Jan LaRue: Keeping Pace with the Right Stuff

From Keeping Pace with the Right Stuff, by Jan LaRue, Esq, published Mar 16, 2007, by Culture and Media Institute:

Apparently some sensitivity sops in the White House have decided that we can’t have the military man charged with saving us from the Jihadists sounding soooo insensitive and judgmental.

There’s no other plausible explanation for the Marine chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff doing a mea culpa lite after stating a self-evident truth about homosexual conduct: “I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way.”

That’s what Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs, told a reporter for the Chicago Tribune on Monday. Pace equated homosexual acts with adultery and said the military should not condone it by allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces. Pace also said he supports the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy, which prohibits commanders from asking about a person’s sexual orientation.

The usual moral savants in Congress, who like to say “it’s wrong to say what’s right and wrong,” quickly passed judgment on Pace.

Leading the congressional critics’ chorus was the perpetually perplexed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco): “We don’t need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.” Couldn’t somebody think to ask Pelosi whether Pace’s moral judgment about adultery is morally acceptable?

Suffering from chronic Rhinoitis, Sen. John Warner (R-VA.), a former Navy secretary, said, “I respectfully but strongly disagree with the chairman’s view that homosexuality is immoral.” But Warner misstated Pace’s position.

Pace said homosexual conduct is wrong, probably taking a cue from the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which makes it a felony — as in malum in se, inherently wrong as the infamous crime against nature — as opposed to malum prohibitum, wrong merely because the law makes it wrong.

Is there no reporter, political strategist or other talking head willing to ask Warner if he’s capable of recognizing the difference between condition and conduct? Was Warner intentionally engaging in bait and switch by playing to those who erroneously think that we mustn’t discriminate because the homosexual “condition” is an immutable characteristic like race?

Message to the Warner fleet: condition doesn’t excuse conduct anymore than being an alcoholic excuses drunk driving. Unless Drunks against Defamation have achieved minority civil rights status, I’m assuming it’s still okay to pass moral judgment on that one.

As reported by Fox News, Rep. Martin Meehan (D-Mass.), who has introduced legislation to repeal DADT, also sniped at Pace: “General Pace’s statements aren’t in line with either the majority of the public or the military. He needs to recognize that support for overturning (the policy) is strong and growing” and that the military is “turning away good troops to enforce a costly policy of discrimination.”

Let’s just chalk that one up to a Massachusetts marriage marauder who thinks it’s wrong (note the moral judgment) to limit marriage to a man and a woman.

Not to be outdone by Congress, the Bush administration quickly publicized its own spineless views on Pace’s remarks. Speaking on the Military Channel, Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed what sounds like a negative personal opinion of Pace’s personal opinion: “Now look, you know I think personal opinion really doesn’t have a place here.”

Thanks so much, Mr. Secretary, for undercutting our top anti-terrorism gun in front of the whole wacky world of Jihad.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told the White House press corps that the president “has always said that the most important thing is that we ought not to prejudge one another.”

Oh, get a grip, Tony! Do you really want to see a videotape on Al Jazeera with Bin Laden or his henchman-in-chief Ayman al-Zawahiri berating the President for prejudging them?

Let me recap for limp-minded liberals. The man responsible for making sure that nobody in the military does anything wrong to any Gitmo detainee isn’t supposed to make moral judgments. I’m guessing he isn’t supposed to have a personal opinion about it either. Works for me.

General Pace issued a written clarification Tuesday. He said he shouldn’t have voiced his personal view and should have just stated his support for the DADT policy. The General refused to apologize for saying homosexual behavior is immoral.

To Gen. Pace, “Semper Fi.” Political chickens can’t ruffle an eagle’s feathers.