(Republican) Senator Brown Supports Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

[kpete]

Source: New York Times


December 3, 2010, 1:55 pm
Senator Brown Supports Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

Senator Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, said on Friday that he now supported the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding gay soldiers, after a Pentagon report this week concluded that allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly would not pose risks to the battle readiness of troops.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mr. Brown voted last spring against repealing the policy. The repeal language is included in the annual military policy bill now before Congress.

But in a statement on Friday, Mr. Brown said that he accepted the report by Pentagon commanders.

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Read more: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/senator-brown-supports-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Sen. Scott Brown issued the following statement on the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy Friday:

I have been in the military for 31 years and counting, and have served as a subordinate and as an officer. As a legislator, I have spent a significant amount of time on military issues. During my time of service, I have visited our injured troops at Walter Reed and have attended funerals of our fallen heroes. When a soldier answers the call to serve, and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight. My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor.

I pledged to keep an open mind about the present policy on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Having reviewed the Pentagon report, having spoken to active and retired military service members and having discussed the matter privately with Defense Secretary (Robert) Gates and others, I accept the findings of the report and support repeal based on the secretary’s recommendations that repeal will be implemented only when the battle effectiveness of the forces is assured and proper preparations have been completed.

http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/masspolitics/2010/12/03/scott-brown-supports-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twtrfd

[shoreline]

1. Good on him...

...nice to see a politician who has worn a uniform in the last 30 years chime in.

[karynnj]

3. It i good he supports this, but if a Democrat, who has not spent a day on active

duty spoke of 31 years in the military, they would be blasted in a second. The fact is that the Republicans thought Kerry's nearly 4 years in active duty did not count.

[No Elephants]

13. Yep. He's very deceptive. He started his campaign for Ted's seat with a TV ad of a JFK clip he

said he agreed with. Never ID'd himself as a Republican. To the contrary, he threw around the word "independent" a lot--and a majority of Mass voters are registered unaffiliated, though most vote Dem.

Impression: a Dem leaning independent, like most Mass voters, who revered John . Kennedy and was perfect for Teddy's seat.

Reality: A Republican state legislator who had voted with his party and addressed Massachusetts's first Tea Party rally.

See also Reply # 11.

[No Elephants]

11. He voted against repeal in the Armed Services Committee. I have a feeling the good

citizens of his state gave him what for, so don't give him unconditional credit.

Also, IIRC, his record in the Mass. State Leg. was not pro gay rights, though, of course, DADT was not an issue there.

[pattmarty]

2. He'd better if he wants ANY chance of being re-elected.

[Ter]

8. Only now he won't get past his primary

:)

[No Elephants]

15. Bingo. See Replies 11 and 13.

[NICO9000]

4. Who cares what this clown thinks about anything?

Sen. Playgirl was the jerk who stopped the unemployment extension vote this week. His opinion is worthless as far as I'm concerned.

:mad:

[Recursion]

5. What, we don't want his vote on anything...

...because we don't have it on everything?

[No Elephants]

17. Wanting his vote and respecting his opinion are 2 different things.

There's a reason I refer to him as the Brown turd

[Tx4obama]

6. Brown isn't a nut like most of the other republicans.

Scott Brown has voted several times with the democrats.
He seems to look at each issue on it's own merits (like Snowe, Collins, Voinovich)
and he doesn't just blindly vote with the republican block like most of them do :)

[No Elephants]

12. Disagree. He is a nut who is desperate to get re-elected in a liberal state.

In our legislature, his voting record was 96% with his party.

[saras]

7. Why ask? Why tell?

Personally I think don't ask/don't tell is a perfectly good policy for HETEROSEXUALS in the military, whether it's a formal or informal policy.

Who needs to know? Why are they asking you who you have sex with in the first place?

Why do you need to tell anyone? Do you think anyone really wants to hear about your sexcapades?

I think what the military needs to do is just fucking stop discriminating against homosexuals. Once they've done that, THEN we can talk about how public one needs to be about their sexuality. But right now we've got it backwards.

[totodeinhere]

9. He is one of the 42 who signed that letter saying they would not allow anything else to come to a

vote until the rich get their tax break. So Brown can support repeal of DADT in principle, but that is just a smokescreen. He will join the other Repugs in the Senate to make sure it won't come to a vote in the first place unless the super rich get their tax cut.

[No Elephants]

16. Good point and perception. Please see Replies 11 and 13.

[nyy1998]

10. Is their a website that has a whip count of Senators who said they would vote for DADT repeal?

[Township75]

14. Good for him. This is good for repealing DADT

The more repubs that come out in support of this, the more people like McCain will be marginalized.

[No Elephants]

18. Please see Replies 3, 9, 11 and 13 before praising him too much. Tho, yes, I am glad for this

change on his part.

[No Elephants]

19. Brown turd being deceptive as ever.

See Replies 3, 9, 11 and 13


"When a soldier answers the call to serve, and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight. My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor."


More Brown turd bullshit. How does anyone serve with pride and honor when your government tells you you are "less than" and forces you to cower and lie?