It appears that Harry Reid did not change his vote to no, which puts into question his ability to reintroduce the bill. (Anyone know for certain?)
This is just breaking from Joe Lieberman's Twitter Feed:
@JoeLieberman @SenatorCollins and I and others are introducing a free standing bill to repeal #DADT today.
@JoeLieberman Senator Reid told me he will bring our free-standing #DADT repeal up for a vote before end of session.
I'll update as imformation information (even) becomes available.
Oddly just a week ago, I said I'd handicap it's chances as better as a stand alone than attached to the NDAA. A complete reversal of what I would have said two weeks before.
I'm not sure about the all the procedural hurdles that might be needed to go through in these waning days. And of course, we'd have to pass a companion bill in the House. But that doesn't seem like a high bar.
Certainly both the policy and the repeal has had more ups and downs that Cedar Point and more deaths and resurrections than Jason Voorhees.
From The Hill:
The Connecticut independent said he would introduce the legislation as soon as today with language that mirrors an amendment to the defense authorization bill.
From the Washington Post:
"Is this the end of the road? It's possible that repeal could be brought up again as a stand-alone bill, the aide tells me. But this is unlikely, the aide adds, because such a move would be ripe for all sorts of procedural shenanigans."
JP Masser reminds me a House version would have to pass the House Armed Services Committee, which we bypassed last time with a floor amendment procedure because Chair Ike Skelton opposes repeal and there may not have had the votes there anyway. Getting around that will be a very high bar, actually.
Once again, a single bigot can veto the civil rights of millions of Americans.
More from Joe:
Senator Reid told me he will "Rule 14" the free-standing #DADT repeal so it skips cmte and can come directly to the Senate floor.
The Obama Adminstration shows its talent for great timing, releasing concurrent with the failure of their plan to repeal DADT:
DOJ: Gov't 'Will Not Stand' For Harassment Of LGBT Students
The Obama administration's top civil rights official on Thursday released a video as part of the "It Gets Better" Project, highlighting the work of the Justice Department defending gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students.
Gee, thanks DOJ. Nice to know you guys have our back on LGBT issues. By the way, how are your efforts at kicking that lesbian Major Witt out of the Air Force coming along?
Awkward.
I'd just like to say, in the last 2 days, the GOP has destroyed the lives of seniors, the unemployed, gays, and 9/11 rescue workers. Who's next?
It appears I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
From Servicemembers Legal Defense Network:
We’re not dead and any talk of it does not help repeal at this hour. Viable legislative options exist.
We support Sen. Lieberman’s plan to move a standalone bill. We also believe another viable option is the Continuing Resolution (CR) coming over from the U.S. House of Representatives.
If you're in the DC area, or not opposed to a little travel, SLDN is sponsoring a "Mission: Incomplete" rally on the Capital steps tomorrow. A host of other LGBT, DADT and progressive groups will be participating. Of course I'll be there.
WHEN:
Friday, December 10th
12 p.m.
WHERE:
Constitution Ave. & Delaware Ave. at Upper Senate Park
(Near U.S. Capitol)
Washington, DC
Closest Metro: Union Station (Red Line). Nearby: Capitol South (Blue/Orange), Judiciary Square (Red).
Eyes turn to the White House. From Human Rights Campaign: (Yes, HRC!)
Tell President Obama right now: End the discharges under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and stop defending this unconstitutional law in court.
In his State of the Union address last January, President Obama said he would work with Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" this year. But despite the House successfully voting to repeal the law, the Senate continued its filibuster.
Now it's up to President Obama to clean up Congress's mess. And the first step is for his administration to stop defending the law in court and embroiling "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in seemingly endless legal wrangling.
Also, as Commander in Chief, the President can issue an executive order to retain any soldier deemed necessary in a time of war – even though Congress has failed to remove the law from the books. President Obama must issue that order and end the discharges now.
Send your letter asking President Obama to honor his commitment to ending this law by giving up his Administration's defense of this unconstitutional, discriminatory law and by enacting a stop-loss order to prevent any more discharges.
Nancy Pelosi speaks:
@SpeakerPelosi If new Lieberman & Collins #DADT bill passes Senate, an army of allies stands ready to pass standalone repeal in House http://go.usa.gov/...
From the link:
The failure of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal, as part of the Defense Authorization bill, on a procedural vote in the Senate is a serious disappointment to the many who have worked so hard to close the door on a fundamental unfairness.
Since the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has broad support among Senators, our troops, and the American people, it is my hope that that the Senate will move forward with an alternative legislative method. The bipartisan proposal from Senators Lieberman and Collins provides renewed hope that progress is still possible in the Senate; an army of allies stands ready in the House to pass a standalone repeal of the discriminatory policy once the Senate acts.
Moving forward to end the days of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will honor the service and sacrifice of all who dedicate their lives to protecting the American people.
I like her.
Stonewall Democrats joins the chorus of gay groups turning their pressure directly on the Commander-in-Chief
Stop the discharges – ask President Obama to issue a stop-loss now.
Immediately after today’s vote, Sen. Udhall (D-CO), Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Collins (R-ME) announced that they'll work with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring a standalone bill to the floor repealing DADT; if it passes, it will have to go to the House for passage. While I acknowledge their last minute efforts to reach an agreement once and for all on repeal, I’m just not convinced that the Republicans will keep their word on repeal over the tax cuts for their extremely rich friends.
Sign the Petition
This is what happens when you play both sides against the middle. From Red State: (Hat tip to Shockwave, glad Shockwave went there so I didn't have to.)
Susan Collins Folds Like A Cheap Suit
Well, that didn’t last long. Today Susan Collins continued her career long practice of duplicity by reneging on her agreement with her caucus and voting for cloture on the pressing subject of legalizing buggery in the Armed Forces. A vote that failed.
See, you've made yourself a teabagger target. But Senator Collins? The gays aren't stupid either. We saw you vote against it on "process" in September. And we saw you flip-flop and flip-flop again and again this week. We saw Harry Reid dress you down on the floor of the Senate. He took you to task, explaining how you kept moving the goal posts.
Washington Note reported the day before:
Why not just give in and tell Collins she can have unlimited debate? Because Republicans really are desperate to kill the legislation, and the most far-right members will keep offering unrelated amendments indefinitely, running out the clock on the lame-duck session, and derailing the bill.
The aide told me, Collins is "basically asking for a unicorn for Christmas. We can't give her a unicorn."
So, is that it? Will Collins screw over gay servicemembers and blow off Pentagon requests over baseless procedural demands? That appears pretty likely.
You screwed repeal up, twice. And then you voted for it. After 40 Nay votes had been recorded. So, now, no one like you. This is what happens when you play political games with people's civil rights. There's no good compromise on equality.