The Pentagon, President Obama, and Pelosi’s House of Representatives couldn’t convince a united GOP in the Senate to break a filibuster threat to overturn “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – the Clinton-era military policy that bans homosexuals from openly serving in the military.
The Senate voted 56-43 to prevent the opening of debate on the “National Defense Authorization Act”, including Democrats Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas (in the midst of a serious re-election battle) and Mark Pryor also of Arkansas. The Majority Leader Harry Reid voted against opening debate also, which means he can bring the bill back up for discussion at a later time (perhaps during a lame duck session?).
In February, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, told a Senate Armed Services Committee:
“We have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens,” Mullen said. “For me, personally, it comes down to integrity: Theirs as an individual, ours as an institution.”
Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner voted for debate to begin.
The bill, which ostensibly is a military funding bill, contains the DADT language also. Of the bill, Webb said:
“As our men and women in uniform continue to place their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan, now is not the time to hold up the critical funding they need by persisting in a filibuster of the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill will improve the quality of life of our all-volunteer force and their families; it should not be delayed.
“I understand the concerns that have motivated Senator McCain and others. However, this was merely a vote to proceed to the bill. If they had ended their filibuster, then Senators would have been free to offer and vote on amendments regarding Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, The Dream Act, and other amendments as part of the larger consideration of the bill.”
Of course, Webb knows that the likelihood of being able to amend the DADT language out of the bill is exactly 0%, given the vast majority Dems have.
The Pentagon itself is moving forward with a survey of servicemembers and their families on their reaction to the proposed policy change. Webb says the senate should still wait for the survey to be completed and assessed before the Congress moves forward on any legislative changes to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
However, Senator John McCain, who led the filibuster charge, in a confirmation hearing yesterday for commandant of the USMC, Gen. James Amos, called the survey a “political ploy.”
