McCain Pwned Again - Colin Powell comes out for elimnation of "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

[jefferson_dem]

McCain Pwned Again

"The reason why I supported the policy to start with is because General Colin Powell, who was then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the one that strongly recommended we adopt this policy in the Clinton administration. I have not heard General Powell or any of the other military leaders reverse their position," - McCain, yesterday.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed. I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen," Colin Powell, today.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/for-the-record.html

[Jennicut]

1. Oops, old Grumpypants got made a fool of, again.

[grantcart]

2. lol he didn't even bother to phone him before he dragged his name into it

Powell must have bust a gut laughing at this one.

[pnwmom]

3. For Gen. Powell, it is not a question of reversing a former position, but of taking

the next logical step.

When DADT was adopted, it was actually a step forward from the old policy of trying to ferret out and discharge gay people from the military.

[Cha]

4. Yes! "POWELL BACKS DADT REPEAL"

POWELL BACKS DADT REPEAL.... About a decade ago, Sen. John McCain was asked why he still supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He said he backs it because Colin Powell supports it. In 2006, McCain was asked the same question. He replied, "I listen to people like Gen. Colin Powell."

Is that so.

Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation's top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the "don't ask, don't tell" law he helped shepherd in.

"In the almost 17 years since the 'don't ask, don't tell' legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed," General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: "I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen."

For those keeping score at home, there are now three chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the current chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, along with retired Gens. John Shalikashvili and Powell -- who agree that it's time to end this absurd policy. Two of the three were appointed by Republican presidents.

They're joined by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was originally brought on to head the Pentagon by the Bush/Cheney administration.

Whether this shift helps change public attitudes remains to be seen -- polls tend to show fairly broad support for dropping the DADT policy -- but either way, when the Commander in Chief calls for this kind of change, and he's backed by so many high-profile military leaders, it makes conservatives' job that much more difficult.

ell's endorsement should help seal the deal, and coming on the heels of yesterday's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, common sense on this issue seems to have all the momentum."

—Steve Benen 1:15 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (2)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

[brand404]

6. +1

[polichick]

5. McShame is an irrelevant and bitter little man these days. nt

[Kahuna]

7. McCain in his best Peter Lorrie voice: But Gen..I mean Colin wasn't a POW..

Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Mommy!

[Fire1]

8. John ain't gonna like that back peddling. n/t

[Sebastian Doyle]

9. Good for Powell

I still don't forgive him for his part in the Iraq WMD lies, but maybe this will get him upgraded from Hell to Purgatory?

[vaberella]

10. This is like, Brilliance, on so many levels.n/t

[jesus_of_suburbia]

11. Thank you, Mr Powell! McCain looks like an idiot now if he doesn't support the repeal!

[tanyev]

14. The possibility of looking like an idiot doesn't seem to bother him much anymore.

[struggle4progress]

12. Powell in favor of repealing 'don't ask, don't tell' (CNN)

... Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Gates and Mullen said the military is preparing for a repeal of the policy.

Mullen told senators it is his "personal belief" that "allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly ... would be the right thing to do."

"The question before us is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we best prepare for it," Gates told senators Tuesday. "We have received our orders from the commander in chief, and we are moving out accordingly."

The ultimate decision about repealing the policy rests with Capitol Hill. Last week, during his first State of the Union address, Obama called on Congress to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" ...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/03/powell.gays.military/

[struggle4progress]

13. Gen. Powell backs Obama move on gays in military (Reuters)

... Powell's endorsement could give a boost to Obama's efforts to lift the current restrictions. Obama has come under pressure from some gay activists who backed him as a presidential candidate but were disappointed that he had not acted sooner on major gay rights issues.

But ultimately the policy can only be changed by Congress, and some lawmakers in both parties strongly oppose Obama's move, saying it could hurt morale and discipline. Gates and Mullen on Wednesday assured them they would only move forward on the plan with plenty of consultation within the ranks.

Gates, who once ran the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, told lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee that he had learned from experience it was "stupid to try to impose a policy from the top without any regard for the views of the people who were going to be affected."

He and Mullen said consultation with ordinary service members was part of the review they had ordered to examine how the change might affect unit cohesion, recruitment and retention, as well as the possibility of extending marriage and bereavement benefits to the partners of gay soldiers ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6114OW20100203?type=politicsNews

[zulchzulu]

15. k/r

I was going to do a post on this, but you were way ahead of me.

Thanks!

[Cha]

16. Too good for the 2nd page~