Political Eye
By

Stephanie Condon /

CBS News/ January 9, 2013, 2:51 PM

GOP Rep. Cotton: Women in combat could impair missions

Republican Rep. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a freshman representative who has served in two wars, said Tuesday afternoon that women shouldn't be allowed in infantry combat roles because it's not conducive to their "nature."

"To have women serving in infantry, though, could impair the mission-essential tasks of units," Cotton said on Laura Ingraham's radio show. "And that's been proven in study after study, just from a matter of -- it's nature, upper body strength, and physical movements, and speed, and endurance, and so forth."

Mediate reports that Cotton did commend women's accomplishments in non-combat military roles.

The conservative congressman, who has two Harvard degrees and served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the U.S. Army, was elected in 2012 to represent Arkansas' fourth district with financial help from the conservative advocacy group Club for Growth.

A 1994 combat exclusion policy bans women from being assigned to ground combat units below the brigade level, but a group of military women is suing the Pentagon to overturn the ban.

In February of last year, the Pentagon recommended that women be allowed to serve in jobs closer to the front lines, prompting then-Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum to express "concerns" similar to Cotton's. "I do have concerns about women in front line combat," he said. "I think that could be a very compromising situation where - where people naturally, you know, may do things that may not be in the interests of the mission because of other types of emotions that are involved."

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20 Comments Add a Comment
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Type_Z says:
In all FAIRNESS, I do think it is in some men's nature to protect women. We are still evolving somewhat.

However, never under estimate the strength, wit and intuition of a woman. Some of those comments may have a slight bit of truth when it comes to size or physical ability but still. I'm beginning to think its time woman just take over the whole world and get things straightened out. I swear to God himself, where is the Republican party finding these guys???? They are not like the men I know. Bizarre, I can't take much more of this prehistoric thinking.

Look out the women are coming and we are going to **** ***.

Ben Jorden, this is one thing we can agree on. Darn right your want a woman next to you in combat. We can be lean, mean, fighting machines, yet profession thinkers.
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Educating_the_Morons replies:
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Actually, I hope you're right -- I hope all the men in the military DO evacuate, and leave it filled only with women -- not a man in sight! THEN, you'll get exactly what you deserve, as you charge into battle and get slaughtered within a few minutes' time. You will no longer be able to make your boastful claims while hiding behind the protection that the infrastructure of men affords you -- in other words, you will no longer be able to have your cake and eat it, too. The real world -- meaning, reality, in real time -- will soon enough "take care of business." As it is, the feminization of the military (as well as the rest of our society) has turned what was once the fiercests, most-feared, lean, mean, fighting-machine, into the laughing-stock of the world! Fear us? You've got to be kidding? The world is LAUGHING at our military. As one example, take the absurdity of our rules of engagement -- a prime example of one of the greater gifts that the feminization of the military has bestowed upon us. The military now has become, for at least 50% of its recruits and enlistees, a combination of "travel agency" and "college" (which explains the enigma of how 50% of the military could have just voted for the re-election of Osama -- it's not "your daddy's" military anymore!) (that's NOT a typo, btw). So go ahead, with my blessing -- just TRY doing what the men do, on your own . . . you won't even be a FOOTNOTE in history, if that should ever come to pass. Sorry. I know: reality sucks. Too bad. But -- as Rhett Butler once said (paraphrased, for effect): I don't really give a damn! Get over it: women are NOT as good as men, when it comes to MANY things. I know you have a hard time, understanding that. Perhaps it's a little too "abstract."
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TJphoto says:
Hey Mr. Cotton , Guess you've never seen the Israel Army in action. God forbid you should ever expand your horizons. You'll just keep towing the GOP line of trying to control what Women can and cannot do.
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jobjobjobs replies:
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Only 69% of Israeli jobs have any women soldiers in them (about 90% are open to women). No women have ever passed the requirements in many types of jobs
Educating_the_Morons replies:
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No, not quite, Photo-head: to the contrary; what your comment specifically reaveals (embarassingly so, I might add) is that it is YOU, who have never seen the Israel [sic] Army in action. Because if you had, then you would have known that there are NO women in front-line combat positions, in the IsraelI army.

This serves to illustrate the beauty of certain types of bvll$h^t propaganda -- whenever, and wherever, these popularly-and-oft-quoted idiocies turn up in conversation, they stand out immediately, like little radioactive nuggets, which you can then trace back to the source -- and it's quite entertaining, to witness firsthand, how in these cases, "all roads" seem inevitably to "lead to [a certain type of] Rome." Can anyone spell "Progressive?" And its etymological ancestor, "Marxist?"
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AttyFAM says:
Does Arkansas allow recall elections?
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Type_Z replies:
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Haha!!
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stamicrach says:
I'm afraid I have to agree with him.

Here in this country most men are wired to protect their wives, daughters, sisters, girlfriends and mothers from harm.

Our troops have enough on their hands and on their minds without having to worry about what is almost an instinctual reaction to deal with.
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JV1970 replies:
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Sources4Me If stamicrach's ever been in the military and in a combat situation he would know what someone in combat has on their mind!
JV1970 replies:
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BenJordon I'm not a boy! I'm a woman!
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Katie_L says:
Well, let's see how the fool does on a combat training course up against the women and then we'll see who should and shouldn't be in combat. It's amazing that Neanderthal's made it this far...
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JV1970 replies:
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A combat training course is different than actual combat! In actual combat people are actually trying to kill you and your life is in danger. On a combat training course it isn't really.
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sueb45 says:
I saw Rep. Cotton doing an interview on TV this morning on other topics and I thought "What an idiot"....apparently he's a broad-ranging idiot.
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davidd5063 says:
So ANOTHER old, white, complete idiot in the GOP, elected by bigotted, self-serving, theiving, retriees addicted to Fox News says some very, very, very stupid. And this is news how?
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bilrobi1 replies:
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Hey take it easy. I'm an old white guy and I'm on your side. I may be old but I'm a proud Massachusetts Liberal. I like your comment but not all of us are republicans.
sueb45 replies:
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BilRobi--you've been given the short end of the stick! Sorry...besideds Cotton isn't old, he's a young GOP idiot.
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MerrellOBrian64 says:
So this is the almight unveiling of the "New 2013" GOP plan--To offer America an alternative to 'those damn liberals'? They're going to be a backward, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-sanity as they can get, clinging to their idiotic religions and guns, just like Obama said.
Well, short-timers, it isn't going to work. America is still the home of the free and the brave. We'll continue to oppose these stupid plans until the very thought of getting another Republican elected is all but laughable!
Now, if you want to come back to reason and compromise, and do the right thing by ALL Americans, not just the Southern HICKS, there's still time to turn the ship around...but, not much.
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JV1970 replies:
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We'll fight you to the very last and you are WRONG! There WILL be another Republican elected! In fact there'll be many more!
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