GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ~ I am too rabid at this moment to post a coherent thought ~ Sooz

Key vote on 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' repeal fails

Here's more ~ Sooz

SENATE REPUBLICANS KILL DADT REPEAL (AGAIN).... It's going to take some time to piece together exactly what went wrong here.

All signs suggested we were getting very close to securing the votes needed to advance the defense authorization bill and repeal the indefensible "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who claims to support repeal, had presented a series of demands to Democratic leaders: she wanted a total of 15 amendments to be considered over the course of four days of debate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had already agreed to the 15 amendments, but not the four days.

Talks between the two appeared to break down today, for reasons that are still unclear. It led to a floor discussion this afternoon in which Collins, seemingly sincere about her willingness to help break the filibuster, pressed Reid to accept her terms. Reid did not.

The result was a replay of the last time Republicans killed DADT repeal, in September -- GOP senators who claimed to want to do the right thing blocked a vote because they disapproved of the majority's procedural measures.

The final vote was 57 to 40, with 57 senators in support and 40 in opposition. Because the Senate is ridiculous, a 57-member tripartisan majority loses, and a 40-member minority wins.

More very soon.

Update: Collins, who waited until just about every other senator had already voted, ended up supporting the measure, voting with Democrats. She was the only Republican to break ranks.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said he supports repeal, but he voted for the filibuster.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she supports repeal, but she voted for the filibuster.

Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) said they were prepared to consider repeal, but they both voted for the filibuster.

I should note that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), to his credit, was aggressively working the floor, trying to convince some of these Republicans to switch their votes. In particular, he spent quite a while pressing Murkowski, pleading with her to do the right thing. She did not, but I give Lieberman credit for trying as hard as he did.

One Democrat -- West Virginia's Joe Manchin -- voted with Republicans. It meant the majority needed to pick up at least three GOP votes, which obviously didn't happen.

—Steve Benen 4:07 PM December 9, 2010

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archiv ... 027007.php

And more ~ why do the Rs refuse to let a bill come up for debate and vote? ~ I believe it's pretty to close to what Benen identifies as 'the intersection of bigotry and cowardice' ~ Sooz

AT THE INTERSECTION OF BIGOTRY AND COWARDICE.... The dust has not yet settled, and the reasons behind the Senate's failure to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this afternoon are still coming into focus. But we know a few things with some certainty.

The first is that a 40-member Senate minority -- 39 Republicans and one Democrat -- blew off the appeals of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs about an issue of great importance to the U.S. military. A clear majority of Americans support repeal; a clear majority of the men and women in uniform are on board with repeal; and clear majorities of the House and Senate have voted to support repeal.

Republicans still blocked it. This isn't just a situation in which they just chose to vote against a proposal -- they feel so strongly about this, they wouldn't even let the Senate vote up or down on the defense authorization bill, legislation that funds the military during two wars, and includes a provision to give U.S. troops a raise.

And what was driving such intense opposition? For senators like John McCain (R-Ariz.) and most of his GOP allies, it appears to be matter of not liking gay people.

For senators like Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), it's about putting procedure above people. They'd like to do the right thing, but it's more important to get a certain kind of legislative debate.

These Republicans' message to gay servicemen and women, who volunteer to put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us, in effect, is, "We'd like to protect you from pointless discrimination, but Senate procedure matters more."

For what it's worth, soon after the vote failed -- which is to say, soon after a 57-member majority featuring Democratic, Republican, and Independent votes was deemed insufficient -- Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced they'd introduce a free-standing bill that would repeal DADT. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would co-sponsor the measure.

The plan, at least for now, is to bring it to bypass the committee process and try to bring this to the floor in the lame-duck session. Of course, potential GOP supporters may get into yet another fight over amendments and floor time, and given the calendar, there may not be time to squeeze this bill into the schedule.

Postscript: For those inclined to blame President Obama for Senate Republicans defeating repeal today, spare me. The White House clearly pushed for repeal, and did everything possible to use the Pentagon's report last week to apply the necessary pressure to deliver. By most counts, there really are 60 votes to make repeal a reality, and that's the case because President Obama has helped take the lead on the issue. If you're looking to blame someone, I'd start with 40 senators who filibustered today.

—Steve Benen 5:00 PM December 9, 2010

http://www.washingtonmont...idual/2010_12/027009.php

I was never a fan of Brown.  I never understood how a sane state like MA would elect him.   None of this makes sense to me.