If anyone has any doubts about the fact that the Tea Party doesn’t include the religious right, just check out the new PEW poll on DADT. As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Fewer than half that number (27%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. — Large majorities of Democrats (70%) and independents (62%) favor allowing gays to serve openly. Republicans are divided (40% favor, 44% oppose). Among conservative Republicans, far more oppose than favor allowing gays to serve openly (52% to 28%). Nearly half (48%) of white evangelical Protestants oppose letting gays serve openly in the military, while just 34% support this proposal. Majorities or pluralities across other religious groups favor allowing gays to serve openly. — Only about four-in-ten (38%) Republicans and Republican leaners who agree with the Tea Party favor allowing gays to serve openly; 48% are opposed. Among those who disagree with the Tea Party or have no opinion of the movement, 52% favor letting gays serve openly and just 30% are opposed. The religious right used the health care town halls meetings to act out their aggression at progressives and that’s why they were quite until the end of the health care debate when they became very vocal in their attempts to get rid of any type of abortion coverage. John McCain made his almost weekly appearance on the Sunday Talk shows yesterday and continues to destroy his once “mavericky” persona by reversing himself on the DADT issue and now says that there really is no problem at all. David@ Video Cafe writes: In mid-November, McCain said he rejected that study because it didn’t ask service members whether the policy should be repealed. “[T]his study was directed at how to implement the repeal, not whether the repeal should take place or not,” McCain said. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates disagrees that there should be a new survey that amounts to a “referendum.” “I do not believe that military policy decisions — on this or any other subject — should be made through a referendum of Servicemembers,” Gates wrote to McCain in October. “I think he certainly has a point,” McCain told CNN’s Candy Crowley Sunday. The Arizona senator believes that by repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the Obama administration is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. We all have been saying for years that McCain is a complete hack and I wonder how much more evidence do Villagers need to write him off as another fullofshit politician? He’s acting like a bitter old man who got his ass kicked in the 2008 election. His wife had no problem disagreeing with her hubby . The DADT report will be released on on 12/1/10 so it appears that McCain is doubling down now. He must know that this report will make his stance against DADT invalid. Joe Sudbay writes: McCain and Lindsey Graham begin renewed effort to prevent the end of DADT This week is a big week in the effort to finally end DADT on Tuesday. The Pentagon will release its DADT study and the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings about the report on Thursday and Friday. Two members of that committee, John McCain and his BFF, Lindsey Graham, were on the talk shows this morning trashing the efforts to end DADT. McCain’s opposition to ending DADT is based on pure homophobia. Lindsey’s support of DADT is probably based on internalized homophobia.. .read on Steve Benen writes: THE STATE OF PLAY FOR DADT REPEAL
Majority of Americans support repeal of DADT except Tea Partiers/extremists and John McCain