Still pissing in the wind, the Family Research Council “today renewed its criticism of the process which led to the release today of a report by the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG) on the issue of open homosexuality in the military.” Tony Perkins, who relies on his status as a Marine veteran to excuse his hatemongering, wants Congress to “hold extensive hearings.” It’s as if Perkins and John McCain are exchanging little love notes during class.
Meanwhile, together with the Center for Security Policy, FRC released its own poll of military families that claims 63 percent do not want gays serving openly in the military — a stat, the Palm Center points out, that includes the families of troops that are retired or otherwise inactive, thus skewing older. And asshole-ier.
JusticeontheRocks
You’d have to be nuts to take anything this group puts out at face value. Or to give it any value.
Teluride
The more they complain, the louder they scream.
Russell
The full survey is online. It is bizarre. The release accompanying the survey is filled with typos and syntax errors. The survey itself is a joke.
The question about DADT asks whether the respondent thinks Congress should repeal the current law prohibiting open homosexual behavior in the military. There is no definition of “open homosexual behavior”. 99% of people hearing that will think it a reference to sexual behavior or other conduct such as kissing or hand-holding while on base or on the battlefield, so you can see how they got the result they wanted. They also manipulate the results by excluding the non-respondents, which has the effect of exaggerating the opposition to repeal.
The respondent pool bears no relation to today’s military families. None of these respondents necessarily is serving or ever served in the military, since anyone who has ever had any family member serve in the military at any time qualifies. So if your wife’s great great uncle served for 6 months in 1902, you are a “military family” and qualify for the FRC survey.
70% of respondents are over 50 years old. 43% identify with the Tea Party movement. And 70% believe that marriage should only be b/t 1 man and 1 woman. So the pool is not so much active military and their families, but more like a small, aging town in Alabama.
You’re welcome, Queerty, for doing your job. Any one of your salaried employees could have found and posted this information.
jeff
I think you meant “assholier-than thou.”
Paul in Canada
@Russell: thanks for this analysis – very helpful!