Santorum on DADT: the brass is “indoctrinated”

Is dissing the brass smart political strategy for the right wing? I don’t think so.

Sam Stein quotes Rick Santorum at CPAC:

Political correctness is reigning in the military right now. Some people say: [Do] whatever the generals say [on DADT]. I’m not too sure that we haven’t so indoctrinated the officer corps in this country that they can* actually see straight to make the right decision.

*[Per Stein; logically, that should be “that they can’t see straight,” but without a tape it’s impossible to know whether the error is Santorum’s or Stein’s. Of the two, Stein seems the more reliable.]

Maybe dissing the brass is good political strategy for the right wing, but I wouldn’t have thought so. Seems to me this shows the value of DADT as a wedge issue, which makes me want to see a legislative fight before and not after November.

Update Steve Benen points out that the GOP has been making a habit of dumping on the military leadership, even questioning Adm. Mullen’s integrity for his support of DADT repeal. And Steve also points out that the GOP pro-torture position puts the pols at odds with Gen. Petraeus, who used to be their hero.

Author: Mark Kleiman

Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out. Books: Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken) When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993) Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989) UCLA Homepage Curriculum Vitae Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com

3 thoughts on “Santorum on DADT: the brass is “indoctrinated””

  1. In spoken English, with the usual stuttering, "they can see straight" can still make sense. Just read it as,

    "I'm not too sure that we haven't so indoctrinated the officer corps in this country[, I'm not too sure] that they can actually see straight to make the right decision."

    I wouldn't get on someone for a minor fudge like that, the meaning is clear.

  2. This is similar to using the idiom, "I could care less" when the intended meaning is "I couldn't care less" or "I could hardly care less". I suspect that Mr. Santorum was more concerned with the seeing "straight" portion of his comment.

  3. Remember when the right was going on and on about how we should listen to the generals. What a bunch of opportunistic hypocritical scumbags.

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