TPM LiveWire
Spox: McCain Will Not Change DADT Position
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Share
Send to a friend!
Yesterday, we wondered: If Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has based his support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," on the support of men like Gen. Colin Powell, and Powell has come forward in favor of the move to repeal DADT, would McCain change his stance?
The answer: No.
"Senator McCain has no plans on revising his stance until the policy review has been completed," and military leaders have made their official recommendations, his spokeswoman, Brooke Buchanan, told TPM.
Earlier this week, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Michael Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the military will begin a study on the effects of repealing DADT. The study could take up to a year. Both, however, expressed support for a repeal.
"Senator McCain is still opposed to repealing it," Buchanan added.
Powell, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff who helped instituted the policy in 1993, announced yesterday that he supports the military's "new approach" to begin a repeal. He added that he has been calling for a review of the policy for two years.
Mullen, Powell's present-day counterpart, has expressed his adamant personal support for repealing the policy: "For me, personally, it comes down to integrity: Theirs as an individual, ours as an institution."
But the key for McCain is that Mullen was speaking on his own behalf, not that of the military.
Comments (20) | Join the Conversation!
Leave a comment
Follow us!
Most Popular
TPM Stories Now Surging on Digg.com
TPM Top News
© 2010 TPM Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
roxsteady
February 4, 2010 10:26 AM
McCain is a disgrace. Unlike many who said they respected him, I never did. His constant POW play was embarrassing and pathetic. I hope that teabagger cleans his clock! He should have retired years ago because unlike Teddy, McDouchebag appers to be in the early stages of Old Timer's Disease. McCain has also proven himself to be a coward and his own words will be his undoing. Instead of getting his spox to comment, why couldn't he? Let's see if he has the guts to show his face in public this weekend.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
jsdc007
February 4, 2010 10:34 AM
I sent $50 to the obnoxious teabagger up against this empty, bitter husk of a man. As to his "hero" status, he's overplayed that card, and the statute of limitations on that ran out years ago. He never had the decency to discredit the swift boat attacks against Kerry in 2004, he voted against the authorization of military funding in 2009 just because of his homophobia and his anger for his loss in 2008, and now he lacks the basic decency to repeal DADT. Frankly, Senator McCain, I don't know of any gay military personnel who've crashed three aircraft, let alone one, and stayed on in the military.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
yellowdogfox1
February 4, 2010 11:46 AM in reply to jsdc007
007: "empty, bitter husk of a man" sums up McCain better than a lengthy analysis could do. It's everything there is to say about him, and it's only six words. Well done.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Matt Jones
February 4, 2010 6:17 PM in reply to jsdc007
That makes sense - the teabaggers are well-known for their positive opinions on gay rights... OR NOT.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
frsbdg
February 4, 2010 10:38 AM
Somebody needs to tell Gramps that he lost the election. Seriously, who gives a rat's ass what this guy "thinks?"
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
ohyeathatsright
February 4, 2010 11:00 AM
What frustrates me more than McCain not supporting the repeal, is the fact that the military feels it needs to spend a year studying the effects of said repeal. What a ruse.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
boxerchick
February 4, 2010 2:30 PM in reply to ohyeathatsright
While my gut agrees with you - just do it now! - something I read yesterday seems to make sense in the context of the military machine. Just a thought....
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/taking-a-year-to-repeal-dadt.html
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
ohyeathatsright
February 4, 2010 6:21 PM in reply to boxerchick
Thanks for the link. Makes sense, but it doesn't alleviate my personal frustration at this issue. The fact that someone can stand up with a straight face and say that gays serving openly exposes some kind of risk to others is absolutely appalling and defies all logic. I feel the same way about gay marriage.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
slb
February 4, 2010 4:42 PM in reply to ohyeathatsright
If they must conduct a lengthy review, then at the very least, they should stop taking action against anyone based on DADT until the review has been completed and its recommendation either adopted or rejected.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
CareyInLA
February 4, 2010 11:03 AM
The McCain I followed for some many years, and once (in an open primary) actually voted for (only the second Republican I have ever cast a ballot for, the other being Gerald Ford) would hate this new McCain guy.
