Senate to Drop ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal
Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain of the Armed Services Committee are reportedly working to shelve the legislative effort to end the military’s ban on openly gay service members.
With a diminished Democratic majority in the Senate, an incoming Republican House and an administration that lacks genuine enthusiasm for the cause, there doesn’t appear to be any champions willing to fight it out in the lame duck session on behalf of gay and lesbian troops.
Seventy percent of Americans, according to Gallup, favor allowing gay men and women to serve openly in the military. — PZS
Wait, before you go…The Wall Street Journal:
Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan and John McCain of Arizona, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are in talks on stripping the proposed repeal and other controversial provisions from a broader defense bill, leaving the repeal with no legislative vehicle to carry it. With a repeal attached, and amid Republican complaints over the terms of the debate, the defense bill had failed to win the 60 votes needed to overcome a procedural hurdle in the Senate in September.
A spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, who opposes the repeal, confirmed he is in talks with Mr. Levin on how to proceed on the defense bill but didn’t provide details.
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