Hoyer: Senate Has Votes Needed To Repeal DADT

[Tx4obama]

Source: Huffington Post

07:51 PM

The Senate has enough votes to pass a standalone repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has been told by Senate counterparts, he said in an interview with HuffPost Wednesday evening after the House approved its own version of the bill. ... SNIP ...

Hoyer said that his Senate partners say they have the votes, though he has no assurance yet from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) as to when it'll come up. ... SNIP ...

The repeal will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster; it won 57 votes last week. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has vowed to support it next time after missing the vote. Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who have expressed some level of support for repeal, could cast the deciding votes.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said he was still open to voting for repeal, raising the possibility that if it becomes clear the repeal has 60 votes, several other Republicans may switch and support it in order to get on the right side of history -- and avoid interrogation from grandchildren over the holidays who have long since discarded the prejudice that underlies the policy.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/hoyer-senate-votes-dadt-repeal_n_797426.html

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Edited at add

The Republican Senators that I believe will cast a 'yes' vote for the repeal of DADT are:
Olympia Snowe - Maine
Susan Collins - Maine
Scott Brown - Massachusetts
George Voinovich - Ohio
John Ensign - Nevada
Lisa Murkowski - Alaska
Mark Kirk - Illinois

[Nite Owl]

1. Finally!

:party:

[bluestateguy]

2. Why should we believe him?

What knowledge does Steny Hoyer have over the US Senate?

[Tx4obama]

4. Because ...

Hoyer said that he's been working closely with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

So they've been keeping him up to date on what's up in the Senate.

[pnwmom]

14. We'll find out. But his credibility is on the line and he knows it.

And figuring out what votes people are going to make is part of his position.

[FarLeftFist]

16. Won't we just go back to...

When the only regulations on the books were the UCMJ, which states that homosexual behavior is "incompatible with military service" and requires that...if a unit commander suspects a subordinate of being gay...he is to investigate (including asking the soldier out right). If the commander discovers that the soldier is gay, he is obligated to initiate discharge procedures. If all congress does is repeal DADT, then we're right back where we were BEFORE gays had DADT protection. Please tell me I'm missing something.

[Tx4obama]

22. Maybe there is a fix in the DADT repeal bill to amend the UCMJ.

I do not know if Congress has to amend the UCMJ or if it can be amended by Executive order.

From Wikipedia:

The UCMJ was passed by Congress on 5 May 1950, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, and became effective on 31 May 1951. The word Uniform in the Code's title refers to the congressional intent to make military justice uniform or consistent among the armed services.

The current version of the UCMJ is printed in the latest edition of the Manual for Courts-Martial (2008), incorporating changes made by the President (executive orders) and National Defense Authorization Acts of 2006 and 2007.

[No Elephants]

26. Reagan's EO said no gays in the military

[Tx4obama]

28. Obama can nullify Reagan's EO with a new EO...

after Congress votes for the DADT repeal.

[Major Hogwash]

3. It's going to happen!!! It's going to be a landslide!!!!

Those few who vote against it will be voting against the will of the American people!!

[Skinner]

5. I think it's gonna happen.

:thumbsup:

[Very_Boring_Name]

6. Didn't they say that before the last DADT vote?

[Tx4obama]

8. Sorta yes, sorta no - but it is different this time

The problem with the last DADT vote was that the repeal of DADT was attached to the Defense Appropriations bill and the handful of Republican senators that wanted to vote 'yes' to repeal DADT ended up voting no because they had issues with the fact that the Defense bill wouldn't have enough debate time and enough amendments allowed to be added.
But now that the DADT repeal is a stand-alone bill, those issue are no longer an issue :)

[yurbud]

7. why didn't they do this BEFORE the election?

[Tx4obama]

10. The election doesn't really matter much at all at this point

The republican Senate folks that won their races November 2nd don't take office until January 5th.
Well, except for the 'one' republican that already has been sworn into Obama's old seat in Illinois, Mark Kirk, that replaced a democrat Roland Burris. So, there is only 'one' senator different now than before the election.

