GOP Supporters Boo Active Duty Soldier, POTUS Candidates Remain Silent

Tonight's GOP POTUS debate had a certain gimmick. Since Google was a co-sponsor of the debate, many of the questions were submitted on the Google-owned site YouTube. In the above video, an active duty gay solider asks the contenders for the GOP nomination for President essentially what they'd do since Don't Ask, Don't Tell was recently repealed and if they'd roll it back.

As soon as the video finishes, several in the crowd booed. No moderator of the debate or any of the Presidential contenders said anything about the crowd's blatant disrespect of the soldier, including the two libertarian-leaning candidates Ron Paul and Gary Johnson.

I guess in this Grand Old Party, you can only have free speech if you hate the gays. I would think that the fact that the guy is currently risking his life in Iraq would matter to them, but nope, they only care about the military when it'll benefit their political agenda. When it goes against their political instincts, they'll toss veterans to the wolves. Mark my words, many attending the debate and in the GOP would love nothing more than to kick out every gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered person currently serving and make sure that they'd never get a single benefit for their time of service. Yes, I understand some of my Republican friends say minds are changing in the party, but the Old Guard in many respects, including on DADT, are still in charge and have the influence.

And people wonder why I'm not a Republican.

UPDATE: GOProud has release a statement about this incident and is demanding an apology from former Senator Santorum:

(Washington, D.C.) – “Tonight, Rick Santorum disrespected our brave men and women in uniform, and he owes Stephen Hill, the gay soldier who asked him the question about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, an immediate apology.

“That brave gay soldier is doing something Rick Santorum has never done – put his life on the line to defend our freedoms and our way of life. It is telling that Rick Santorum is so blinded by his anti-gay bigotry that he couldn’t even bring himself to thank that gay soldier for his service.

“Stephen Hill is serving our country in Iraq, fighting a war Senator Santorum says he supports. How can Senator Santorum claim to support this war if he doesn’t support the brave men and women who are fighting it?”

And the spin is in, saying it was only a few people booing and they were hissed. Doesn't quite make sense considering Santorum's anti-gay response to the question practically has people cheering as if the Beatles just came out on stage.

"Special Rights" and The End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

While I haven't exactly been keeping up with the news cycle in the aftermath of the United States Senate overwhelmingly voting to repeal the policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I can imagine that many on the fringe right are harping on about "special rights" being granted to gays and lesbians who are serving in our nation's military.

Over at Gay Patriot, there is an excellent post that addresses this issue. Read the whole thing. But there's one section that struck me. They quoted this section from the military's report on ending DADT:

We do not recommend that sexual orientation be placed alongside race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, as a class eligible for various diversity programs, tracking initiatives, and complaint resolution processes under the Military Equal Opportunity Program. We believe that doing so could produce a sense, rightly or wrongly, that gay men and lesbians are being elevated to a special status as a “protected class” and will receive special treatment. In a new environment in which gay and lesbian Service members can be open about their sexual orientation, we believe they will be accepted more readily if the military community understands that they are simply being permitted equal footing with everyone else.

This is what many who fall on the right end of the political spectrum, but still support LGBT equality, have to constantly explain. We believe everyone is entitled to equal rights and equal treatment under the law.

Both Advance Indiana and Indy Democrat discuss DADT's repeal as well.

Tell Senator Lugar to Support the Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The infamous "compromise" policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been a burden on our armed services for a good portion of a decade. The original policy completely prohibited gays and lesbians from serving in the military. Now, the military can't ask and the individual enlisted shouldn't tell. Somehow, I suppose not too many have been discharged for asking, but I digress.

Don't Ask Don't Tell's repeal was something President Barack Obama ran on during the 2008 election. Originally, DADT's repeal was attached to a military budget bill as an amendment, but it failed to pass. A few hours ago, the House of Representatives voted and approved DADT repeal as it's own bill. 15 Republicans joined 200+ Democrats in voting for repeal.

The repeal now has to pass the US Senate. And by my count, there are 58 Democrats who will vote for cloture (one Democrat Senator is dead set against voting for DADT repeal). One of the Maine Republican Senators is voting for it as well. That means DADT repeal needs one more to vote for cloture so it can get a floor vote.

In my analysis, it seems that time is really against DADT repeal. I wish the proponents of this legislation the best of luck.

If you want to get updates throughout the day, I encourage you to check out The Bilerico Project. They'll certainly be keeping track of this much more than I'll be able to.

Contact Senator Richard Lugar. Here is every possible way to contact him. Make sure to tell his office that repeal is important, and shouldn't be tied to the passage or failing of any other proposed legislation.

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Finally, I apologize for this shoddy posting. But I wanted to get the information out there.