Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann endorsed reinstating Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and agreed that gays and lesbian servicemembers would “destroy the armed forces” on a conference call with Faith and Freedom coalition last night, the Minnesota Independent’s Andy Birkey reports. Bachmann stressed her social conservative credentials on the call, including her efforts to pass a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage as a state senator.
The congresswoman also took a question from “a man named Jack who said ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is going to destroy the armed forces,” and she agreed that the military should not engage in a “social experiment” about the “issue of sexuality.” Bachmann promised to “listen to the generals” on the issue (many of whom, incidentally, supported repealing the policy):
“I think of all of the candidates that are running in this race, I have been very vocal about this,” Bachmann said. “I would reinstate the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. It worked before and what it says is the issue of sexuality is one that doesn’t come up and people aren’t allowed to be open about it because the United States military is unique, its not a social experiment.”
She said repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is gong to hurt the military’s preparedness: “I take very seriously the job of Commander in Chief. I see that as my very first job and I would listen to the generals [on DADT].”
Bachmann — who avoided social issues when she first entered the race — played up her conservative credentials in Iowa this week, telling a town hall crowd in Sioux City on Monday, “As much as this job will be about jobs and the economy — as it should be, that’s really the main issue facing our nation right now — we can’t forget the undergirding of our nation and those are the values, the principles that we stand for.”
“I believe in marriage between a man and a woman,” she added, before congratulating the attendees for voting out three judges who overturned a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.
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