Laughable defense

Congress is holding hearings on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell ban on gays in the military. Here's a summary of the options Congress has:

* Return to a full ban on gays rather than allow them if they keep their mouth shut. Yes, there are people who testified for this option, most notably Elaine Donnelly of her own Center for Military Readiness, which I think she runs out of her home in Livonia, MI (no, I'm not going to link) and has no actual contact with anyone in uniform. Fortunately, her performance was so over the top it had the gallery laughing. Having your opponent reveal herself to be a doofus is an advantage. But the public would see this ban as hateful (especially since 75% of the public is for lifting the ban) so it is very unlikely.

Donnelly's laughable performance is here.

A discussion of why she is unqualified to testify (which makes one wonder why she was allowed to) is here.

The press has a field day ridiculing her testimony -- perhaps the Democrats chose her as a witness?

* Keep the present DADT. The support for its repeal is there, but not the demand. The support for keeping it is much more vocal. As long as there is no vote, no one needs to go on record. Which is why DADT hasn't been voted on for 16 years. But as public opinion shifts Congressmen may find they have to take a stand.

* Repeal the ban. If there is actually a vote, it would pass with nearly all Democrats and a respectable number of GOP voting for it -- the GOP balancing their marriage ban. The problem before January is Bush's veto. Obama would sign it. McCain? Unknown.