The Family Research Council (FRC) has
labeled Maine Senator Olympia Snowe a “turncoat” for supporting
repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”
After
House members on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted in favor of ending
the law that bans gay and bisexual troops from serving openly,
Snowe, a Republican, announced she was prepared to do the same.
“After careful analysis of the
comprehensive report compiled by the Department of Defense and
thorough consideration of the testimony provided by the Secretary of
Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service
chiefs, I support repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law,” Snowe
said in a statement.
The
Senate is expected on Saturday to vote on repeal. And Snowe
might just cast the crucial deciding vote.
“Her announcement is one of the final
pieces to the repeal puzzle for liberals, who may have cracked the
60-votes they need to put this gift under the tree for the 3% of
America who lobbied for it,” the
group wrote on its website.
Referring
to comments made by Marine Commandant General James Amos that repeal
could cost Marine lives, the FRC added that Snowe had backed a
bill that “could force soldiers to leave their jobs – or be hurt
doing them.”
“Fortunately for Maine, Sen. Olympia
Snowe's election is forthcoming. In less than two years, the liberal
'Republican' will have to answer for her record of extremism, which
now includes jeopardizing national security in order to use the
military to advance the Left's radical social agenda.”
Several
prominent Republican's have signed onto an open letter protesting the
Southern Poverty Law Center's decision to add the FRC to their list
of known hate groups.