Dear Elaine Donnelly --- From the bottom of this Seething Mom’s heart --- Thank you!

You spared me from the seething rage that usually gets the best of me when I listen to the unhinged, barely-coherent homophobic drivel that people like you try to pass off as intelligent, fact-based dialogue. In fact, I have got to thank you for the best laugh I’ve had in a very long time. Not only did you make our case for why Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is a ridiculous policy put in place simply to quell the Dobson Nutcase crowd’s heeby-jeebies about anyone different from them, but you did it better than any of the Generals or Purple Heart Veterans lined up to testify against the policy could have.

Hey, do you think maybe you could find the time to testify before Congress about the repeal of DOMA, the Defense Of Marriage Act, when you are done making the case for why Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell should be shit-canned?

Think about it. We could really use your help:

Don't ask, don't tell. And, whatever you do, don't ask Elaine Donnelly to tell you what she thinks about gays in the military.

The House Armed Services personnel subcommittee made just such a miscalculation yesterday. Holding the first hearing in 15 years on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, lawmakers invited a quartet of veterans to testify on the subject and also extended an invitation to Donnelly, who has been working for years to protect our fighting forces from the malign influence of women.

Donnelly treated the panel to an extraordinary exhibition of rage. She warned of "transgenders in the military." She warned that lesbians would take pictures of people in the shower. She spoke ominously of gays spreading "HIV positivity" through the ranks.

"We're talking about real consequences for real people," Donnelly proclaimed. Her written statement added warnings about "inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community," the prospects of "forcible sodomy" and "exotic forms of sexual expression," and the case of "a group of black lesbians who decided to gang-assault" a fellow soldier.

[…]

Inadvertently, Donnelly achieved the opposite of her intended effect. Though there's no expectation that Congress will repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and allow gays to serve openly in the military, the display had the effect of increasing bipartisan sympathy for the cause.

But don’t be too glum Ms. Donnelly, I am just sure you’ll get a whole lot more respect from the McCain campaign than you got yesterday before Congress. They won’t laugh at you or use words like “shocked”, “embarrassed”, or “scurrilous” to describe their reactions and your testimony. In fact you’ll find an ally in Senator McCain – he might be one of the only people left who actually agrees with you.