Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

The Hill is hoping you “Don’t Ask” why a major Defense bill “crashed and burned” today … and if you do, they “Won’t Tell.”  There has been a lot of buzz about Senate Bill 3454 that included a provision to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  Republican Senators voted unanimously to block debate on the bill and were joined by two Democratic Senators as well.  If you put your ear to the ground, you can almost hear the Liberal rumblings begin to build about how this is just one more example of the homophobic fears of Conservatives.  A certain number of fringe Conservatives are likely to solidify this belief by citing that God doesn’t want gays in the military … although they may be difficult to understand because, frankly, it’s tough to talk when you’ve got your foot in your mouth.  We could leave it at that, but somehow common sense tells me there might be more to this issue.  So, despite their admonishment … let’s “Ask!”

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is the state-of-the-art, “politically correct” policy deployed by the military to theoretically preserve its ban on gays from serving their country.  I think it was based upon some General’s trip to the Washington National Zoo, where the officer observed an ostrich sticking its head in the sand when it got scared.  Clearly part of a Conservative agenda, the original policy and procedures for discharging gay military personnel was passed by Republican President, Harry S. Truman.  Then, in 1993, Republican President William Jefferson Clinton issued Defense Directive 1304.26 as a compromise to an “open door” policy that basically suggested that sexual orientation should remain behind “closed doors” in what came to be known as the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  Oh, I know what you’re thinking … weren’t Truman and Clinton Democrats?  Maybe in public … but behind “closed doors,” I’m almost positive they were Republicans.

There’s no question that today’s vote went principally along Party lines.  This was clearly a partisan issue.  Interestingly enough, both Democratic Senators who crossed over the Party lines to vote with the Republicans were from Arkansas … Bill Clinton’s old home State.  I don’t attach as much significance to that fact as I do irony.  What I do find interesting is that they both actually supported passage of the repeal.  So, why did they cross over in their own version of the movie “Kill Bill?”

Interestingly enough, the bill wasn’t just restricted to addressing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  How can that be?  It makes you wonder if there might have been other issues included in the 2,700 page Health Care Reform bill.  Nah!  Our politicians wouldn’t play games like that with us!  They represent “the People!”

So, what else was in this particular Defense bill?  Well, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid had pledged to attach an immigration reform measure to the bill that would create a way to secure citizenship for illegal aliens who came to the United States as children.  Now, you might ask, what does that have to do with Defense?  Plenty!  You see, Harry Reid is in a dead heat in his re-election campaign, and he needs the Hispanic vote to “defend” his seat.  If he could have crammed through some immigration reform with the passage of this bill, it could have given him the support he needed to win in November.  So, all of you Gay Rights activists in Nevada, keep that in mind when you go to the polls in the upcoming election … Harry Reid put his re-election above the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Am I sure about this?  Unfortunately, “Yes!”  You see, Majority Leader Reid (and I use the term “Leader” loosely) is on record as saying he was going to attach his immigration amendment to the bill as well as several other Democratic, election-related amendments.  Oh, and by the way, he also stated that he was going to limit the amendments offered by the Republicans and shut down debate on the issue.  So much for Freedom of Speech … or maybe it just doesn’t apply to partisan politics.

One of the Democratic Senators who crossed Party lines, Blanche Lincoln, said, “There are many controversial issues in this bill.  They deserve to have a civil, fair and open debate on the Senate floor, and that is why I am so disappointed that rather than allowing full and open debate and the opportunity for amendments from both sides of the aisle, the Majority Leader apparently intends to shut down the debate and exclude Republicans from offering a number of amendments.”   I guess it took a “Lincoln” to bring the “transparency and bipartisanship” to the Senate that we were assured two years ago ... but then, I probably give too much weight to campaign promises.

It’s worth noting that the House had already passed the Defense authorization bill including the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” provision.  The bill itself concerns the annual Defense budget, and as such, it has been passed by Congress 48 years in a row.  It will undoubtedly pass again after the November elections.  The bill’s deferment (no pun intended) is probably not such a bad thing since a taxpayer funded report on the whole “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issue isn’t even due to be available until December 1st.  Common sense suggests that it might be worthwhile not to render a decision on that particular provision until the results of the study are presented.  Otherwise, why did we bother to have the assessment conducted?

Not that politics had anything to do with it, but Harry Reid’s maneuvering was fairly well calculated.  Had he pulled off his coup, he probably would have attracted a lot of Hispanic votes for himself and his colleagues who are up for re-election.  By forcing the Republicans to threaten to “filibuster” the bill, he once again positioned them as the “Party of No” … at least among less informed members of the electorate.  Had poor Harry not been “outed” by Senator Lincoln (no pun intended), everything would have been just fine.  If you don’t think this was entirely “political,” Majority Leader Reid switched his vote to “No” at the last minute to preserve the right for him to call for a revote.

The real irony is that it didn’t really matter what the Senate did.  President Obama was already on record as saying he was going to veto the House bill because of a provision it had concerning additional funding for the development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.  Remember, the bill is actually supposed to address the Defense budget!  So, kudos to the President if he really would have vetoed the bill based upon principle … but of course we’ll never know … and he probably “Won’t Tell!”

And even though you didn’t “Ask,” I’m going to “Tell” you where common sense says we need to “come out” on this one.  The Declaration of Independence, a document of which I am particularly fond, states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I found no exception in the Declaration pertaining to one’s sexual orientation.  Rest assured, there isn’t one in the Constitution or its Amendments either.  If a person loves the United States and wishes to serve in its military, then so be it.  The “pursuit of Happiness” is part of the Declaration’s guarantee, and “Life” (and its companion “Death”) is included among the “unalienable Rights” with which we have been “endowed.”  Each of us should have the freedom to choose our own course.

If there are any legitimate issues associated with the exercise of these rights, let’s use our collective wisdom to address them.  We seem to have solved the problem of having men and women serve together; I see no reason why we can’t solve this matter of equality as well.  In effect, we already have … by ignoring the reality that gays have been serving in the military for decades.  Politically, we’ve just chosen to bury our heads in the sand.   So, henceforth, I commend thee (spoken in a true, Czar-like voice):  “Don’t Ask” a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual-orientation, political persuasion, etc. when it’s irrelevant … and “Don’t Tell” them they are somehow “unequal.”  So says the Common Sense Czar!

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Copyright © 2010 T.J. O’Hara. To support viral distribution, this article may be copied, reprinted, forwarded, linked, or published in any form as long as proper attribution is given to the author and no changes are made.