Does the same go for the 26 Democratic members of the House that voted against DADT [repeal]?? --------------------------------
Uh oh! Tom? On Dec 22, 10:27 am, Mark <[email protected]> wrote: > Does the same go for the 26 Democratic members of the House that voted > against DADT?? > > > > On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 9:19 AM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > > I disagree. > > > 31 Republican Senators voted against stand alone DADT repeal. They > > have now blatantly exposed their stand alone homophobia. John McCain, > > who attempted to filibuster DADT repeal, is the worst of the lot. We > > must now vote all 31 of them out of office. > > > On 12/18/10, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Like we told you a long time ago. Bring it up by itself and it will > > > pass. Instead you kept trying to blame the votes against the Omnibus > > > earmark bill on the DADT alone. Someday you might learn something but > > > I kinda doubt it. Now maybe you will accept that some of the votes > > > against the Omnibus krep bill were against something other than DADT. > > > Although I doubt that too. You are far too wedded to blaming anything > > > that goes against what you want as being homophobic alone. Obviously > > > that is not so. > > > > On 12/18/2010 09:43 PM, Tommy News wrote: > > >> Victory! Senate Repeals ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, Despite 31 Republican > > >> No Votes and John McCain's Fillibuster Attempt. This is a long overdue > > >> victory for Civil Rights equality. Repeal of DOMA and Passige of ENDA > > >> and UAFA, and introduction of The American Equality Bill for Civil > > >> Rights are next. > > > >> Senate Repeals ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ > > > >> Drew Angerer/The New York Times > > >> Senator Joseph I. Lieberman gave the thumbs up as Majority Leader > > >> Harry Reid spoke at a press conference after the “don’t ask, don’t > > >> tell” vote. > > > >> By CARL HULSE > > >> nk WASHINGTON — The Senate on Saturday voted to strike down the ban on > > >> gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, bringing to a > > >> close a 17-year struggle over a policy that forced thousands of > > >> Americans from the ranks and caused others to keep secret their sexual > > >> orientation. > > > >> Clockwise from left, Senators Mark Udall, Joseph I. Lieberman, Susan > > >> Collins and Kirsten Gillibrand after a news conference on the repeal > > >> of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” > > > >> By a vote of 65 to 31, with eight Republicans joining Democrats, the > > >> Senate approved and sent to President Obama a repeal of the > > >> Clinton-era law, known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy critics > > >> said amounted to government-sanctioned discrimination that treated > > >> gay, lesbian and bisexual troops as second-class citizens. > > > >> Mr. Obama hailed the action, which fulfills his pledge to reverse the > > >> ban, and said it was “time to close this chapter in our history.” > > > >> “As commander in chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making > > >> this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as > > >> the best-led and best-trained fighting force the world has ever > > >> known,” he said in a statement after the Senate, on a preliminary > > >> 63-to-33 vote, beat back Republican efforts to block final action on > > >> the repeal bill. > > > >> The vote marked a historic moment that some equated with the end of > > >> racial segregation in the military. > > > >> It followed an exhaustive Pentagon review that determined the policy > > >> could be changed with only isolated disruptions to unit cohesion and > > >> retention, though members of combat units and the Marine Corps > > >> expressed greater reservations about the shift. Congressional action > > >> was backed by Pentagon officials as a better alternative to a > > >> court-ordered end. > > > >> Supporters of the repeal said it was long past time to abolish what > > >> they saw as an ill-advised practice that cost valuable personnel and > > >> forced troops to lie to serve their country. > > > >> “We righted a wrong,” said Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the > > >> independent from Connecticut and a leader of the effort to end the > > >> ban. “Today we’ve done justice.” > > > >> Before voting on the repeal, the Senate blocked a bill that would have > > >> created a path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants who came > > >> to the United States at a young age, completed two years of college or > > >> military service and met other requirements including passing a > > >> criminal background check. > > > >> The 55-to-41 vote in favor of the citizenship bill was five votes > > >> short of the number needed to clear the way for final passage of what > > >> is known as the Dream Act. > > > >> The outcome effectively kills it for this year, and its fate beyond > > >> that is uncertain since Republicans who will assume control of the > > >> House in January oppose the measure and are unlikely to bring it to a > > >> vote. > > > >> The Senate then moved on to the military legislation, engaging in an > > >> emotional back and forth over