Mr. Conservative on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

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I see overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is again back on the agenda. Has it really been almost two decades since we last had a serious debate about this anachronism?
 
Given that I am probably the only non-American on YPNation, it's really not my place to say what's wrong with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Instead, I'll leave it to my political ideologue, Barry Goldwater.
 
In 1993 Goldwater wrote this article in support of allowing gays to serve openly in the military. His stance on the issue was regarded as noble by those who had previously seen him as a hate figure--a right-wing demagogue--but it also drew a great deal of opprobrium from members of his own party, notably the Christian right. Knowing what I do about the former senator my guess is he would have been only too happy to be public enemy #1 in Jerry Falwell's book (a man he said deserved to be "kicked in the ass").
 
Goldwater's piece almost reads as though it had been published this morning. I say this not just because Goldwater cites the bad economy, or that a Democrat is president, but because the political debate has moved very little in the last 15 years. Still, it appears the public is in favor of overturning this wretched policy. Unfortunately, the political class seems to be dragging its feet.
 
My support for overturning "Don't Ask..." stems from anecdotes from a good friend of mine who served as a captain in Afghanistan. He talked of the damage to morale in his company when the only Pashtun speaker was pulled off the frontlines because he was gay. According to Clausewitz, maintaining morale is the most critical aspect of war. And to think that people oppose allowing gays to serve in the military because they would disrupt discipline? Goldwater called this line of opposition "just stupid."
 
Although President Obama has pledged to overturn "Don't Ask..." it remains to be seen whether he has the time and political capital to do so. That is not to claim that the President has no interest in the issue, but overturning it will, not surprisingly, face opposition in Congress. It's a distraction the President could do without.
 
So what are the Republicans saying? Senator Lindsey Graham claims the military should be consulted beforehand. Obviously. But who's the commander in chief? Senator John McCain (Goldwater's successor) has offered equally baffling statements on the issue--it really is curious when representatives of the GOP call for an increase in troops for Afghanistan, but then ostensibly oppose more troops in the military.
 
In fact, some Republicans support appropriating millions of dollars for the sole purpose of ousting gays from the military. Whatever happened to individual liberty and small government?
 
As Goldwater stated, we need "all our talent." The former senator from Arizona would be ashamed of the GOP's position on this issue. And rightfully so.
 
For conservatives, overturning "Don't Ask..." should be a straightforward issue (no pun intended). Traditionally, conservatives hold the belief "that government should stay out of people's private lives. Government governs best when it governs least--and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone's version of morality is exactly what we do by perpetuating discrimination against gays," Goldwater wrote.
 
Conservatives and Republicans should take note: The status quo is only weakening the military.
 
 
(Image by Army.mil; Spc. Jason Curtis, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, pulls security while leaders of a medical civil action project searched for a suitable site in Parun, Afghanistan)
 
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