Matt Yglesias

Ellen Tauscher Will Be Undersecretary of State for Arms Control

Rep Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) is going to be Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. This is one of the most important spots in the department (John Bolton’s old job) and one of the most important issues in the world, albeit not an issue that gets a lot of play on the blogs. And Tauscher has solid progressive views on the issue. You can read a bit about Tauscher and nuclear proliferation here at Arms Control Wonk or watch this video here of her working away at the problem.

At the same time on economic policy issues, Tauscher has often been a good deal less progressive than one would hop to see from the very safe CA-10 congressional district. So there’s a good chance that this move will end up making everyone happy.

Jim Moran Stands Up for Equality

Via Robert Farley, the DADT madness continues despite the new president, and thankfully Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) is trying to do something about it:

The Army fired 11 soldiers in January for violating the military’s policy that gay service members must keep their sexuality hidden, according to a Virginia congressman. Democratic Rep. Jim Moran said he has requested monthly updates from the Pentagon on the impact of the policy until it is repealed.

In a statement released on Thursday, Moran said the discharged soldiers included an intelligence collector, a military police officer, four infantry personnel, a health care specialist, a motor-transport operator and a water-treatment specialist.

“How many more good soldiers are we willing to lose due to a bad policy that makes us less safe and secure?” asked Moran, a member of the House panel that oversees military spending.

As Farley says, this is a smart approach from Moran—illustrating, in detail, the practical costs the military is incurring through this discriminatory policy. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is slow-walking repeal of the policy in order to try to demonstrate that it’s listening respectfully to military concerns and turning its attention first to strategic issues in Iraq and Central Asia before focusing on DADT. At the same time, Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) has introduced a worthy bill to allow for equality in military service. At this point, top commanders ought to be able to see the handwriting on the wall and basically cut this nonsense out. Everyone knows that equal opportunities to serve is coming around the corner, and it doesn’t help anyone to drum out the last few dozen gay and lesbian military volunteers just before the buzzer.

Rep Tauscher: “Times Have Changed Dramatically” and It’s Time to End DADT

Rep Ellen Tauscher has been getting kicked around on the blogs a bit for her stance on letting bankruptcy judges modify mortgages, but she also got in the news yesterday by unveiling legislation aimed at ending the unfair “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the military. Time has proven DADT to be a fundamentally unworkable compromise that reduces military effectiveness while falling far short of the providing equal rights and opportunities. She talks a bit about the issue here:

On the politics, she’s right to observe that “times have changed dramatically” and that this is relevant. But I do think it’s important to be clear that there was no past time when this was a good policy, there was only a past time when it was politically inconvenient to do the right thing.