Don’t believe Collins and Brown until their votes are counted and the ink is dry.
Saying, “Democrats hoping to move forward with legislation other than tax cuts shouldn’t look to centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to break the logjam,” The Hill reports that GOP Senator Susan Collins will vote in favor of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” — sort of. Collins is standing by the Republican’s letter she and forty-one other senators signed promising no legislation will pass until the Bush Tax cuts are extended and the budget is set for next year.
“Collins is onboard. That makes 60 votes, enough to override a filibuster, provided all of the Democrats can be kept in line. But Collin’s vote comes with a big caveat, as Allahpundit notes:
Collins, at least, is sticking by the GOP’s plan to vote no on everything until a deal is reached on the Bush tax cuts. Brown’s statement doesn’t address the subject, but since he also signed the Republican pledge to make the tax cuts top priority, presumably he’s on the same page. Until something happens on taxes, this is all meaningless. Which brings us to the second qualifier: Will there be any time left in the lame duck to address DADT even after a deal on taxes is reached?”
BUT wait, there’s more.
The immensely-insightful Adam Bink writes this afternoon, “Will Scott Brown become the new Dave Reichert on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?”
“This afternoon, my crystal ball did it again, as Sen. Scott Brown put himself in a place to support DADT repeal and announced such. It’s great news. Unfortunately, Brown did not commit to voting for cloture on the underlying bill.
“Cue Joe Solmonese:
“The largest gay rights organization, Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Brown’s announcement was “welcomed†but ultimately “of little value†without a commitment to advance the underlying bill.
“The true measure of whether or not one supports an end to this policy will come as the Senate considers if they will begin debate on the defense bill. Make no mistake, a vote against the motion to proceed is a vote against DADT repeal,†HRC President Joe Solmonese said.
“Exactly right. Scott Brown will get no love from me if he tries to have it both ways by announcing he supports repeal and refuses to advance it, then turns around and says, gee, he tried his best. Not good enough, particularly because he nearly screwed us over by announcing his opposition in committee.”
Bottom line, ask yourself this: How many times have the Republicans voted AGAINST biulls they said they were for, even bills they sponsored, just to make Obama look bad?
Remember several key points:
1. Mitch McConnell
2. Mitch McConnell
In other words, McConnell, the Senate Minority Leader and #1 Republican got all his underlings to sign a letter stating NO legislation unless the Bush Tax cuts are exrended, AND McConnell has stated, even recently, his number one goal is to make Barack Obama a one-term president.
Not repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would accomplish that.
The New Civil Rights Movement
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