In the 1:30 video below, Mitt Romney is addressing the Des Moines Register editorial board. On December 9, 2011, he told Iowa’s major newspaper that he supports the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) repeal; he only opposed it during wartime. And now that the wars are “winding down,” he’s onboard with homosexuals serving openly in the military.
Des Moines Register: How do you feel about gays serving openly in the military?
Romney: That’s already occurred. I’m not planning on reversing that at this stage.
Des Moines Register: But you’re comfortable with it?
Romney: I was not comfortable with making the change during a period of conflict, by virtue of the complicating features of a new program in the middle of two wars going on. But those wars are winding down, and moving to that direction at this stage no longer presents that problem.
Although during this current campaign and the one four years ago, Romney uses qualifiers to address whether or not homosexuals should serve openly in the military, he was up-front with his opinion in 1994 during his run for U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy.
In a letter to a homosexual grassroots organization, Romney wrote that he shared the Log Cabin Republicans’ goal of homosexuals “being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military.”
“One issue I want to clarify concerns President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” military policy. I believe that the Clinton compromise was a step in the right direction. I am also convinced that it is the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military. That goal will only be reached when preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians is a mainstream concern, which is a goal we share.”—Mitt Romney in a letter to Log Cabin Republicans, a homosexual grassroots organization
The knock against Romney is that he has been on both sides of major social issues at one time or another; yet on the issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military, he’s been remarkably consistent since 1994.
I.M. Kane
Mitt Romney on DADT.mp4 1:30 Video
