You know, Johnny Mac really is bearing a striking resemblance of late to this guy:
Photo courtesy of Pixar
In that he keeps setting requirements to meet his own personal agenda for repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and then says “Bah!” when they are met but not to his liking.
McCain dismissed Gates’ claim that repealing the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian service members would have little or no effect on military readiness in an interview with NBC News yesterday by suggesting that Gates doesn’t really know what ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell will mean for fighters on the ground. McCain, who continues to be opposed to repealing DADT, stated that Gates was not an objective expert on the matter because he’s “a political appointee who’s never been in the military.”
Actually, I’m pretty sure that someone who’s never been in the military and therefore is immune from potential biases would be an objective observer, but that’s neither here nor there with Johnny Mac. But even so, wait, it turns out that:
A spokesperson for Senator John McCain (R-AZ) says the preeminent veteran in the U.S. Senate “misspoke” yesterday when he said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates never served in the U.S. military.
[…]
In truth, Gates served in the Air Force as a second lieutenant for two years starting in 1967. (That was the same year McCain, a Navy pilot, was injured in a fire aboard the aircraft carrier Forrestal in the coastal waters off Vietnam.)
Carl Fredrickson John McCain just didn’t get his nap that day, or something. Whoopsie.
So what are Johnny Mac’s requirements, anyway?
“I’m paying attention to the commandant of the Marine Corps,” McCain told NBC. “I’m paying attention to the other three service chiefs who have serious concerns. They are the four guys who are directly in charge. In all due respect, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs is not directly in charge of the troops. The Secretary of Defense is a political appointee who’s never been in the military. And the president, obviously, has had no background or experience in the military whatsoever. It was a campaign pledge to the gay and lesbian community.”
This, of course, makes us recall his earlier statement:
“I listen to people like Gen. Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and literally every military leader that I know. And they testified before Congress that they felt the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was the most appropriate way to conduct ourselves in the military. A policy that has been effective. It has worked. … But the day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, ‘Senator, we ought to change the policy,’ then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it because those leaders in the military are the ones we give the responsibility to.“
And then once Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates made it clear they support repeal, McCain moved the goalposts to:
“I want to make one thing very clear: I do not oppose or support the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ at this time, but I do oppose taking legislative action prior to the completion of a real and thorough review of the law. A complete survey to evaluate the impact of repeal on the men and women serving in our military should be concluded before moving forward.“
And then once that was completed, McCain again moved the goalposts. Fortunately, Gates is having none of it.
So no doubt Johnny Mac will continue to pay attention to the service chiefs who have concerns, until they don’t have concerns, at which point he’ll angrily criticize them for not getting off his lawn, playing loud music, and flash dancing snapping to attention for his misbegotten agenda.
In the meantime, because there are a lot of fools who do listen to Johnny Mac, there are a lot of Senators who are still swing votes on this issue who could use an earful from you, your friends, family and colleagues. 202-224-3121.
Update: And I see Johnny Mac and his 41 buddies have now threatened to take their ball and go home if they don’t get their tax cuts for the rich.
[W]e write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers…
With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities. While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate’s attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.
