three Judges come from?” Trump asked. “How is it possible for them to have potentially done such damage to the United States of America? Is it purely a hatred of ‘TRUMP?’ What other reason could it be?”

“I was new to Washington,” he continued in his rant, posted Thursday evening, “and it was suggested that I use The Federalist Society as a recommending source on Judges. I did so, openly and freely, but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real ‘sleazebag’ named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions.”

Professor Painter observed that if President Trump “is angry that he can’t impose tariffs (i.e. taxes) without consent of the legislature, instead of blaming Leonard Leo, he should blame the drafters of the Constitution (1789), or for that matter the drafters of Magna Carta (1215), which says essentially the same thing.”

Painter also explained that this “dispute is over whether a ‘conservative’ judge should allow the President to impose tariffs, a form of taxation, without consent from Congress. Conservatives, and others who understand the Constitution, know that to impose taxes the President needs consent from Congress.”

READ MORE: ‘No!’: GOP Rep. Repeatedly Booed and Shouted Down at Raucous Iowa Town Hall

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.