We never thought we'd see the day when Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., would vote to repeal the military's discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The nation's ninth most conservative senator, as ranked by the National Journal, declared "No one can get to the right of me" when he announced his re-election campaign.
Yet there he was on Saturday, among a handful of Republicans siding with Democrats to allow gays to serve openly in the military. He said he recognized how society has changed and that "this policy is outdated." Good for him for being on the right side of history.
Still, it was a puzzling vote because Burr has consistently said now is not the time to change the policy. Even more puzzling: He still says that. "I remain convinced that the timing of this change is wrong," he said after the vote. Given that he voted against cloture Saturday morning, why the sudden change later in the day?
-- Posted by the Observer editorial board
Indeed, a stunning turn of events. Burr is also, it should be noted, a big supporter of HIV/AIDS research and health care funding. Another surprise...
ReplyDeleteI know that the Senator received many e-mails asking him to vote for this repeal. I was one of those people. It is very gratifying to see that he probably responded to some extent to those requests. I certainly appreciate his vote.
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