Somebody needs to hold Sen. John McCain accountable. In 2006, during the run up to the presidential election, McCain went on MSNBC’s “Hardball” and told the nation “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.’”
In February of this year the nation’s two top defense officials, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, did just that, calling for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the military.
McCain pronounced himself “deeply disappointed.”
And just last week, when the Senate moved for a procedural vote that might lead to the repeal of this prejudicial and outmoded policy, McCain personally led the filibuster which blocked the measure from even being considered.
“One can only draw the conclusion that this is all about elections and not about the welfare morale and battle effectiveness of our men and women who are laying it on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan today,” said McCain, who also claimed that a defense spending measure was necessary, but that he would not vote for it because of the controversial amendment.
“There is a tremendous frustration on the part of many involved,” said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. “We hear all the time about procedural hurdles that Republicans want to throw into this process.”
The measure, which would have opened debate on the issue and not guaranteed passage, failed 56-43 as Republicans marched lockstep against the issue without a single member crossing party lines in favor of open debate.
The fact that our government finds itself unable even to hold a conversation about this important issue is indicative of our broken system. The current regulation requires service members to deliberately deceive their commanders, even as most of their comrades are aware and quite comfortable with their sexual orientation. John McCain, being a curmudgeonly old man still bitter about his defeat in 2008, cares more about making the rightful president look bad than he ever will about what is good and just for this country.
Not all of this is McCain’s fault, however, as this breakdown in communication also showcases House Majority Leader Harry Reid’s incompetence in rejecting Republican requests to amend the bill. Reid himself voted against breaking the filibuster in order to take up the

measure later in the year, though many gay rights groups are not hopeful it has any better chance of being passed later.
Protesters stormed an Obama rally the day after the vote, causing the president to momentarily depart from his prepared comments.
“Some of those signs should be going up at the other folks' events,” he said, “and folks should be hollering at the other folks' event. Because the choice in November could not be clearer.”
Perhaps the choice is clear. However, faced with the prospect of belligerence on one hand and ineffectiveness on the other, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal may lose either way.