reason for sustaining the don t ask don t tell policy. i mean, i thought admiral mullen and chairman of joint chiefs of staff said something that summed it all up. today, based on the report and survey that was issued by the pentagon a couple of days ago, admiral mullen said it s my professional opinion that we can make this change, which is right, and do it in a way that will not compromise our military effectiveness. you ve actually called this policy un-american. i think it is un-american. the basic american value, to me, enshrined in the declaration of independence is that we re all created equal. that was god s work. and as such we re all endowed with the same rights. at the beginning, those rights were obviously not really given to all americans, and in some ways american history is a journey to realize the basic promise of equal opportunity. and now we ve extended it obviously to women and african-americans. in our time i think the front
ask don t tell policy. i mean, i thought admiral mullen and chairman of joint chiefs of staff said something that summed it all up. today, based on the report and survey that was issued by the pentagon a couple of days ago, admiral mullen said it s my professional opinion that we can make this change, which is right, and do it in a way that will not compromise our military effectiveness. you ve actually called this policy un-american. i think it is un-american. the basic american value, to me, enshrined in the declaration of independence is that we re all created equal. that was god s work. and as such we re all endowed with the same rights. at the beginning, those rights were obviously not really given to all americans, and in some ways american history is a journey to realize the basic promise of equal opportunity. and now we ve extended it obviously to women and african-americans. in our time i think the front line of the civil rights movement, the human rights
i spoke earlier today with senator joe lieberman, independent of connecticut. senator lieberman, based on what you heard today, is there any legitimate reason for keeping this policy in place? no. i don t think after today s hearing, after the report put out by the pentagon a couple of days ago, there is no legitimate reason for sustaining the don t ask don t tell policy. i mean, i thought admiral mullen and chairman of joint chiefs of staff said something that summed it all up. today, based on the report and survey that was issued by the pentagon a couple of days ago, admiral mullen said it s my professional opinion that we can make this change, which is right, and do it in a way that will not compromise our military effectiveness. you ve actually called this policy un-american. i think it is un-american. the basic american value, to me, enshrined in the declaration of independence is that we re all created equal. that was god s work. and as such we re all endowed with the same
facing. additionally, i am concerned about the impact of a rush to repeal when even this survey has found that such a significant number of our service members feel that it would negatively impact military effectiveness. reporter: and secretary gates has spoken today, saying that this change would be disruptive in the short term, but not in the long term. it wouldn t be the wrenching change that many feared would come about if gays are allowed to openly serve and said it would be unwise to move ahead before the force can be prepared for the change. martha: one of the lame duck issues they re trying to work on before the end of the year. steve centanni, thank you very much. bill: a convicted cop killer living in prison, posting pictures on facebook, the victim s mother is raging mad about it. we ll talk to her next hour. it is tax day, house democrats ready to vote today. how s that going to go over, you wonder, huh? regardless of what the majority forces house
in, immigration or anything else in there. the problem in the senate is we each have our pryor. mine are tax cuts extended, keep the government going and then go to the defense authorization bill, which has the repeal of don t ask don t tell in it. we are focused naturally on the repeal of don t ask don t tell, but the underlying bill has to pass, because it would be the first time in more than four decades that the defense authorization bill hasn t passed, and it passes every time because it includes authorizations to our military, more benefits for our troops and their families, et cetera, et cetera. so i think that s the next priority, particularly since we re at war, and i think as part of it we ought to repeal don t ask don t tell. the pentagon said yesterday that their survey of our troops and their families say that we can do this without inhibiting military effectiveness, and that means we ought to do it, and do