Don't Ask Don't Tell

Excuses, Excuses: Why Top GOPers Say They Can't Vote For DADT Repeal

Rachel Slajda | December 2, 2010, 3:06PM

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, Department of Defense General Counsel Jeh C. Johnson, and U.S. Army Gen. Carter Ham

In his opening statement at a Don't Ask, Don't Tell hearing today, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen systematically blew apart the classic attacks on repeal.

"Repeal of the law will not prove an unacceptable risk to military readiness. Unit cohesion will not suffer," Mullen said. "And families will not encourage their loved ones to leave the service in droves."

"And I find the argument that war is not the time to change to be antithetical with our own experience since 2001," he said. "War does not stifle change; it demands it."

He destroyed Sen. John McCain's suggestion that the opinions of the service chiefs were more important than those of Mullen. McCain had said Mullen "is not directly in charge of the troops."

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Saxby Chambliss

Chambliss Fires Unnamed Staffer Who Wrote Gay Slur Online

Rachel Slajda | September 30, 2010, 5:10PM

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) said in a statement this afternoon that he has fired the staffer who wrote an offensive comment on a gay rights blog last week. His office declined to identify the staffer.

The unidentified staffer wrote, "All faggots must die," on a post at Joe.My.God, just after the Senate's failed attempt to start debate on a bill that would repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

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Saxby Chambliss

Sen. Chambliss' Office Says It Was Source Of 'Faggot' Comment

Eric Lach | September 22, 2010, 7:34PM

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

The office of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has admitted that an anti-gay comment left on a gay rights blog this week came from the senator's office, though it has not determined who actually posted it, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

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Don't Ask Don't Tell

Sen. Chambliss Investigating Whether 'Faggot' Comment Came From Staffer

Rachel Slajda | September 22, 2010, 9:25AM

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office is investigating whether one of the Georgia Republican's staffers left an anti-gay comment on a blog yesterday afternoon.

"We have seen the allegations and are moving quickly to understand the facts. This office has not and will not tolerate any activity of the sort alleged," a Chambliss spokeswoman said in a statement issued last night. "Once we have ascertained whether these claims are true, we will take the appropriate steps."

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