Michele Bachmann: I Would Probably Reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Fresh off her victory in the Ames Straw Poll, Michele Bachmann made the rounds of all the Sunday morning shows, and proceeded to double down on her positions. On CNN’s State Of The Union, for example, Bachmann said that she would probably reinstate Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell if elected President:

CROWLEY: If you became president, would you reinstitute the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in the military, which said that gays could not serve openly in the military.

BACHMANN: The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has worked very well. And I think…

CROWLEY: Would you reinstitute it then? Because it’s been set aside.

BACHMANN: It worked very well. And I would be in consultation with our commanders. But I think yes, I probably would.

I’m not quite sure what Bachmann means by “worked,” unless she considers the expulsion of 14,000 service members since 1993 to be an example of the policy working. I suppose the good news is that Bachmann will never be elected President.

 

FILED UNDER: 2012 Election, Military Affairs, National Security, US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Jay Tea says:

    I did NOT like how the Obama administration handled DADT. There were two ways Obama could have challenged it: he could have pushed for Congress to repeal the law that implemented it, or he could have used his power as Commander In Chief to declare it an unconstitutional intrusion on his authority,and fought it out in court.

    Instead, he just said “go ahead and sue to get rid of it; I’ll order the Justice Department to not bother defending it, and you’ll win by default.”

    J.

  2. Gustopher says:

    She just doesn’t want her husband to enlist.

  3. WR says:

    @Jay Tea: “I think it’s great he got Bin Laden, but the way he did it was terrible.” “It was right to get rid of DADT, but he did it the wrong way.”

    Tiny hint here, Jay: If you ever want anyone aside from the fringe right to take you seriously, stop taking everything — including things of which you approve — as an opportunity to attack. It just makes you look foolish.

  4. @Jay Tea:

    he could have pushed for Congress to repeal the law that implemented it

    That is how he did it.

    Congress Overturns Military Ban of Gays Serving Openly, Sends Bill to Obama’s Desk

  5. David M says:

    I understand some of the GOP presidential candidates needing to pander, but it doesn’t appear many of them are even willing to start being realistic about this. What they are proposing is to basically turn DADT into an on again / off again policy that depends on who is in the White House. That really seems like a bad idea to me and would end up being disruptive and chaotic to the armed forces.

  6. John says:

    “I suppose the good news is that Bachmann will never be elected President.”

    I would be very careful of assumptions these days. I would like to believe this but I am not so sure.

  7. Gustopher says:

    Given that he rationale for opposing allowing gays to serve openly was unit cohesion, and that by the time any Republican might be sworn in there will be over a year of the new policy either working or not, I think any answer other than reassessing in 2013 is just silly.

    Silly or pandering to bigots. Or just plain bigoted.

    (And with Bachmann’s husband daily praying away the gay, I assume just plain bigoted in her case)

  8. An Interested Party says:

    I would be very careful of assumptions these days. I would like to believe this but I am not so sure.

    Things are bad, but I doubt if they would ever get so bad that this loon would ever be able to get anything close to 270 electoral votes…

  9. Russell says:

    @An Interested Party: The very fact that her electability is open to reasonable discussion is cause for alarm

  10. anjin-san says:

    I’m not quite sure what Bachmann means by “worked,

    It’s not complicated. It helped to keep gays mired in second-class citizenship status.

  11. @Jay Tea:

    Also, if a Republican wins the Presidency in 2012 and the ACA comes up before the Supreme Court, will you be demanding that President does everything within their ability to defend the law before the court?

  12. Jay Tea says:

    @Stormy Dragon: Yes, I would expect that. And there’s a chance that that just might happen.

    I have enough faith in ObamaCare’s innate unconstitutionality to hope that justice will prevail. But the Solicitor General is “the government’s lawyer,” and it is his or her job to give their best efforts in service to their client, regardless of personal beliefs.

    But back to DADT… I actually have no opinion on the matter. I’m generally pro gay rights, but the world and the culture of the military is so different from my own experiences, and the importance of having the best military before any other considerations, makes me give a lot of weight to the opinions of those in the services. And last I heard, they weren’t happy about having gays in their ranks.

    The Commandant of the Marine Corps nailed it: he opposed admitting openly gay members, but if ordered to, he would comply, and the Corps would MAKE it work.

    WR: It’s hardly my fault that most everything Obama touches turns to crap. Haven’t you noticed that he has a near-perfect record of losing when he endorses a candidate, or backs a sports team? About the only thing he got right all the way was the takedown of the Somali pirates. Now back to your kennel, lickspittle.

    J.

  13. An Interested Party says:

    The very fact that her electability is open to reasonable discussion is cause for alarm

    I think that perhaps has more to do with the fact that many people, especially in the media, need something to talk about, rather than her actual electability…

    It’s hardly my fault that most everything Obama touches turns to crap. Haven’t you noticed that he has a near-perfect record of losing when he endorses a candidate, or backs a sports team? About the only thing he got right all the way was the takedown of the Somali pirates.

    Umm, there is that little matter of Osama bin Laden…

  14. @An Interested Party:

    Umm, there is that little matter of Osama bin Laden…

    Well, they dumped Osama in the ocean, so I imagine he’s turned to crap by now as well.

  15. Russell says:

    @An Interested Party:

    I think that perhaps has more to do with the fact that many people, especially in the media, need something to talk about, rather than her actual electability…

    Agreed, but I actually meant here on OTB.

  16. Jay Tea says:

    @An Interested Party: I’ve lost count, Interested — how many different accounts of the raid have been put out by the White House? Was Bin Laden armed when he was shot? Was he trying to fight back? What’s the current “operative” version?

    Oh, and thanks again, Joe Biden, for identifing the unit commander, Admiral James Stavridis, by name. I’m sure he and his family loved the attention.

    J.

  17. Nikki says:

    Wow. They can’t even be happy about the demise of Public Enemy #1.

  18. Jay Tea says:

    @Nikki: That’s about the one part I can be delighted with. Everything not handled by the military, though, was pretty much a Charlie Foxtrot.

    J.

  19. @Jay Tea:

    Oh, and thanks again, Joe Biden, for identifing the unit commander…by name. I’m sure he and his family loved the attention.

    And just in case anyone missed it, Jay Tea is going to say identify him again.

  20. WR says:

    @Jay Tea: Shorter Jay Tea: “I don’t care about gays, but that won’t stop me from pretending that this is a terrible thing for Obama to do. Besides someone on some blog claimed to be a soldier and said this was bad, so I’m all in. And I’m doubling down on the bad writing!”

  21. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Jay Tea:
    and
    @Stormy Dragon:
    and…..
    and……
    and…..
    Hey Jay, you got owned. Nothing else you might say about the matter has any currency.

  22. Jay Tea says:

    @WR: Back to your kennel, lickspittle.

    J.

  23. Socrates says:

    “I did NOT like how the Obama administration handled DADT. There were two ways Obama could have challenged it: he could have pushed for Congress to repeal the law that implemented it, or he could have used his power as Commander In Chief to declare it an unconstitutional intrusion on his authority,and fought it out in court.

    Instead, he just said “go ahead and sue to get rid of it; I’ll order the Justice Department to not bother defending it, and you’ll win by default.”

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    What are you talking about? DADT was repealed by Congress.