Don't Ask Don't Tell

Lisa Murkowski becomes the third member of the GOP Senate caucus, along with Susan Collins and Scott Brown, to endorse a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." The Alaska senator says in a statement: "my support for moving the Defense Authorization bill forward, which includes a repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, will depend on whether the majority allows for an open and fair amendment process. This is a weighty, policy-laden bill that normally takes several weeks to debate and amend.

The Hill's Jordan Fabian reports:

A key centrist Democratic senator said Wednesday that he now favors repealing the military's ban on openly gay service members. 

The repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" is the hot-button issue attached to the defense authorization bill that's getting all the attention, but it's not the only issue that could keep the bill from passing.

At today's Senate hearing, three of the four service chiefs expressed opposition to repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy on gays in the military. "My recommendation is that we should not implement repeal at this time," said Marine Corps commandant General James F. Amos (watch his opening statement here).

Marine corps commandant General James Amos testified before the Senate this morning that Congress should not repeal its law regarding gays in the military. It's hard to find a stronger or more succinct defense of the current policy than the following letter from a "Marine lieutenant who was a platoon commander" that was quoted by Amos: 

While many opponents of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) have argued against the military's policy on gays in the military by comparing it to racial segregation, an Obama administration official seemed to reject that comparison during his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

The legislation to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy would only go into effect when the president, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and the defense secretary sign off on it. This morning, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it could be years until he'd support implementing repeal.

If the Senate takes up the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in this lame duck session, there's a chance that some senators in both parties will cross the aisle. Here's the math:

Early reports on the Pentagon's survey of the troops on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were nothing but roses for repeal supporters, but the details of the survey complicate that narrative somewhat. While only 20% of troops who have never been deployed to a combat zone say that repeal of DADT would "very negatively" or "negatively" affect their "immediate unit's effectiveness at completing its mission," more than 44% of combat troops say repeal would have a negative impact on unit effectiveness: 

The Pentagon's report on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hasn't been released yet, but ABC highlights some interesting numbers: 

On the eve of Thanksgiving, Howard Dean writes about the troops in an email to his supporters. No, Dr. Dean doesn't find space to thank those who are serving our country--it's just an opportunity to rail against the "shameful policy" of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Oh, and ask for donations: 

Sam Stein reports that the Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled two days of hearings next week on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays in the military: