PhoboQuotable - Tony Perkins

"You can almost smell the desperation of the pro-homosexual crowd as the clock ticks down on the 111th Congress. One sign of their anxiety over 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' seems to be cropping up in the form of one-sided leaks from the Pentagon on the content of a report due to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and President Obama on December 1. Another sign is a strange effort to discredit Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the former Vietnam POW who has led efforts this year to maintain the existing 1993 law (usually referred to as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell").

"Several media outlets have reported as fact that Sen. McCain once supported repeal of the law but has reversed himself. This is completely false. Where could they have gotten such an idea? Perhaps from Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, who also said recently that Sen. McCain 'previously expressed support for the repeal of this law.' The truth is, while Sen. McCain has not always taken the same position as FRC on some issues, he has been entirely consistent on this one. These liberal activists should give up on their push to use the military to ram radical social change through the lame-duck Congress--and stop lying about an American hero while they're at it." - Family Research Council head Tony Perkins.

FACT CHECK: In the past McCain has said that he only supported keeping DADT because that's what military leaders wanted.

My opinion is shaped by the view of the leaders of the military. The reason why I supported the policy to start with is because General Colin Powell, who was then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the one that strongly recommended we adopt this policy in the Clinton administration. I have not heard General Powell or any of the other military leaders reverse their position, just like when on other issues, that people are expert and knowledgeable of, I rely on their opinion.

But once military leaders said that they DID support the president's call to repeal DADT, McCain decided that their opinion wasn't so important after all. Once again, Tony Perkins makes the Baby Jeebus cry.