Gay Soldier Boo'ed at GOP Debate

[KenFSU]

Stay classy Orlando.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I know better before I even type it, but in reality - Does the repeal of DADT really make a positive difference for the majority?

I"m not trying to step on any toes with my personal viewpoint on the subject but how does the repeal of DADT really solve anything?  IMO, the vocality of the few for 'equal rights' is actually infringing on what I would assume to be the majority who are content with anonymity.  They are making targets of themselves to the members in their own fraternity that are genuinely uncomfortable knowing that they are not like themselves.   And please understand, I'm not saying that the majority of the military is homophobic or anti-gay - I'm just saying that it may make a lot of people 'uncomfortable' - and again, for what gain?  What equality are they seeking that they didn't have before? 

[finehoe]

Rick Santorum said in an interview today that he did not hear the hecklers before he answered the question. I believe that Santorum lied. I believe that he did hear the booing but he thought it was coming from a larger portion of the audience. He didn't want to be booed himself by opposing his base.

Of course he lied.  If you watch the video, you see him pausing until the booing is done.

For someone who makes a big deal out of his religious 'values', he should study up on the Ten Commandments, especially number nine.

[hillary supporter]

I have been so torn this whole presidential election cycle.  I recently switched to Democrat because of crap like this and the Tea Party.  On the other hand, the Democrats and those in charge right now are doing everything wrong to right this economy and Obama is showing a lack of leadership abroad, so I, like so many others, have actually become hopeful that some Republican candidates look good for 2012.  I like a couple of them from an economic standpoint, but I I can't stand most of them from a social standpoint.  I like Obama from a social standpoint, but I can't stand him from an economic standpoint.  This is a real dilemna for me.

I hear you simms I am a democrat who is upset Obama did not focus his energy the first two years on the economy.  I want healthcare reform, equal rights under the law for everyone and to be involved in fewer wars but fixing the economy floats more boats faster than anything else.  Obama is finally getting it now but it may be too late.

Excuse the cliche, better late than never. Obama/ Demo landslide 2012

[Tacachale]

I know better before I even type it, but in reality - Does the repeal of DADT really make a positive difference for the majority?

I"m not trying to step on any toes with my personal viewpoint on the subject but how does the repeal of DADT really solve anything?  IMO, the vocality of the few for 'equal rights' is actually infringing on what I would assume to be the majority who are content with anonymity.  They are making targets of themselves to the members in their own fraternity that are genuinely uncomfortable knowing that they are not like themselves.   And please understand, I'm not saying that the majority of the military is homophobic or anti-gay - I'm just saying that it may make a lot of people 'uncomfortable' - and again, for what gain?  What equality are they seeking that they didn't have before?

By this argument, if the majority of the military was content with segregation, should the armed forces never have integrated? Obviously not. The majority's right to "contentment" doesn't trump anyone's civil rights (or exist, really).

And in this case, it's not even the majority that feels this way. In 2006 Zogby found that only about 37% of military personnel were against gays serving openly in the military. The rest were either for it or simply didn't care.

As to the benefit, well, it's a benefit to not have to discharge hundreds or thousands of otherwise perfectly qualified servicemen and women every year for breaking an artificial regulation.

[ChriswUfGator]

Rick Santorum said in an interview today that he did not hear the hecklers before he answered the question. I believe that Santorum lied. I believe that he did hear the booing but he thought it was coming from a larger portion of the audience. He didn't want to be booed himself by opposing his base.

Of course he lied.  If you watch the video, you see him pausing until the booing is done.

For someone who makes a big deal out of his religious 'values', he should study up on the Ten Commandments, especially number nine.

Haven't you heard? None of the bible-thumping these right-wingers do actually applies to them.

Where would be the fun in that? Much better to tell everyone else how to live, normally while doing the exact opposite.

[vicupstate]

Thanks Stephen for explaining my earlier post.  I was being fasticious.

For the folks that think Obama should have waited on Healthcare, I can assure you that if he had not attacked the issue immediately, he would NEVER have gotten another chance.  It was difficult enough as it was, but would have been impossible to do with anything less than the maximum political capital that he had to bring.   

If a President is going to change the country in a very fundamental and significant way, they must do so when their popularity is high.  By simply being in office, that political capital is spent daily, so he had to start off leading with that battle.   

[ChriswUfGator]

Thanks Stephen for explaining my earlier post.  I was being fasticious.

