I don't feel there's anything about my experience of being gay that gives me more insight into "don't ask, don't tell," for example, than anybody else.
Rachel MaddowJohn McCain has refused to ever criticize Sarah Palin, to ever admit there was anything wrong about her choice. He has been capital "L" loyal to her in such an unwavering way, even has his entire party has turned against this is decision that he made for obvious reasons. He has been unflinchingly loyal to her.
Rachel MaddowThere are some political issues where mainstream press attention only hurts. We think about activism as being this generic model of consciousness-raising, then hopefully media attention, attraction of new people to your cause, building public support for your cause, then decision-makers reacting to that change in public opinion. That's true for some types of activism, but it is not true for all of them.
Rachel MaddowRidding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. That was the whole idea, right? Thatโs why we went. I am reluctant to let that fact disappear down the memory hole, because if โ as the war ends, or at least starts to end โ if, at this time, the history of the war is written as us going there to topple the regime of a bad man when that frankly isnโt why were told that we were going there โ Arenโt we still at risk of making this horrific mistake again? And, arenโt we letting the people who foisted the WMD idea on us, not many years ago, arenโt we sort of letting them get away with it?
Rachel Maddow