Tags
DADT, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Gary Nodler, Hostile work environment, missouri, SB587, Sovereignty bill, tenthers
In his hot pursuit of Roy Blunt’s 7th district seat in the U.S. House of Reporesentatives, State Senator Gary Nodler (R-32) is running true to form for Missouri Republicans, who almost universally seem to feel the need to placate the crazies inhabiting the fantasy land to the right of the right. Nodler’s pandering, however, is a bit more amusing than most simply because, while as devoid of real benefit, it is bolder and more inventive in its rhetoric.
You may remember Nodler for his recent effort to garner the good will of Tea Party tenthers by sponsoring a “sovereignty bill” (Senate Bill 587) that would establish a “state-level Tenth Amendment Commission that would determine if the federal government is overreaching its bounds in powers reserved for the states under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
Most recently he has garnered attention by claiming that repealing Don’t Ask, Dont Tell (DADT), would create a “hostile workplace” for soldiers. Perhaps he would like to segregate male and female office workers here in Missouri? Plenty of potential there for a hostile workplace, eh?
But that’s not all – Nodler’s also worried that openly gay soldiers “could represent a ‘cultural affront'” to terrorists intent on killing American troops.”
There is, fortunately for those of us who like political slap-stick, a second act to Nodler’s performance. After his assertions abut DTDA were ridiculed by Igor Volsky at the Wonk Room, the ever-oblivious Mr. Nodler responded with this little exercise in self-righteousness:
I never said that this would be a cultural affront to terrorists. I don’t care what they think. I said it would be a cultuaral [sic] affront to the Muslims in who’s [sic] country we are operating. We can not win the hearts and minds of the people by insulting them and ignoring the standards of their culture. This is about the people who live there and the armies we are serving with. Your comment makes the common mistake that all Muslims are terrorists.
Well, to quote Steve Martin, Excuuuuuuse me! Who would have thought that Nodler was so culturally sensitive? Is he really proposing that we shouldn’t stand up for what is right in our national institutions because folks elsewhere might be offended? He’ll be demanding that our female soldiers in Afghanistan don a burka next so as not to offend the Taliban. Of course, he’s also ignoring the fact that occupying Muslim countries on the basis of trumped-up accusations may have done more to offend hitherto non-militant Muslims than any of our social practices.
Oops! Update: I wrote too soon – via Fired Up! Missouri, Nodler doesn’t think military women in Afghanistan should don burkas, he thinks they shouldn’t be in the military at all. The more this guy digs in … the deeper the hole – promises lots of fun.