the merits of the measure as advocates > > >> for repeal watched from galleries crowded with people interested in > > >> the fate of both the military and immigration measures. > > > >> “I don’t care who you love,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, > > >> said as the debate opened. “If you love this country enough to risk > > >> your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are.” > > > >> Mr. Wyden showed up for the Senate vote despite saying earlier that he > > >> would be unable to do so because he would be undergoing final tests > > >> before his scheduled surgery for prostate cancer on Monday. > > > >> The vote came in the final days of the 111th Congress as Democrats > > >> sought to force through a final few priorities before they turn over > > >> control of the House of Representatives to the Republicans in January > > >> and see their clout in the Senate diminished. > > > >> It represented a significant victory for the White House, > > >> Congressional advocates of lifting the ban and activists who have > > >> pushed for years to end the Pentagon policy created in 1993 under the > > >> Clinton administration as a compromise effort to end the practice of > > >> barring gay men and lesbians entirely from military service. > > > >> Saying it represented an emotional moment for members of the gay > > >> community nationwide, advocates who supported repeal of “don’t ask, > > >> don’t tell” exchanged hugs outside the Senate chamber after the vote. > > > >> “Today’s vote means gay and lesbian service members posted all around > > >> the world can stand taller knowing that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ will > > >> soon be coming to an end,” said Aubrey Sarvis, an Army veteran and > > >> executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. > > > >> Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and his party’s > > >> presidential candidate in 2008, led the opposition to the repeal and > > >> said the vote was a sad day in history. > > > >> “I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand > > >> that we are doing great damage,” Mr. McCain said. “And we could > > >> possibly and probably, as the commandant of the Marine Corps said, and > > >> as I have been told by literally thousands of members of the military, > > >> harm the battle effectiveness vital to the survival of our young men > > >> and women in the military.” > > > >> He and others opposed to lifting the ban said the change could harm > > >> the unit cohesion that is essential to effective military operations, > > >> particularly in combat, and deter some Americans from enlisting or > > >> pursuing a career in the military. They noted that despite support for > > >> repealing the ban from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike > > >> Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, other military > > >> commanders have warned that changing the practice would prove > > >> disruptive. > > > >> “This isn’t broke,” Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, > > >> said about the policy. “It is working very well.” > > > >> Other Republicans said that while the policy might need to be changed > > >> at some point, Congress should not do so when American troops are > > >> fighting overseas. > > > >> Only a week ago, the effort to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” > > >> policy seemed to be dead and in danger of fading for at least two > > >> years with Republicans about to take control of the House. The > > >> provision eliminating the ban was initially included in a broader > > >> Pentagon policy bill, and Republican backers of repeal had refused to > > >> join in cutting off a filibuster against the underlying bill because > > >> of objections over limits on debate of the measure. > > > >> In a last-ditch effort, Mr. Lieberman and Senator Susan Collins of > > >> Maine, a key Republican opponent of the ban, encouraged Democratic > > >> Congressional leaders to instead pursue a vote on simply repealing it. > > >> The House passed the measure earlier in the week. > > > >> The repeal will not take effect for at least 60 days, and probably > > >> longer, while some other procedural steps are taken. In addition, the > > >> bill requires the defense secretary to determine that policies are in > > >> place to carry out the repeal “consistent with military standards for > > >> readiness, effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and > > >> retention.” > > > >> Multimedia > > >> Interactive Graphic > > >> How the Senate Voted > > > >> Timeline > > >> Congressional Action on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" > > > >> Blogs > > >> The Caucus > > >> The latest on President Obama, the new Congress and other news from > > >> Washington and around the nation. Join the discussion. > > > >> FiveThirtyEight: Nate Silver's Political Calculus > > >> More Politics News > > >> “It is going to take some time,” Ms. Collins said. “It is not going to > > >> happen overnight.” > > > >> In a statement, Mr. Gates said that once the measure was signed into > > >> law, he would “immediately proceed with the planning necessary to > > >> carry out this change carefully and > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