He seems intent on burning his reputation and legacy to the ground.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Marinus van der Lubbe
February 4, 2010 11:17 AM in reply to CareyInLA
I hear you about 'this' McCain, and after Clinton Fatigue looked at McCain as I had flirted with registering Independent in 2000. But you know something? After watching him implode and fold like a lawnchair in those primaries, and seeing what a pathetic panderer, who exercises the worst judgement in people displayed, it's obvious he has really ALWAYS been like this. I come from his alma mater (where stories of his dad and grandad saving his ass are legion) and even in service related areas, retired/active etc, he is not as respected as one thinks. ..
Seeing him dig in his heels over DADT just illustrates what a poor choice as a President he would have been; it really shows what a stubborn and inflexible douche he is.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
jeffgee
February 4, 2010 11:30 AM in reply to CareyInLA
He did crash a lot of planes. Maybe he'll punch a hole in the desert this time.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
afisher
February 4, 2010 11:31 AM in reply to CareyInLA
If McCain was INTENT on burning his reputation, I say is "job well done".
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
converse
February 4, 2010 12:04 PM
So, then you ask "Was Senator McCain lieing earlier when he said that he would change his position when military leaders like Powell changed their positions?"
Better yet, next time you get McCain's spox on the phone, call me on the other line... I'll tell you what to ask him.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
converse
February 4, 2010 12:05 PM in reply to converse
...what to ask her.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
ondioline
February 4, 2010 12:11 PM
Reading the comments here (and reflecting on some of the comments made back during the general election), one thing is perfectly clear to me: McCain was never who a lot of centrists thought he was and deeply wanted him to be. That was an image that was projected to fuel lofty aspirations, but he was never that man. And now his dreams are dashed. And he's no longer content to be a U.S. Senator. Being one of 100 and having amassed as much power, prestige, and seniority as he has is no satisfaction since it didn't win him the ultimate prize.
So afisher, he no longer has to give a damn about his reputation. He expended much of that from 2000 to 2008 and it got him nothing but a nomination and a footnote in the history books.
And Carey, while I know it's hard to accept, this McCain IS that McCain. They are the same man. The bitterness of 2000 ("I lost to an idiot! It was supposed to be my turn!"), the eight years of waiting, and the added bitterness of 2008 ("I lost to a black guy! It was never supposed to be his turn!") may have been the final elements of the withering from "man" to "empty, bitter husk," but the shell of a cicada is the shape of a cicada... And you can quote me on that.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Marinus van der Lubbe
February 4, 2010 3:55 PM in reply to ondioline
Pretty well said. In 2000, as a life-long Dem I hadnt really been as cognizant of him. But when held next to Bush he looked pretty impressive and obviously scared the shit out of the Bush people. And since he was a vet, and at the time hadnt started his own Rudy version of "noun, verb, POW" so I didnt see that side of him, had never seen him campaign. His defeat in SC was an eye opener. And since, he has proven 'never' to be that guy that you speak of that centrists wanted or thought they saw. Even the teabaggers find him distatseful and call him a progressive, which to me is like saying Mao once held a position at Lehman Bros! Now he's just a bitter dried up piece of cheese. No sympathy there.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
mentok
February 4, 2010 4:39 PM
I think that it really just can be summed up in one word: Fraud.
It's simply a case of flat-out lying to people in order to gain their support. McCain has done nothing more than put up several conditions of which he claimed shaped his support of DADT. These being the recommendations from the top brass. When they (Mullen and Gates) said they support repeal, McCain shifted to Powell. When Powell shifted, suddenly McCain's "reasoning" is left out there, naked for all to see. He ALWAYS supported DADT, no matter what anyone had to say about it. It was just much, much more politically advantageous to shift blame to someone else.
Say what you will about Obama and his administration...I think we dodged a HUGE bullet.
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
GTFOOH
February 4, 2010 6:09 PM
When I heard McCain changed his stance, I thought they were referring to that wide stance he, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham are so fond of!
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?
Tosh
June 5, 2010 1:40 PM
But you know something? After watching him implode and fold like a lawnchair in those primaries, and seeing what a pathetic panderer, who exercises the worst judgement in people displayed, it's obvious he has really ALWAYS been like this.
m65 kamagra
Reply | Flag Abuse
Are you sure this comment violates TPM's Terms of Service?