So the President has shown a little spine and started the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell which is kind of a Separate But Equal policy for gays in the military. We won't officially hunt you down and throw you out but if we hear about you from some zealous homophobe your career is toast.

Repeal is supported by the military brass and even by Colin Powell, darling of right thinking conservatives and moderates everywhere.

Predictably this is red meat for the bigots who make up the Republican base. See this report by Joe Garofoli of the SF Comical.

Now there are a lot of reasonable conservatives out there who believe in bipartisanship and who are just dying to sit with us liberals around a campfire and sing Kumbaya if only we weren't so radical and destructive. You know, people like Ross Douthat of the NY Times or San Francisco's own Debra J Saunders.

It seems to Wonks Anonymous that there is no time like the present. Western tradition has never opposed gay military service - see Alexander the Great, The Theban Sacred Band and Julius Cesar among others. We need the troops and besides armies around the world have shown that openly gay soldiers are no problem for morale.

Come on guys. This is your chance to show that you don't really hate gay people even though you don't want to let them get married. It is a golden opportunity to craft a position in favor of tradition yet opposed to the rabid bigotry of all of those folks who you joined in your opposition to gay marriage. You know, the ones who you no longer want to hear about now that proposition H8 passed.

And come spring we can all get together on the beach somewhere in Northern California. Wonks Anonymous will bring the Top Dogs and fixin's for S'mores.