DADT Repeal Appears To Have Sufficient Votes To Pass Senate
After passing the House yesterday, it now looks like there are enough yes votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the standalone repeal bill and head toward what will be a successful final vote:
Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown today voiced his support for a stand-alone repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, bringing the bill one vote over the 60-vote threshold that it will need to reach if and when the Senate votes on the measure in the coming weeks.
“Sen. Brown accepts the Pentagon’s recommendation to repeal the policy after proper preparations have been completed. If and when a clean repeal bill comes up for a vote, he will support it,” said Brown spokesperson Gail Gitcho.
Brown’s backing means that – on paper – supporters of the repeal have 61 senators in favor of the bill. On Wednesday Republicans Olympia Snowe of Maine and Lisa Murkowski both announced their support for the stand-alone repeal
In addition to Brown, Murkowski, and Snowe, Maine’s Susan Collins is also a yes vote and is in fact a co-sponsor of the standalone bill in the Senate.
Pending votes on the START Treaty and a budget bill, this should be before the Senate sometime early next week.
I await the reports of mass resignations from the military, beginning with the current Commandant of the Marine Corps…
I await the reports of soldiers shocked at how many of them have been rocking along special seamen.
I was reminded of this last night. Too bad I didn’t get a chance to put in the appropriate comment thread. The first US serviceman wounded in Iraq was US Marine Eric Alva, who is gay. See this interesting interview at Leatherneck