WaPo: Growing GOP backlash to transgender troop ban

KSweeley

Member
WaPo is reporting that multiple GOP members are speaking out against Trump's ban of transgender military service members: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...79535630fb0436795432a6/?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

-- Reflecting how dramatically the national conversation on LGBTQ rights has shifted in recent years, the news drew swift rebukes from several leading Republicans in the Senate.

War hero John McCain, the preeminent Republican voice on national security, took a break from battling brain cancer to send this statement: “The President’s tweet … regarding transgender Americans in the military is yet another example of why major policy announcements should not be made via Twitter. … There is no reason to force service members who are able to fight, train, and deploy to leave the military — regardless of their gender identity. We should all be guided by the principle that any American who wants to serve our country and is able to meet the standards should have the opportunity to do so — and should be treated as the patriots they are.”

From Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a former Army Reserve commander and the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate: “While she believes taxpayers shouldn’t cover the costs associated with a gender reassignment surgery, Americans who are qualified and can meet the standards to serve in the military should be afforded that opportunity,” spokeswoman Brook Hougesen told the Des Moines Register.

From Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who is up for reelection in one of the reddest and most socially conservative states in America:

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From Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who wields a lot of control over the Pentagon’s budget from his perch on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee: “You ought to treat everybody fairly and give everybody a chance to serve,” he said on CNN. In a follow-up statement to the Huntsville Times, he added: “The current policy is a big tent for people who want to serve. You've got to remember, our military force is a voluntary force.”

From Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.): “I would have significant objections to any proposal that calls for a specific group of American patriots currently serving in uniform to be removed from the military.”

From Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), who served in the Marines: “I’m all about training standards. High, high standards for whoever joins the military,” he told HuffPost. “But my initial reaction is, if you can meet those standards, we shouldn’t care who you are. So, meet the standards, and you should be able to join the military.”

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), whose openly gay son prompted him to come out for gay rights in 2013: “The Secretary of Defense is conducting a study of this policy and Rob believes we should wait until that is complete before making any decisions,” a spokeswoman told in-state press.
 
This backlash is milquetoast. I don't give them much credit at all. A stronger denunciation of Trump's bigoted policy announcement is what's required here, and the GOP are too spineless to do that.
 
Surprised by the GOP reaction so far. I guess taking away their healthcare was the line for these folks. Worse is knowing that by doing the right thing their base will likely be unhappy.
 
Wow. This is surprising and also uplifting. Glad that some on the right are willing to speak to reason. Maybe trump will help give spines to some republicans now that it's growing easier to disagree with your president.
 
I know we mock it and laugh at it bla bla bla.

But I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that Trump is unleashing chaos and despair with....... fucking tweets.
 
Considering Trump never even formally issued the orders to the Joint Chiefs or DoD, they're not doing anything about it right now. They don't consider it an order.

So Trump's going to have to double down on this now if he actually wants it to happen. Like coming up with an implementation strategy for currently-serving trans members or a policy for dealing with people who come out as trans during their service in the future.
 
Talk is cheap and I'd rather see them actually do something about it. But the fact that they're actually talking about against Trump at all seems to be a small step in the right direction.
 
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), whose openly gay son prompted him to come out for gay rights in 2013: “The Secretary of Defense is conducting a study of this policy and Rob believes we should wait until that is complete before making any decisions,” a spokeswoman told in-state press.

Woah calm down their Rob! Way to fight for what you believe in.
 
I know we mock it and laugh at it bla bla bla.

But I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that Trump is unleashing chaos and despair with....... fucking tweets.
The US elected a whiny, spoiled child who can't put his phone down, and instead of telling him to grow the fuck up and talk like a normal person, the entire US government starts huddling around Twitter and reading his tweets to figure out what he's doing with NATIONAL FUCKING POLICY.

It's really something that belongs in a really bad movie.
 
Well, at least this is a case where their internal logic makes sense. I've anecdotally heard some conservative veterans in my family talk about how disrespectful this was. To them, honoring your country supersedes social issues which to them is where the entirety of the gender identity debate exists.
 
I know we mock it and laugh at it bla bla bla.

But I honestly can't wrap my head around the fact that Trump is unleashing chaos and despair with....... fucking tweets.



While these tweets has no legal binding, it's basically the US president talking about what's he planning to do.
 
I couldn't give less of a fuck what they say, I want to know what they're going to do about it, and the answer to that is probably fuck all. Talk is cheap.
 
A lot of my conservative military friends were pretty pissed off about the whole thing. Anecdotal for sure, but I think it's interesting to hear them say how dumb Trump is for doing it.

Then again, they've never really been trump fans, so who knows.
 
Read these responses closely. Most of them are saying "don't kick anyone out", but they're also saying that anyone who meets the standards should be allowed to serve. To me this says they're leaving open the possibility of changing admission standards so that transgender individuals do not meet them.
 
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