For the folks that think Obama should have waited on Healthcare, I can assure you that if he had not attacked the issue immediately, he would NEVER have gotten another chance.  It was difficult enough as it was, but would have been impossible to do with anything less than the maximum political capital that he had to bring.   

If a President is going to change the country in a very fundamental and significant way, they must do so when their popularity is high.  By simply being in office, that political capital is spent daily, so he had to start off leading with that battle.   

He shouldn't have bothered with healthcare, if this was going to be the result. The public option got gutted, and the courts immediately struck down the individual mandate as unconstitutional. We're back where we were, except he's expended his political capital, so there is little likelihood of achieving any meaningful progress on it at this point. The insurance lobby won the day, unfortunately. Until someone comes along who doesn't compromise at the first sign of a debate, I can't see our healthcare system changing any time soon. There are too many companies making too much money off it.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

He shouldn't have bothered with healthcare, if this was going to be the result. The public option got gutted, and the courts immediately struck down the individual mandate as unconstitutional. We're back where we were, except he's expended his political capital, so there is little likelihood of achieving any meaningful progress on it at this point. The insurance lobby won the day, unfortunately. Until someone comes along who doesn't compromise at the first sign of a debate, I can't see our healthcare system changing any time soon. There are too many doctors, attorneys, politicians and lobbyists companies making too much money off it.

[ChriswUfGator]

He shouldn't have bothered with healthcare, if this was going to be the result. The public option got gutted, and the courts immediately struck down the individual mandate as unconstitutional. We're back where we were, except he's expended his political capital, so there is little likelihood of achieving any meaningful progress on it at this point. The insurance lobby won the day, unfortunately. Until someone comes along who doesn't compromise at the first sign of a debate, I can't see our healthcare system changing any time soon. There are too many doctors, attorneys, politicians and lobbyists companies making too much money off it.

The ones making obscene money and wrecking the healthcare system in the process are the large hospital and provider chains, the major drug companies, and the insurance carriers. Medmal verdicts account for 1% of the 113% increase in healthcare costs over the past 10 years, lawyers have as little as possible to do with it. Actually, I bet when you add the amount of money we contribute just for our own healthcare, it outweighs the total of verdicts achieved in any given state. And of course, if you happen to become one of the small number of victims of serious medical malpractice, I suspect your view would change drastically if you woke up to find the wrong leg had been amputated, a lack of basic hygeine leaves you with a debilitating MRSA infection, or any number of other rare and preventable but nonetheless real occurrences.

[I-10east]

Can you imagine if that crap would've happened in J-ville? We would have gotten vilified for being a town that's full of bigots, racists, etc, etc. Since O-Town is the city at hand, and they have the charm of the magic mouse, and the other theme parks, it's A-okay. 

[hillary supporter]

Thanks Stephen for explaining my earlier post.  I was being fastidious.

For the folks that think Obama should have waited on Healthcare, I can assure you that if he had not attacked the issue immediately, he would NEVER have gotten another chance.  It was difficult enough as it was, but would have been impossible to do with anything less than the maximum political capital that he had to bring.   

If a President is going to change the country in a very fundamental and significant way, they must do so when their popularity is high.  By simply being in office, that political capital is spent daily, so he had to start off leading with that battle.   

I believe that is true. This president continues to amaze me with his abilities to work with congress and get his and many Americans legislation through. I know many will argue with my last sentence, but seems the administration has their strategy all planned out years in advance.

[buckethead]

 

You could be right, but I doubt it. I am a reluctant supporter of a single payer system, with the caveat that a constitutional amendment be passed prior to pushing any such system through.

There are too many hogs at the feeding trough of Medicare/Mediciad.

That said, Obamacare is nothing short of a disaster. ( Private Insurers Guaranteed Profits Act: PIGPACT)

We got no accountability from Primary Dealers (Wall St Banksters), renwed Gitmo, renewed Patriot Act, Federal Reserve devaluing the dollar to bail out Wall Street, zero  inflation  although everything I buy has gone up considerably, and a new war in Libya.

Meet the new boss... NOT the same as the old boss, but a crouching tiger just waiting for the right moment to pounce.

As for booing a soldier who pronounced he was gay, it was a bit of a sucker punch, coming like it did, totally unexpected, but the Republican Party deserves it.

Booing him was disgraceful, and any true lover of liberty would have stood and reprimanded the culprits, regardless how many/few they were. This was perhaps the most disappointing moment for the entire panel.

The frikken war party, booing a soldier... Such hypocrisy can no longer be tolerated.