Repealing 'DADT' Was a Nice Idea! But Yeah, Democrats Will Probably Cave

 
 So we've been talking about repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" forever, yes? This is so it wouldn't seem like a rash decision for Democrats to have made -- as though it weren't clear that it was a weird thing for the military to enforce and that equality for Americans is always the easier answer. And so the Democrats got the military to drag itself through a long process reviewing this thing, as if it makes a difference to DADT opponents if the military says it's not going to be annoying for them to approve equality. It doesn't! They don't care about logic, they care about ancient sentiment and fear. But isn't it about time Democrats just band together their temporary majorities and pass the repeal already? Haha, no, it's time they cave .

The geniuses decided to put the DADT repeal into the defense authorization bill. That would be fine, normally! But Democrats get scared over defense authorization bills, because if they don't pass them, Republicans will say mean things about them hating "The Troops™."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) may not be able to secure enough votes to pass the bill because of language repealing the ban on gays in the military. Stripping that provision may be the only way to pass the legislation, which authorizes funding and sets policy for the Pentagon.

Either don't put it in there or decide to finally call the Republicans' bluff on something, "leaders." Really, you've been at this for how long now? And you thought Republicans were just going to go along with this? You're right, you do all deserve to keep your leadership jobs! Yay! You have done such a good job understanding strategy! Everybody gets a commemorative "Harry Reid Is Such A Good Leader November 2010" ice cream cone!

Ohhhhh, but it's not just soulless hacks like John McCain who oppose DADT. It's also this guy:

This year, several veteran lawmakers will likely also be fighting to protect their legacy: Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), a senior panel member, both of whom lost their reelection fights and both of whom oppose repeal.

Skelton, one of the chief architects of “Don’t ask” in 1993, brought the 2011 defense authorization bill to the House floor without repeal language. That was added to the bill during the debate.

Great job! See, there's the Democratic Party's backbone! Skelton was defeated, so he took that as a sign that he shouldn't end his term with dignity, making sure he's on the right side of history; he decided he should keep pretending he was always right about everything ever!

That's the mark of a mature statesman. Skelton doesn't want to be like that extremely popular former president Bill Clinton, who can admit when he was wrong, and does exactly this on DADT. Skelton much prefers to be a longtime lawmaker forgotten by nearly everyone, a bitter, stubborn old man who stood up for no reason at all for a compromised policy that just made everybody in the military feel weird.

It's really incredible that though most Americans support this repeal, it can be defeated by one dumb potential talking point and an opposition that is defined by bigots like Tony Perkins.

But obviously Democrats have to cave. That whole "That guy didn't adequately fund the troops" line? Totally worked for our 44th president, John Kerry, in 2004. There's absolutely no way a political candidate could run against such an amazing single line of argument. And that's why Democrats should always cave to the opposition on everything ever, even when it's a matter of basic human equality. [ The Hill ]