Props (as the kids say) where they are due: Sen. Mark Pryor has changed his position and is now willing to vote for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
Says the soon-to-be-senior Senator from Arkansas:
On many previous occasions, I have said that I would oppose repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell until I had heard from our servicemen and women regarding this policy. I have now carefully reviewed all of the findings, reports, and testimony from our armed forces on this matter and I accept the Pentagon’s recommendations to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I also accept the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs’ commitment that this policy can be implemented in a manner that does not harm our military’s readiness, recruitment, or retention. We have the strongest military in the world and we will continue to do so by ensuring our troops have the resources necessary to carry out their missions. Therefore, I support the 2011 Defense Authorization Act that passed the Senate Armed Services Committee and will support procedural measures to bring it to a vote this year.
At a time when the other senator from Arkansas is in the news thanks to her efforts to carve out estate tax exemptions at a cost of $22.2B (which will benefit just over 1% of the population, with zero stimulative effect), it’s nice to see the other Arkansas senator making headlines for something — anything — positive.
(h/t bigfatdrunk)