Army Sec. John McHugh is doing what Barack Obama and the Department of Justice will not: Refusing to defend or maintain Don’t Ask Don’t Tell for the simple reason that it’s a piece of garbage that hurts America’s safety. (Updated below.)
Speaking Wednesday at a breakfast with reporters, McHugh, the Republican former congressman, who opted not to declare a position on DADT during his confirmation process, argued it would be “counterproductive [… to] take disciplinary action against someone who spoke with me openly and honestly.”
Oh yeah? Might we point your attention right here? ‘Cause he needs your help.
(Critics of McHugh, meanwhile, will point out that he’s the civilian Army leader and doesn’t carry any gold on his breast pocket.)
How about we take this to the next level?
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Should we assume McHugh consulted with Pentagon brass and the White House before announcing his position? If so, then it arrives with Obama’s blessing. But let’s not mistake a decision not to enforce a discriminatory law as the same as repealing it. McHugh’s decision is honorable. And it should not allow anyone to believe pressure for a full repeal, then, is somehow dwindling.
UPDATE: Worth clarifying. It seems like McHugh is indicating he won’t pursue investigations against gay soldiers he or his office talks to personally, as part of the research project into repealing DADT. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s saying all gay soldiers who come out will be granted immunity.
UPDATE 2: McHugh did not just self-issue a moratorium. He’s released this statement clarifying the situation. It goes like this: Not only is there no stop-gap measure in place, McHugh himself says gay soldiers who speak to him openly are not protected from DADT dismissals. Which is a grand way of encouraging a whopping zero soldiers to speak to Pentagon and military leaders about this repeal “study” thing that’s going on.
Yesterday, in response to a series of questions from reporters regarding “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, I made several statements that require further comment.
First, while President Obama has asked Congress to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, it is and remains the law of the land. As I have testified before Congress and Secretary Gates has made clear, the Department of the Defense will continue to apply the law, as we are obligated to do.
Second, I was incorrect when I stated that Secretary Gates had placed a moratorium on discharges of homosexual service-members. There is no moratorium of the law and neither Secretary Gates nor I would support one. Further, the recent changes to implementing regulations authorized by Secretary Gates, which I support, apply the law in a fairer and more appropriate manner; they do not in any way create a moratorium of the law.
Third, with regard to the three soldiers who shared their views and thoughts with me on “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, I might better have counseled them that statements about their sexual orientation could not be treated as confidential and could result in their separation under the law. Because of the informal and random manner in which these engagements occurred, I am unable to identify these soldiers and I am not in a position to formally pursue the matter.
Secretary Gates has committed to soliciting the views of men and women in uniform across the military, including those who are gay and lesbian, within the parameters of the review process he has established. The intra-department, intra-service working group, lead by Jeh Johnson, general counsel of the Department of Defense, and Gen. Carter Ham, commander, U.S. Army Europe, is working to determine the most effective and most comprehensive way to do this. The working group is likely to utilize a third party from outside of the department to solicit these views so soldiers can speak candidly and without fear of separation. I urge every soldier to share his or her views and suggestions on this important issue through this channel. This is the appropriate way to do so.
I strongly support the deliberative process that Secretary Gates has established to review this important issue. Until Congress repeals “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, it remains the law of the land and the Department of the Army and I will fulfill our obligation to uphold it.
Devon
Nice try, you almost got me again.
Hyhybt
If so, they started early: I read about this elsewhere yesterday around dinner time.
Jason
Well, that is something.
Or in this case, not.
Jason
For those of you who don’t know, the civilian leaders outrank military rank. That is our system.
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
1. It ONLY applies to gay servicemembers who out themselves when they talk to him repeal. He never said DADT is wrong. Just that it would be unfair to discharge such gays in these circumstances. Many years ago, the Supreme Court, in the name of fairness NOT the unconstitutionality of the ban, let stand a lower court ruling ordering Perry Watkins reinstated in the Army because he was discharged for being gay even tho they had twice enlisted him after the TOLD them he was gay.
2. “With Obama’s blessing”????? ROTFLMAO! Really Queerty, someone has been spiking your Martoonies with old Kool Aid.
