Posted on 12/15/2010 5:41:23 PM PST by tom h
They already passed an amendment to repeal DADT back in May, but that was part of a broader defense bill. Today’s vote was on the standalone DADT bill that Lieberman and Collins are hoping to put in front of the Senate next week. The vote in May: 234-194, with just five Republicans voting yes. The vote today: 250-175, with 15 Republicans in the majority. (Among the 10 who flipped to yes this time: Jeff Flake.) It was smart of Pelosi to force a vote in the House, just as it was smart of Reid to table the vote on the DREAM Act so that the House could go first. In each case, the fact that the lower chamber’s already passed a corresponding bill ratchets up the pressure on Senate fencesitters.
In fact, it’s already paying dividends. Olympia Snowe was one of the 40 no votes last week on the defense bill that had a DADT repeal provision in it, but suddenly on the standalone bill she’s had a change of heart:
“After careful analysis of the comprehensive report compiled by the Department of Defense and thorough consideration of the testimony provided by the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service chiefs, I support repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law,” Snowe said in a statement.
Remember, the sticking point for Scott Brown and Murkowski (but not Collins!) has been the procedural posture of the DADT vote, not the substance. They claim they’re in favor of repeal, but they want the tax deal finalized — which could happen tomorrow — and they wanted more time for debate on the broader defense bill. I’m not sure how those procedural objections will translate to the new standalone DADT bill. It could be that Brown, Murkowski, and Snowe all vote yes, which would actually put Reid at 61 votes for cloture, or they could all vote no for whatever procedural reason, leaving Reid stuck at 58. Or maybe Snowe alone will join Collins in voting yes, putting Reid one thin vote away from the magic number. If that happens, the pressure on Manchin to switch from no to yes will be overwhelming, especially since one of his aides said after last week’s vote that he probably would have voted differently if he had been the 60th vote. Long story short, anything can happen, but they’re tantalizingly close to finally getting this done. Exit question: After threatening to hold the lame duck session over until January 4th if need be to deal with the START treaty and other business, Reid basically has to bring this bill to the floor now, right? Gay activists aren’t going to accept “we ran out of time” as an excuse.
I’m one of those under 30s. I’m mad as hell that the lame ducks are shoving this up our ass.
Because we are to be fighting for them here, while they fight for us.
sad but true, how did it come to this?
Oh, goody! Now we’ll get to watch Olympia at another press conference, doing her Katharine Hepburn impression.
“Bath Iron Works.”
No wonder Olympia is confused about DADT.
“Don’t these Asshats realize that if they repeal DADT, the military is going to struggle to recruit and retain people?”
Oh, they will still be able to recruit and retain the “numbers” stated as required. The problem is the quality of recruitment and those retained will be low and continue to sink with time.
Personnally I don’t want a bunch of “angry at the world” homosexuals to be armed troops. That won’t be an army, it will be an armed rable.
There was a time when police were highly respected members of the community. Today, even the law abiding don’t hold the peace officer community in the high regard it used to.
I am concerned that someday the public’s opinion of the military will change back to the negative it held during the Vietnam era...except this time it may be deserved.
Sickening. Is this crap really going to pass?
Published in another post is 40 something goals of the Communists read into the Congressional Record in 1963--most have already come about through the subversive infiltration of Communist card holders and fellow travelers.
McCarthy may have been an alcoholic loud-mouth, but he saw the truth and called it. I wish some Senator McConnell and a few others could grow a spine and accoutrements that Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin have.
vaudine
This is truly sickening. Anyone who knows history, let alone the Bible, sees where this is all leading. Final nail in the coffin comes to mind.
“THE REAL PENTAGON POLL: 91% OF SERVICE MEMBERS REJECT HOMOSEXUAL LEADERS - 1 IN 4 WOULD QUIT”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2635458/posts
“MILITARY: Marines lead opposition to repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2635350/posts
“Mullen: Troops Who Balk at Change in Gay Service Policy Can Find Other Work”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2636350/posts
“Army, Marine chiefs cast doubt on gay service”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2636917/posts
_________________________________________________________
“Don’t Repeal “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell”
“~Don’t sacrifice unit cohesion for a social experiment.~”
“..Both issues—women in combat and gays in the military—are different manifestations of a single problem: the failure of America’s political leadership to understand the factors that motivate men to fight in battle and to continue fighting under the most horrific conditions—what professionals call “combat effectiveness” and “unit cohesion” respectively. In all the discussions of the issue, these terms seldom come up; when they do, it is only to be dismissed out of hand by those who wish to see all military positions opened to both women and homosexuals.
Those who have never served in combat have no idea what it is like...”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/dont-repeal-dont-askdont-tell
Of course they realize this. They are self-loathing anti-American fools. Of course they do.
Uh… they're already there and have always been even when they were not allowed to serve.
Troops are not naive. They have a good idea already who is and who is not gay in their ranks. So long as their job gets done, it won't matter if a private, Lt. or sergeant has that picture of someone special back home is a boyfriend rather than girlfriend.
The only reasonable options are open service or no service. DADT was never a good policy.
Looking at those headlines I do wonder what they think of him now.
....but the barracks will have nice track lighting and the drapes will match the bedspread.
Just silence.
Snow and Collins Pork Requests in Omnibus Bill - Taxpayers Against Earmarks reports that Sen. Susan Collins (R) requested $453,264,250 and Sen. Olympia Snow (R) requested $594,513,000 for this year alone. Sen. Collins requested $5,000,000 to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge connecting Bayside to Portland. Not to be outdone, Sen. Snowe requested $7,000,000 for the University of Maine for a “Wood Utilization Program” to study “university-based wood utilization research.” None of these programs are a proper function of the federal government.” This information should be a great help in deciding who we want for 2012 and 2014. http://endingspending.com/blog/2010/12/13/earmarkers-gone-wild/
Snow and Collins Pork Requests in Omnibus Bill - Taxpayers Against Earmarks reports that Sen. Susan Collins (R) requested $453,264,250 and Sen. Olympia Snow (R) requested $594,513,000 for this year alone. Sen. Collins requested $5,000,000 to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge connecting Bayside to Portland. Not to be outdone, Sen. Snowe requested $7,000,000 for the University of Maine for a “Wood Utilization Program””
What a surprise, huh?
“So long as their job gets done, it won’t matter if a private, Lt. or sergeant has that picture of someone special back home is a boyfriend rather than girlfriend.”
Someone special back home? We are at war.
How would you like to be in combat and get stuck out on point or keep drawing a bad job and the LT’s “special friend” doesn’t? You think this shit is not gonna be a problem? There won’t be any “hard” feelings in any of this?
This isn’t about who is “back home.” That’s the kind of lame ass argument put up by the lefties and/or the MSM.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.