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发帖数: 33825 | 1 Senate rejects bid to open debate on repeal of 'don't ask, don't tell'
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/09/senate.dadt.vote/index.html
Washington (CNN) -- The Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic bid to open
debate on repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning openly gay a
nd lesbian soldiers from military service, possibly killing any chance for i
t to get passed in the current congressional session.
However, a bipartisan group of senators immediately said they would raise th
e issue again in a separate piece of legislation. It was unclear if the bid
to separate the repeal provision from a larger defense authorization bill wo
uld increase its chances for approval.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, called Thursday's vote without
an agreement with any Republican senators to support the motion, ensuring it
would fail. The vote was 57-40 in favor of the cloture motion that required
60 votes to pass.
A Republican filibuster forced Democrats to seek a deal that would get them
the necessary GOP support to get the 60 votes to proceed. The Democratic cau
cus has 58 members, meaning they needed at least two Republicans to join the
m to overcome the filibuster.
'Don't ask, don't tell' fails in Senate Lieberman: Effort to repeal DADT not
over
RELATED TOPICS
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
U.S. Senate
Armed Forces
Reid had been negotiating with moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Mai
ne for her support, and he postponed a planned vote Wednesday to allow more
time for the talks to reach agreement.
However, Reid announced Thursday he was calling the vote to open debate on t
he defense authorization bill, saying it was time to act on it after months
of Republican obstruction and intransigence.
Collins, apparently caught by surprise, missed the start of Reid's speech an
d requested a chance to question him on the Senate floor. She reiterated her
support for repealing "don't ask, don't tell" and asked if the deal she had
been discussing with Reid on Wednesday still stood.
Reid indicated he would honor parameters of the deal, which would allow Repu
blicans to offer up to 10 amendments along with ample time for debate, but h
e refused to make an outright commitment. He blamed Republican leaders for t
he situation and praised Collins for being the only GOP senator he could eve
n speak to about a possible deal for her support.
In response, Collins said, "I am perplexed and frustrated that this importan
t bill is going to become a victim of politics. We should be able to do bett
er."
The vote then proceeded, with Collins joining Democrats in voting to open de
bate while one Democrat, newly elected Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, vo
ted with the filibustering Republicans. Manchin's opposing vote killed any c
hance for the Democrats to succeed.
President Barack Obama said in a statement that he was "extremely disappoint
ed that yet another filibuster has prevented the Senate from moving forward"
with the defense authorization measure that includes the repeal provision.
Noting support for repeal from the defense secretary, the Joint Chiefs of St
aff chairman and a majority of Americans, Obama said the "don't ask, don't t
ell" policy "weakens our national security, diminishes our military readines
s, and violates fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity and e
quality," Obama's statement said.
"While today's vote was disappointing, it must not be the end of our efforts
," Obama said. "I urge the Senate to revisit these important issues during t
he lame-duck session."
Gay rights advocacy groups, including those comprising military personnel, i
mmediately condemned the Senate vote.
"Today leaders of both parties let down the U.S. military and the American p
eople," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "Instead
of doing what is right, 'the world's greatest deliberative body' devolved i
nto shameful schoolyard spats that put petty partisan politics above the nee
ds of our women and men in uniform."
Solmonese added. "This fight is too important to give up despite this setbac
k and we will continue fighting in this lame-duck session. It's not over."
Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who caucuses with the De
mocrats, later said he believed that up to four Republican senators -- Colli
ns, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Richard Luga
r of Indiana -- might support a separate repeal proposal that he will introd
uce with Collins and Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado.
Before Thursday's vote, Reid complained that all 42 of the GOP senators have
pledged to block action on any measure before the chamber deals with extend
ing Bush-era tax cuts and authorizing government spending for the rest of th
e fiscal year.
The Democratic strategy appeared to be to try to persuade Collins to vote fo
r opening debate on the measure so that the two other Republicans who also h
ave expressed support for a repeal -- Brown and Murkowski -- also might do s
o. Murkowski announced her support for a repeal in a statement Wednesday.
Democrats were pushing for action now because the new Congress in January br
ings a Republican-controlled House and a diminished Democratic majority in t
he Senate, which will make repealing "don't ask, don't tell" more difficult.
Collins said Wednesday she had asked Reid to delay the vote until after the
Senate completes work on the package of tax measures negotiated by the White
House and congressional leaders, which Republicans consider a top priority
in the final weeks of the lame-duck session that ends in early January.
She also wanted Reid to schedule sufficient time to debate the defense autho
rization bill that contains the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal measure.
Both Reid and Collins, in their comments on the Senate floor Thursday, ackno
wledged an agreement for the debate to include up to 15 amendments -- 10 by
Republicans and five by Democrats. However, Reid appeared to oppose the requ
est to wait until the tax package had been passed.
Obama has been calling senators in both parties to urge their support, White
House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. Before Thursday's vote, Gibbs told
reporters that congressional repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" was the best
way forward, and he believed it could happen before the end of the year.
Obama has called for repealing "don't ask, don't tell" after years of debate
on the policy that detractors consider discriminatory. More than 400 milita
ry personnel were discharged under the policy in 2009, and a federal judge r
uled it unconstitutional in a case that is under appeal.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike
Mullen both have urged Congress to vote for a repeal. The measure before the
Senate, which has already gained approval in the House, contains a process
for implementing the change that requires certification from the president,
the defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs chairman.
Gates has warned that court challenges to "don't ask, don't tell" could forc
e an immediate repeal of the policy, rather than the process in the legislat
ion that would allow the military to manage the change on a longer timetable
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