The Romney-Ryan ticket continues to shake the Etch-A-Sketch on their campaign—first on health care, and now on the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." On Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan told a local news station in Florida that reinstating DADT "would be a step in the wrong direction because people have already disclosed themselves."
"Now that it's done, we should not reverse it," Ryan said.
This statement is a reversal for Ryan, who originally voted against the DADT repeal that was signed by President Obama in December 2010. The policy officially ended the following year in September 2011.
Mitt Romney has also spoken publicly against reinstating DADT, telling an Iowa editorial board last December that DADT was a distraction.
"We ought to be talking about the economy and jobs," Romney said, "but given the fact you are insistent, the answer is I believe 'don't ask, don't tell' should have been kept in place until conflict was over."
Ryan echoed these sentiments on Sunday by saying his friends in the military agreed that the DADT repeal was premature, but added, "I think this issue is past us. It's done. And, I think we need to move on."
A study released earlier this month concluded that the repeal had no negative impact on the military or its readiness.
It's nice to hear Romney and Ryan are "moving on" from the issue, but the Republican Party doesn't seem ready to let go of the issue quite yet. Several points in its platform call for a reversal of LGBT rights, and there are still many Republicans who are in favor of reinstating DADT, which begs the question: Would a Romney-Ryan administration go with its instincts and allow the DADT repeal to stay, or would they let the GOP dictate every step along the path toward equality?
