Florida Democratic Party Condemns LeMieux, Senate Republicans for Failed Vote to Repeal 'Don't Ask,

NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For Immediate Release: Dec. 9, 2010
Florida Democratic Party Condemns LeMieux, Senate Republicans for Failed Vote to Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
Today, Senate Republicans continued their practice of obstruction when the Senate considered a motion to proceed with legislation that would repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. Florida Democratic Party Spokesman Eric Jotkoff released the following statement in response to a failed cloture vote today to proceed with the repeal of the discriminatory policy responsible for the discharge of more than 13,000 service members since 1994:
“Today, Senate Republicans, including George LeMieux, voted to uphold a discriminatory policy opposed by a majority of Americans. Rather than repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Senate Republicans chose to continue playing political games, obstructing this important legislation. That they again failed to show leadership and an ability to govern in the people’s interest should come as no surprise to Americans.
“America’s top military leaders and a majority of service members say that they support the idea that all service members should be able to serve openly and in a way that fulfills military codes calling for integrity among its ranks. The Secretary of Defense has said of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ that, ‘A policy or law that in effect requires people to lie [is] a problem.’ That problem was one created by Congress, and today Senate Republicans have only further poisoned the well with partisan political games when they failed to vote for this legislation and when they failed the American people.”
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