Political Quotes

“I appreciate the distinguished ranking member for yielding and the passion that has been expressed on both sides of this issue. But let me state the obvious, if I can. We are a Nation at war. We have soldiers that are in harm's way at this hour, forward deployed, at Bagram and Helmand province, places I visited just a few short weeks ago. And so this business is not taking place in a vacuum. We are a Nation at war. And let me say to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts who just spoke who suggested that those of us who oppose a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell would commit some libel against Americans with whom we differ on life-style choices, nothing could be further from the truth. As a conservative, I have a particular world view about moral issues. They do not bear upon this question. This is an issue exclusively that is about recruitment, readiness, unit cohesion, and retention because we are a Nation at war. Now, I am not a soldier, but I am the son of a combat soldier. I think we should listen to our soldiers as we continue this debate. In recent key findings of the Pentagon study, overall U.S. military predicted negative or very negative effects, 30 percent. The percentage of the Marine Corps predicting negative effects, 43 percent; 48 percent within the Army; 58 percent within Marine combat units. We know that the leadership has testified before the Congress.…”