Senate Sucks

Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said on Tuesday from the floor of the Senate that she would oppose efforts to advance debate of the defense spending bill, likely dashing hopes of those who want to overturn the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy this year.

A repeal of the military’s ban on allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly is attached to the broad piece of legislation that authorizes military spending.
Ms. Collins, who backs repeal of the policy, said she would nonetheless vote against moving forward with debate because of a dispute with the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, over whether Republicans would be allowed to offer amendments to the bill.

“I cannot vote to proceed to this bill under a situation that is going to shut down debate,” Ms. Collins said.
Republicans have accused the Democratic leadership of playing politics with the defense bill in an election year and have said they will filibuster the legislation. Ms. Collins, who voted for repealing the service ban in committee, had been seen as the best hope for breaking the filibuster.

Repeal is one of a series of promises that President Obama made in the early days of his administration, only to find that negotiations with Congress were more difficult than he had imagined. At the State of the Union in January, Mr. Obama called it a “law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are,” and he said repealing it was “the right thing to do.”

With midterm elections just six weeks away, a unified Republicans filibuster would likely mean a delay in fulfilling the president’s pledge until next year.

If the Democrats can’t muster 60 votes to cut off debate, the delay on “don’t ask, don’t tell” would be a blow to gay activists, members of a key White House constituency who fear that next year’s Congress will be less sympathetic to a repeal of the 17-year-old ban. The policy was enacted during President Bill Clinton’s first term.

The vote is scheduled for around 2:15 this afternoon.