This latest symptom of McHugh’s schizophrenia is less good news than just another example of how the first 14 months of Obama Inc.. has been like a Keystone Cops / “Reno 911” marathon. They keep getting caught with their political pants down.
[img]http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/article/798/798860/reno-911-the-complete-fourth-season-uncensored-20070622033751916-001.jpg[/img]
SO FAR: Contradicting virtually everyone else in the Pentagon’s Jurassic Park, he declared that the Army could handle repeal with no problem. But, then, in the same breath, he said gay segregated units and assignments might be necessary.
Tuesday, as noted, contradicting his direct boss, Secretary of DEFENSE OF DADT Gates and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs, McHugh said rabid homophobe Lt. Gen. Mixon won’t be reprimanded for a possible violation of the UCMJ/federal law ban on advocating for/against legislation when he urged people to contact Congress to oppose repeal…and a definite violation of the charade Gates is leading that they’re FOR repeal.
And at the same breakfast of Loco Puffs, McHugh, contradicted them ALL…including Obama’s DOJ…in saying he won’t consistently enforce DADT. I continue to believe we must stop however many discharges we can by whatever means, but the evidence that O Inc., simply doesn’t know what they’re doing does not instill confidence. Or, less politely, what the Hell’s going on? How can we trust ANYTHING this administration says?
IF they REALLY want to end DADT, rather than simply ignoring it [which IS better than nothing], and, if, as an ODOJ talking parrot just insisted: “the President believes and has repeatedly affirmed that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a bad policy that harms our national security and undermines our military effectiveness,” why isn’t he, McHugh’s ultimate boss, using the powers Congress gave him to freeze gay discharges in the name of national security?
New slogan: STOP AIDING THE TERRORISTS! FREEZE DISCHARGES NOW!
Michael @ LeonardMatlovich.com
OOOPS!
McHugh has been forced to recant on allowing ANYONE to “Tell” before the ink was barely dry on his claim he would:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/01/AR2010040102908.html
B
testing testing
Mike L.
Obama prolly got pissed at him and made him “elaborate further” on what he meant.
Truth B. Told
The so-called “United” States of America has got to be one of the sickest countries on Earth. The sociopathic Abrahamic Religious Cults (conservative Judaism, Islam and Christianity) has been poisoning the Well of Sanity for countless generations. When is enough going to be enough?
This kind of anti-Gay hatred would never have existed without these destructive cults. And yes, the Communists and other “non-religious” types have persecuted Gays as well, but those governments were based on the same obsession with conformity as religion, and many of their anti-gay attitudes were the only politically allowed expression of their former religious cult membership.
Bottom line, the US Military is all about conformity. Religion is about conformity too. But the conformity in the military has to do more with working as a unit and of exercising self-restraint; whereas, the conformity of religion is different kind of “hive” mentality, it is about the suppression of free thinking and the prohibition of exploration of the natural world.
Every generation has to kick the older generation in the face once in while to make them let us go so we can move on into a more enlightened existence. But if that younger generation was a more reliable voting block, perhaps this moral quagmire of the bigoted dinosaurs desperately trying to drag us back into the past, so they can still feel “relevant”, need not be a determining factor in social change.
To sum it up: Obama (and his cronies) fear the old coots more than he fears his apathetic, albeit more enlightened, base of idealistic, attention deficit disordered, groupies.
We’ve allowed this unfair status quo to continue because most of us are less politically active and less determined than the PolyGrip generation. Change that or learn to live with it.
In the 1960’s young people gave a collective middle finger to the old farts who thought they controlled everything and who wanted to keep everybody in their place. And change happened because of that. Read a history book sometime and look up 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Stonewall Rebellion. That never would have happened if people would have just sat on the asses and bitched about change, but never done anything at all to make it a reality.
I know because I was there marching with those people. I’m old, ill and tired now. It’s time for a new generation to pick up the baton and shove aside those people in my generation who refuse to evolve towards a more enlightened and egalitarian society.
Time to take to the streets again.
DR
So they want to solicit information from GLB soldiers but at the same time warn them that anything they say can be used against them, now? Someone needs to step in and do something, this is turning into a major Charlie Foxtrot.