(there have been two other senators sworn since the Nov 2nd election that won their special elections, but they are two dems that replaced two dems, so they didn't change the demographics of the senate)

[Pirate Smile]

13. Those Republicans wouldn't vote for it .

[pnwmom]

15. You want the best outcome, don't you? They must have decided

that they'd have a few more votes in the lame duck period than before or after.

[Paladin]

9. Talk Is Cheap, Hoyer. How About Some Follow-through? (n/t)

[Tx4obama]

11. What kind of follow-through are you talking about?

Hoyer is a member of the House not of the Senate.
What is it that you'd like for him to do?
I'm curious.

[Demeter]

12. Meethinks the Democrats (below WH Level) Can Read the Writing on the Wall

Fear is a powerful motivator.

[dave29]

17. Please!

It is way past time.

[WheelWalker]

18. It is going to happen. This is a big fucking deal. nt

[Johnny2X2X]

19. Wow

If START and the Tax Deal go through, this could be one hell of a week in DC.

[Tx4obama]

20. Harry Reid warns of a working weekend ahead

SNIP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid warned his colleagues Wednesday that they will be in session this Sunday, given the long list of unfinished business for the lame-duck session.

After the vote on the tax-cut package Wednesday afternoon, Reid plans to bring the START treaty to the floor, followed by the omnibus spending bill, a schedule he said will keep the Senate here over the weekend and beyond.

SNIP

After the spending bill and START are off the Senate’s plate, Reid said the DREAM Act, aid for Sept. 11 workers and approving nominations from the White House would come next.

Earlier this week, Reid warned the Senate could return after the Christmas holiday and work through the official end of the session in early January. The last time this occurred was 1995, when the government shut down and Congress returned after the holiday to approve funding.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46418.html


p.s. I'm not seeing the DADT repeal in the list of to-do items up above, but that doesn't mean that he couldn't bring it on at anytime he wishes to do so :)

[alcibiades_mystery]

21. It's an extremely short bill

The whole thing can be handled in an hour and a half of Senate time. Call the cloture vote, debate for 45 minutes per side, cloture it for a vote, and repeal this monstrosity.

Tomorrow afternoon would be nice.

[Tx4obama]

23. UPDATE: We now have 62

UPDATE: Dec. 16, 10:05 a.m. -

The Senate has at least 62 votes to repeal the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Thursday morning.

"I have to give Joe Lieberman credit. We were told, Steny Hoyer was told by the Senate leadership, and particularly by Senator Lieberman -- Senator Collins and I will give her credit too, she has been good on this from our standpoint -- that if we passed it as a separate bill that would help," Frank said on the Sirius XM Satellite Radio show "POTUS." "There are at least 62 senators -- more than the 60 that is needed under that outrageous filibuster rule, but at least we have even met that -- who are committed to repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' It was tied up with other things and they said they couldn't do it until they got a tax bill worked out, until they got the spending bill. All the obstacles that people have said existed to a straight up-or-down vote have now been met. And unless there are some liars in the Senate, we are going to get this done."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/hoyer-senate-votes-dadt-repeal_n_797426.html

[savalez]

24. But will there be time to vote?

According to TPM "Proponents of repealing the military's ban on openly gay servicemembers have enough votes in the Senate to get it done this year. The only thing standing in the way of ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell now is time."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12/report-scott-brown-and-lisa-murkowski-back-dadt-repeal.php?ref=fpa

[Tx4obama]

25. They should be able to get it done within 24 from start to finish

if they try hard ;)

p.s. We just lost one of our dem 'yes' votes - Senator Wyden is going to have surgery for prostrate cancer, today is his last day at the senate until the new session starts January 5, 2011.

[No Elephants]

27. Here's hoping. Be nice to remove another Jim Crow law. DOMA next!