DADT isn’t dead–just sleeping! � Feast of Fun

DADT isn’t dead–just sleeping! � Feast of Fun:

"…It seems like we lost the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” fight yesterday when Senator John McCain successfully led a filibuster against the Defense Authorization bill that contained repeal provisions. However, its important to remember the bill isn’t dead. There was no vote on the bill itself, only a vote on whether or not to call the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. Yep, the Senate has to vote to vote. Yeah, and we wonder why nothing gets done.

Anyhow, the bill can still be called. There’s still some danger, though. Republicans will again halt the bill if none of their concerns with how the vote went down aren’t addressed. This means that aspects of the bill are going to be up for negotiation–including the controversial amendments like the DREAM Act, the legalization of privately funded abortions in military hospitals and–of course–Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal.

Its important to note that, although John McCain’s problem with the bill was Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, that wasn’t everyone’s problem. In fact, most Republicans weren’t even thinking about DADT at all. Republicans like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and Democratic (barely) Senator Blanche Lincoln were angry about Majority Leader Reid’s move to block any more changes to the Defense Authorization and close it off from any more amendments. While many have noted this might have been a choice to protect the DADT repeal, ultimately it harmed it by preventing a vote on the Defense Authorization bill. In the end, the votes are there in the Senate for the National Defense Authorization Act with the DADT repeal. As long as we can get it to a vote..."

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