Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, who I had come to think of as one of the best new voices in ages voted against allowins the bill to proceed.

Part of his statement is as follows:

"...I continue to believe that the survey of the members of our military, mandated by the Department of Defense in February, should be completed and assessed before the Congress moves forward on any legislative changes to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. I remain concerned that many members of the military would view as disrespectful a move to pre-empt the process. Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen have both stated that military men and women in all services and at all levels should be engaged in this process. The Obama Administration agreed with the importance of this process in its May 24 letter, stating that 'ideally the Department of Defense Comprehensive Review… would be completed before the Congress takes any legislative action.'"


I view this as a weasling cop-out. It suggests that ending this policy hinges on some sort of 'consensus' among members of the military....that is, if a whole bunch of homophobes shout loud enough, we have to 'wait' another decade or two for decency to prevail.

I shall send my opinion to Senator Webb.