Of course, it needed 60 votes, and the Senate is a useless, dinosaur institution which isn’t equipped to serve the purpose of governing anymore.
How they voted:
YEAs —57
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Coons (D-DE)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Franken (D-MN)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Specter (D-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs —40
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (R-MA)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
Kyl (R-AZ)
LeMieux (R-FL)
Lugar (R-IN)
Manchin (D-WV)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)
Not Voting – 3
Brownback (R-KS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Harry Reid is a piece of s**t.
Most Dems are feckless pieces of s**t-but voting for the other side is totally out of the question. As usual, we get screwed (but not in a good way). I never expected DADT to be done away with any time soon anyway.
@Chris L-I understand that you are frustrated and angry and hurt and disgusted. I am too. But simply putting all the blame on one particular politician because you don’t get what you want when you want it, does not do justice to the fight. There are lots of factors at work here. The Senate has been hijacked by people supported by Christian-Talibanists and their multi-national and multi-billionaire corporate backers (Koch Brothers!) who would rather shut down government than work with the party in power to get things done.
Before we begin to abandon the one party that actually supports us, please remember that FDR wanted Civil Rights Legislation in the 1930′s. He couldn’t get it passed even with supermajorities in both houses. FDR pressed for an anti-lynching law and still couldn’t get it passed during his administration. Did African-Americans then abandon the Democratic Party when they didn’t get what they were (long over)due? No. They continued fighting for their rights despite intense and deadly opposition. It took time, hard work, and dedication, but they eventually got the Civil Rights Act passed. I’m not saying we should simply wait. On the contrary we need to fight harder than ever before. But, calling our leaders “a piece of s**t” (even if it feels right) does not help.
Also, Chris L., comments such as yours do not add to the discussion. They detract from it. It makes it impossible to have civil discussion even in these LGBT friendly forums. It shuts down debate and discourse the life blood of democracy. That is what is most disappointing here.
SLDN points out that there are still options to move forward this year with repeal:
http://www.sldn.org/news/archives/for-talkers-key-points-at-this-hour-for-repeal/
Very good points, Nick. It’s not the Senate per se that’s the roadblock – it’s the neanderthal Republicans who have refused to cooperate on anything with this administration, and would gladly blow up the whole machinery of government to get their way.
Although Obama *could* fight a lot harder than he seems to have done up to this point. Very, very disappointing.
Though the Republicans are to blame for this vote the real blame lies with President Obama. From a post on another site:
1. The same person who promised in 2007 that, “As president, I will work with Congress and place the weight of my administration behind enactment of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act[MREA], which will make nondiscrimination the official policy of the U.S. military,” …and then sat on his a*s except to back Gates’ demand that the MREA be gutted.
“Pelosi said the House WEAKENED ITS REPEAL LANGUAGE TO MOLLIFY THE WHITE HOUSE. Military leaders REFUSED TO ACCEPT LANGUAGE THAT WOULD BAR DISCRIMINATION, so the clause was dropped.” – “The Huffington Post,” June 3, 2010.
2. The same person who promised in 2007: “I will task the Defense Department and the senior command structure in every branch of the armed forces with developing an action plan for the implementation of a full repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” ….and then backed Gates’ scheme to, instead, come up with a study that would push the vote to today’s disaster.
3. The same person who said in 2007: “That work should have started long ago. It will start when I take office,”….but….see “sat on a*s” above.
4. The same person who said in 2007: “America is ready to get rid of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. All that is required is leadership,”…and then refused to provide it.
5. The same person who Reid virtually begged LAST year to start providing that leadership.
“I therefore request that you bring to Congress your recommendations on DADT. Your leadership is greatly … needed at this time.” – letter from Harry Reid, September 2009.
6. The same person who Levin virtually begged in June of LAST year to start providing that leadership, saying, “This cannot be addressed successfully without that kind of leadership.”
7. The same person who had to be dragged by our allies in Congress to agreeing to support ANY vote in the House in May of this year.
“The final push [for ‘repeal’] came from the Hill, where key members of Congress who support ‘repeal’, like Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made it clear that they were moving forward with ‘repeal’ legislation with or without the White House’s blessing.” – “Talking Points Memo,” May 26, 2010.
8. The same person who has asserted that DADT is Constitutional when the Supremes have never ruled on it.
9. The same person who’s refused to use his legal powers under federal law 10 USC 12305 to end gay discharges in the name of national security pending repeal even as he’s said they, “weaken national security,” and despite calls from Reid, Levin, Pelosi, and multiple other members of Congress to do just that.
10. The same person who fought to kill three legal challenges to DADT, succeeding in killing one, and is now fighting to have the two rulings against the ban overturned.
11. The same person being sued by the ACLU for perpetuating the Bush policy of giving gays discharged only 50% of the pay they have coming to them.
Of course there is much I do not know! But I cannot for the life of me and all others concerned understand “WHY” this is not repealed! It is long overdue and I think OUR PRESIDENT needs to SHOW his COLOR NOW! I know it will turn for good. Please do not become negative….. Concentrate on the repealing of this inhumane policy and it will happen…. It is in seeming defeat that victory loves to shine! Concentrate on the positive outcome and WE WILL SEE IT!
LOVE OVERCOMES!
Bravo Tim! Finally someone posting lucid, intelligent arguments. That is such a rarity on the internet and so refreshing when it actually happens. I wish more people posted like you did. You have just highlighted President Obama’s fatal flaw as a president: he is a constitutional scholar first and president second. President Obama is governing too much like a constitutional philosopher. He believes that the executive and legislative branches are co-equal branches of government in this nation and that the executive should stay out of legislative matters that involve creating laws. Once the laws are passed, then the executive branch should get involved according to the Constitution. Unfortunately what looks good in textbooks, does not always work in the real world. In practicality, these two branches of government should be working together at all stages of the legislative process to create just and fair laws that work for the betterment of our country, particularly when it comes to keeping promises made to LGBT constituents. Look, it’s great that we finally have a president who knows and understands the Constitution and how the legal process actually works. However, President Obama needs to get his mentality out of the classroom and realize that he is not “Professor-in-Chief” but “Commander-in-Chief.”
Although I have made many of these arguments I can’t take credit for the list. It is from a poster Michael@LeonardMatlovich.com on Joe.My.God. The sad part is at the very end he posted the image of the president as the Joker and because of it he’s being attacked as a racist instead of people addressing his very valid post.
That is why our political discourse is faltering. Posting a picture of the President as the Joker, Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse Tong, Pol Pot, etc. even after making valid arguments distracts from the point one is trying to make. Now, no one is concerned with the content of your argument, just how you said it.