Crist now supports DADT repeal compromise

DCBob 6

The "liberalization" of Charlie Crist continues...

Source: Washington Post
Charlie Crist, who previously opposed repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell when he was a Republican but has since been under pressure to take a stand on current repeal efforts, will now support the repeal compromise, his spokesperson confirms to me.

Until recently, Crist had been saying that the current policy works. But with the repeal compromise moving forward in Congress, both Republican Marco Rubio and Dem Kendrick Meek, each for their own reasons, have been pressuring Crist to take a stand on the compromise.

Now Crist is coming out for it. His spokesperson, Michelle Todd, emails a statement from him:

"Ultimately, as in all military matters I defer to the Pentagon and to the Generals and what the Senate is doing today is giving them the ultimate authority to do what is best for our military. So, I would be inclined to support the Senate's action on this." LinkHere GOP Rails Against DADT Repeal On House Floor: It’s ‘A Social Experiment,’ Un-Patriotic, ‘Insult’ To Military

This afternoon, as the House considers the Defense Authorization Bill of 2010, Republicans took to the floor to condemn a single amendment that would repeal the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. Under the proposal, Congress would repeal the statute this year, but the current military policy would remain in place until President Obama, the Defense Secretary, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified that repeal is “consistent with the military’s standards of readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion and recruitment and retention” and Congress and the public had 60 days to review the study.
In an orchestrated manner, almost every single House Republican took to the floor to condemn the proposal, misrepresenting it as an immediate repeal that does not allow the Defense Department to complete its study. In the midst of considering other amendments, Republicans turned the discussion into an opportunity to condemn gays in the military: LinkHere

A Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that 75 percent of Americans support ending DADT. A New York Times survey indicated 70 percent support for gay men and lesbians serving openly.