John McCain Wins Our GOP Hypocrite Award for His Flip-Flop on Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy

John McCain

Welcome back to BuzzFlash's GOP Hypocrite of the Week.

What is it about sexuality that brings out the two-faced immaturity in Republicans? Ah well, it's a mystery. But one thing we know for sure; mix that confusing sex stuff with talk of the military, and you can count of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to step in and embarrass himself.

As the video on the right points out, John McCain once believed that military leaders should be the ones to make the final call on repealing the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military. Heck, as recently as last summer McCain said that really the only reason he supported the policy was because no military people were telling him not to.

Apparently 2010 is the year for change in the GOP, because McCain quickly flip-flopped as soon as a couple of those military experts said DADT should be repealed. At the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday examining the possible repeal of DADT, McCain reversed his position, insisting that military leaders don't get to tell Congress what to do about military policy.

Apparently McCain thinks the policy should extend to relations between himself and Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen. McCain might as well have said to the two leaders at the hearing, "I didn't ask, so don't tell me what to do about DADT":

It would be far more appropriate, I say with great respect, to determine whether repealing this law is appropriate and what effects it would have on the readiness and effectiveness of the military before deciding on whether we should repeal the law or not, and fortunately it is an act of Congress and it requires the agreement of Congress in order to repeal it...

Well, I’m happy to say we still have a Congress of the United States that would have to pass a law to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, despite your efforts to repeal it, in many respects, by fiat.

Or, to paraphrase: "Nya-nya-nya boo-boo; you ain't the boss of me!"

As if to underscore how totally childish McCain was being, King of Opposite Land Bill Kristol wrote a column praising McCain's new stance on DADT as "grown-up." In this piece, where a blogger from The Economist rips into Kristol's "blatant, unsupported, anachronistic bigotry" on DADT, the writer has this to say of McCain's opposition to repealing the policy:

First of all, John McCain is not the commander in chief, despite all those years spent in pursuit of the top job. So maybe he isn't the best embodiment of the American will. Also, what's with the term "predominant support" again? In the 2006 poll mentioned above, only a little over a third of soldiers were against homosexuals serving openly. And the military's views on the matter have only loosened up since then. In 2008 more than 100 admirals and generals openly called for the repeal of DADT. Now America's top military leader is calling for it. If our forces are so professional, as Mr McCain claims, you'd think they'd be able to handle fighting next to gay soldiers, who are "performing heroically", "fighting and sacrificing" too.

We at BuzzFlash agree; our troops can rise to this challenge -- as they have with so many others -- and show that they are the real grown ups in the room. Too bad we can't expect such adult behavior from McCain or his Republicans pals in Congress.

Remember our motto: So many Republican hypocrites, so little time.

Catch up with you soon.

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This is the 13th Hypocrite of the Week Award for John McCain. He also won the award on July 3, 2009, Nov. 14, 2008, Oct. 3, 2008, Sept. 26, 2008, Sept. 5, 2008, Aug. 15, 2008, Aug. 8, 2008, Feb. 29, 2008, Feb. 22, 2008, Nov. 16, 2007, Nov. 24, 2006, and July 10, 2004. You can see a list of all previous winners here.