'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the Senate By U.S. Representative Michael Honda (D-CA) Washington Post[WEBSITE VERSION] December 5, 2010
The Post asked experts to discuss the politics of don't ask don't tell as the Senate considers repealing the policy. Below are responses from Dan Schnur, Aubrey Sarvis, Susan Collins, Ed Rogers, Michael Honda and Douglas E. Schoen.
MICHAEL HONDA (D-CALIF.)
Vice chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus
Whether the Senate approves repeal of don't ask, don't tell is not the question. If Republican naysayers hide behind disingenuous national security claims and succeed in stalling repeal, President Obama loses little in his quest to create equality in the armed services. In the long run, Senate Republicans, who are keen to turn this into a political charade, can't stop reform.
When the top military brass, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, favor a repeal of don't ask, don't tell, noting that a "solid majority" of service members say the repeal will have no negative impact, the deal is nearly done. They join a majority of Americans who have rallied behind repeal and a federal judiciary that is likely to overturn the policy on its own.
Only political obstacles remain. The few Republican obstructionists should either join the right side of America's civil rights history or get out of the way.