Posted on 12/18/2010 12:55:37 AM PST by Red Steel
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The US Senate will take a vote on Saturday morning to begin repeal the 1993 law that bans homosexuals from serving in the armed forces. The law is commonly referred by the name of an accompanying Pentagon enforcement policy called “Don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT).
The Senate will take up the stand-alone bill passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday by a vote of 250 in favor to 175 against.
The bill passed by the House is a “privileged motion”, which means the US Senate cannot add amendments and the time for debate is cut in half. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled the motion for cloture for Saturday morning. If Reid gets 60 votes in the Senate for cloture, a final vote is anticipated for Sunday or Monday.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said the cloture vote gave Senators no time to examine the Pentagon’s Comprehensive Review Working Group Report on repeal of the 1993 law or to assess the report’s findings and recommendations.
“If senators who want to retain responsibility for decisions affecting our military stay true to their own statements, there is no way in good conscience to vote for concurrence with the ‘privileged’ House bill to repeal the 1993 law,” said Donnelly. “The legislation is not amendable-our troops deserve better than this.”
Three Republicans, Sens. Scott Brown (Mass.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have indicated that they will break their pledge with the GOP caucus to filibuster all legislation until a spending bill is passed, and vote with the Democrat majority to repeal DADT.
Reid is scheduling the vote before the Senate has approved the short-term Continuing Resolution proposed by Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that will keep the government funded at current levels until February and replace the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill sought by Democrats.
It is not clear whether Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a DADT repeal supporter, will break the pledge and vote for cloture. If all four Republicans vote for repeal, it seems that Reid will have enough votes to break the GOP filibuster led by Vietnam veteran and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Only Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has broken with his party to oppose repeal. However, Talking Points Memo reports that there is a possibility that Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) may vote to join the GOP filibuster on DADT repeal. Conrad voted for DADT repeal when it was part of the failed defense authorization bill, but now Senate Democrats are uncertain as to how he will vote on the stand-alone bill.
CORKER: What’s happened is it’s poisoning the well on this debate, on something that’s very, very important….I’m just hoping that saner minds will prevail and that these issues that have been brought forth that are absolutely partisan, political, issues, brought forth to basically accommodate activist groups around this country. I’m hoping that those will be taken down or else I don’t think the future of the START treaty over the next several days is going to be successful, based on what I’m watching".
-snip-
Meanwhile, Greg Sargent has Corker doubling down. "That being thrown into the middle of this debate is causing many Republicans to want to see START pushed back and candidly is causing them to oppose it," Corker said in an interview. "This is hardening them against passage of this treaty."
Corker clarifies to Sargent: "I just want to make sure it's clear they're not going to oppose the treaty permanently," he said. "But it's hardening them against doing it right now."
Sen. Graham may vote against START, saying DREAM/DADT push has "poisoned the well." "The lame-duck is beginning to smell up the place.""
-end snip-
Perversion is his defining issue. This is going to be his epitaph. He went down swinging, he gave his all, to promote perversion. Thats his legacy.
Prayer is the only thing that can truly stop the forces of evil. Reid is bent on cramming Hussein's agenda down our throat.
I heard Bill O'Reilly say the American people's phone calls and protests forced him to pull the ominibus bill. Bullcrap. What forced that dangerous communist from Searchlight was his own party's senators not supporting it...I don't care if the American people were 60% against it (healthcare), if Reid the punk has the votes, he'll shove it down our gullets.
“Don’t ask, Just blow” is just another affront to civilization by these humorless destructors (aka DIM asshats).
They should vote against START anyway. No matter what they do with DADT. A Judge has already thrown out DADT and it will eventually be abolished by the courts (not that we should suffer that in silence). It is stupid to trade a vote for START to drop DADT. Just dumb, stupid and dishonest.
On Saturday morning.
Don’t even ask.
And don’t tell the people.....
Merry Christmas. The is the beginning of the end. No military to support anymore, just what the hell is FedGov™ good for anyway? Send in the faggots.
well reid may be Pushing it but if Republicans stand together it WILL NOT PASS,Unfortunately we have Scumbags in the Republican Party as well.
God Help the United States Of America
I’d like to ram the bill somewhere myself, but unfortunately, they would like that.
collins, snow, MURKY, and brown already said they would vote for homosexuals.
(way to go alaska)
FNC is saying it is a done deal.
Reid thinks he has the 41 we need to push that down.
SUPPORT THE TROOPS BUMP!!!!!
Why would a gay in the military want to be open? If anything happens to them can they sue?.
McCain says most gays just want to high five each other in the liberal bastions around the country than to join or do they even know anyone in the military. In other words, they just want to screw with the country.
Durbin we need more dentists in America...support the Dream Act. Lame. Oh, Turbin Durbin is now showing his alien portraits again, like last night.
I think the gays are keeping something hid on what they really want it’s much more than just the high five stuff.They always go for the point of no return still wonder what they want?.
how many senators are so stupid they rely on their staffers?
(remember Mehlman of the GOP)
Many government staffers are homosexuals and this is just stupid senators doing what they are told. (snowe, meet her and see how stupid she is)
Is anyone having success with their senators? democrat senators?
A judge only imagined he tossed it out. The Constitution doesn’t give judges jurisdiction over military rules. That’s reserved to the Congress and the Commander in Chief (quite cleverly so in the Constitution).
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