Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives votes 234-194 to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, undoubtedly causing a restless night for House minority leader John Boehner (R-Oh 8) who earlier this week said, "Rushing ahead with a political decision without understanding how it will impact the men and women of our Armed Forces who are fighting two wars is deeply irresponsible. I hope members of Congress who care about our national security on both sides of the political aisle will stand together to stop it."
Now, Boehner would only know about this secondhand since, a mere eight weeks after enlisting in the Navy, he was discharged due to a "bad back."
Someone who would know firsthand about this is Justin Coussoule who, fortuitously, happens to be running against Boehner for the 8th district seat.
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/
Coussoule is a West Point graduate (as is his wife Amanda), who served in the Army for 5 and a half years. He isn’t particularly alarmed about the impact of rolling back DADT. In a press release today titled "A West Point Congressional Candidate Challenging Boehner Speaks Out: Don’t Ask--Don’t Tell--- a bad idea whose time has thankfully passed," he says, "Unlike his obstructionist opponent, Congressman John Boehner, Coussoule fully supports the immediate repeal of the "Don’t Ask-- Don’t Tell" policy which unfairly deals with gay members of the military.
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/...
He continues, "To ask our brave men and women to immediately violate the military code of ethics by forcing them to lie about their private behavior or sexual orientation is ludicrous. ... At a time when the policies of the previous Administration have stretched our military between two foreign wars, the exclusion of patriotic young Americans from uniformed service based on sexual orientation is indefensible. ... I served with men and women who I later learned were gay or lesbian; their sexual orientation had no bearing on their outstanding service to our nation, and in no way changes my view of them as honorable and selfless veterans.
My favorite jab: "Mr. Boehner’s implication that the pending repeal jeopardizes our national security is AS USUAL incorrect and shortsighted."
As usual indeed.
If you feel moved, send the boy something, and let's see if we can send Boehner back to the tanning salon for good.
http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/