Appearing on CNN’s The Situation Room on Thursday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said it was time to reevaluate ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ the discriminatory policy that prevents gay and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Powell's acknowledgment is significant in that DADT was instituted while he was serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under former president Bill Clinton.“We definitely should reevaluate it,” Powell told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria when asked about his current feelings regarding the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
“It's been 15 years since we put in DADT which was a policy that became a law. I didn't want it to become a law but it became a law. Congress felt that strongly about it. But it's been 15 years and attitudes have changed and so I think it is time for the Congress, since it is their law, to have a full review of it, and I'm quite sure that's what President-elect Obama will want to do."
In addition to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, Powell, who publicly endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, also took aim at his own Republican Party in the interview as he called on the GOP to face some contemporary realities.
“I think the party has to take a hard look at itself,” Powell said in the interview. “There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don’t object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority.”
“I think the party has to stop shouting at the world and at the country,” Powell said. “I think that the party has to take a hard look at itself, and I’ve talked to a number of leaders in recent weeks and they understand that.”
Powell, also said it was time for Republicans to stop listening to conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for political guidance.
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