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

[Joanne98]

Carrie Dann writes: A key procedural vote on the bill containing a repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy failed Thursday, likely dealing a final blow to advocates who hoped to overturn the 17-year old ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military during this session of Congress.

Democrats needed 60 votes to advance the Defense Authorization bill for debate on the floor. The vote failed, 57-40.

Ultimately, Majority Leader Harry Reid called for the vote without having reached a procedural agreement with moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who supports repeal but wanted greater openness for the process of amending and passing the bill. Collins voted aye on the measure, but other Republicans who support repeal but had voiced similar procedural concerns -- Sens. Scott Brown and Lisa Murkowski -- voted no.

One Democrat, newly-elected Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, broke with his party to vote no.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/12/09/5619090-key-vote-on-dont-ask-dont-tell-repeal-fails

[RKP5637]

1. And one more step backward for America. We're getting pretty good at

working our way to the bottom of the barrow. Will the last person left standing please turn out the lights!

[littlewolf]

2. Collins vote aye .... even without the demands being met

[MineralMan]

3. Manchin is no Democrat.

EOM

[gaspee]

8. Nope

And when people here on DU say that he's better than an R in that seat - my question is -- exactly how is he better? He's going to vote with the repubs more than he votes with the D's --- why in the world is that man a democrat?

[Recursion]

11. Seriously?

You really don't get how a guy who caucuses with us but votes against us is better than a guy who caucuses against us and votes against us?

[BlueCheese]

4. Was it just theater?

Are the Republicans ever going to really agree to this, or will it always be one procedural excuse after another?

[Rhiannon12866]

5. I was gratified to see both of my senators there,

While I was watching them milling about during the vote count, was tuned into C-Span. I wasn't worried about them on this, since they both also support gay marriage, but I happen to know that today's Senator Gillibrand's birthday, and she was still present and accounted for. :) This is so frustrating, also caught a glimpse of John Kerry, with a big scowl on his face... x(

Thanks for the info... :(

edit: typo

[dgibby]

6. It was a procedural vote.

Reid's bringing up a stand alone on DADT later, probably tonight.

[BlueCheese]

7. In the article...

... it says that Reid praised Collins for her efforts in this. Maybe I misjudged her--was she negotiating yesterday for herself, or was she constrained by what some of her colleagues wanted? It seems like she went along in the end.

[Better Believe It]

9. So now you need 60 votes to debate and 60 votes to end debate!!!!

And Senator Reid makes and/or agrees to that procedure?

Well, that "rule" can be changed by the Democratic majority in a heartbeat .... if they really want to pass DADT.

I think they are really playing games with us or on us.

[MindandSoul]

10. Those Republicans have only one mind. . .no individual wills. .. they are just sheep

bowing down to one leader!
At least, for all the wishy-washy of the Democrats, for all the negative you can say about them, they do show that they are capable of independent thinking at times (even if sometime it is not what we want from them!)

I have no respect for ANY Republican senator. . . they are either hypocrites or they do not have the balls to stand up for their conviction unless they are being TOLD their convictions follow the "party line!"

Sheep. . .all of them!

[gratuitous]

12. Which means, unlike something the powers that be care about, the DADT repeal is dead

Whereas for something near and dear to their shrivelled little hearts, the Senate and the House will move heaven and earth to get it through. Whenever I hear someone from Congress talk about how "Oh, we'd like to do this or that, but it just can't be done," I think back to how the bill to meddle in the Schiavo affair down in Florida moved through Congress like shot through a goose. Chimpy even rushed back early from one of his interminable drinkapaloozas vacations to sign it into law.

And isn't it nice to see a 57-40 vote mean you lost? And nobody will utter a peep about thwarting the will of the people or having an up or down vote. Because that would be partisan and make David Broder cry! Which is what Jesus was talking about when he mentioned the Unforgivable Sin in the fourth Harry Potter book.

[MiniMe]

13. So the defense funding went down

because that is the bill that DADT was attached to.