As the last nails are being hammered into the coffin of the lame duck 111th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have voted in favor of repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. After losing 63 seats and their majority in the House, and six seats in the U.S. Senate, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid still can’t get their priorities straight. The passage of the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy could turn out to be a day of infamy for our military.
Nearly forty percent of the Marines in the official Department of Defense survey said that they may leave the service early if “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed. Four out of ten! That is a staggering number that could degrade one of the most lethal fighting forces in the world. With our military already stretched to capacity with many of our warriors being asked to sign up for multiple tours of duty, how could the Democrat leadership and some Republicans take this risk? Pushing this legislation during a global war on terror is a dereliction of duty. If forty percent of our Marines do in fact leave the service early, we will have to fill those boots somehow.
The same Department of Defense report said forty to sixty percent of Marines and other combat forces believe that the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” will have a negative impact on the military. Marine Corps Commandant, General James Amos, said, “I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction [of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’].” We are in a time of war and we have combat troops in two theaters of operation. It is not a time to change a policy that has worked for years.
At Citizens United, we have released a YouTube video to highlight how the very people protesting “don’t ask, don’t tell” could be subject to a new draft if the repeal is signed into law. This issue has not been talked about much, but is a serious unintended consequence nonetheless. Statistics indicate that retention and recruitment will be a problem if “don’t ask, don’t tell” is repealed. We are at war, and war is no time to take a chance with our armed forces just to appease the liberal special interests. Unbelievably, Harry Reid tweeted to Lady Gaga, “We did it,” after the repeal was passed. I guess we know now that Reid is beholden to Lady Gaga and not those young Marines on the front lines protecting our freedom.