There have been some doozies. We've all heard them. "Enlistment will drop / re-enlistment will drop"...."But the showers....." "People will be uncomfortable".."But the showers"..."We need to study this"..."But the showers".
This one is positively Palinesque and it didn't even come from Princess Sharpie Winksalot. No, this one comes to us from a State Senator from Missouri (who's also running for Roy Blunt's Congressional seat) Gary Nodler. You see, the real reason that we should not repeal DADT is....
because it would offend terrorists. From Think Progress: Missouri Lawmaker’s Argument Against Repealing DADT: It Would Be A ‘Cultural Affront’ To Terrorists
Now bless his heart, he's concerned for the safety of our gay soldiers:
Nodler said that "being openly gay in the military ‘in and of itself‘ could be grounds for a sexual harassment complaint by another serviceman, and characterized Don’t Ask Don’t Tell as a way to accommodate gays’ service ‘in a way that doesn’t create a hostile workplace.’"
So if gays would just stay quiet, then there's no risk of hostile work environment. But his bigger point is:
...that allowing openly gay soldiers in the military "could represent a ‘cultural affront‘" to terrorists intent on killing American troops.
"So you would create specific geopolitical strategic dilemmas for the U.S. military — specifically in the war in Afghanistan, " Nodler said. "There are real-world implications. This is a policy that would directly threaten the lives of soldiers today." St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger summed up Nodler’s argument this way:
The Muslim nations of Iraq and Afghanistan, where America is fighting two wars, are opposed to homosexuality. Changing "Don’t ask, don’t tell" would offend the terrorists in such a way that could put soldiers — and America — at risk of further terrorist attacks.
Funny, that sounds like that appeasement stuff Republicans are always accusing Democrats of. That sounds like letting others dictate American policy which I thought the party of dear Lord baby Jesus said no way, no how. We don't care what other people think. Except when they're terrorists we might offend.
Nodler realized how badly that would play to the base so he quickly tried to correct the record claiming that he meant it would be offensive to the people whose countries we're fighting in...you know it would make us bad guests and all.
Jon Soltz of Vote Vets ( whose opinion I respect a helluva lot more than Nodler's) has this to say which pretty well sums up my thoughts and a good way to end this diary:
Sen. Nodler is as clueless as he is offensive. We have women serving in uniform, in theater, every day, despite many people in the region believing women should play no such role. It has posed no problems for our Armed Forces. What is a problem is that we’ve lost hundreds of translators, and thousands overall, under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, so our troops are fighting shorthanded. Sen. Nodler should be a lot more concerned about that.