I spent today with the family (parents, brothers, wives, and kids) having our Christmas celebration, and I am pleased to see that we’ve finally repealed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. (This is the roll call despite being labeled as a Small Business bill amendment). Surprise supporters were John Ensign of Nevada and Richard Burr of North Carolina, although they opposed cloture before they supported repeal.
On the other hand, the effort to achieve cloture on the DREAM Act failed, with five Democrats voting against it.
For some reason, brand new senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia missed all these votes. That looks bad. Maybe he had an excuse, but it’s hard to imagine what would suffice.
“I don’t care who you love,” Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, said as the debate opened. “If you love this country enough to risk your life for it, you shouldn’t have to hide who you are.”
Mr. Wyden showed up for the Senate vote despite saying earlier that he would be unable to do so because he would be undergoing final tests before his scheduled surgery for prostate cancer on Monday.
I wish Sen. Wyden a good surgery and a quick and total recovery. I’m proud of him for toughing it out to be there today.
Mr. Obama hailed the action, which fulfills his pledge to reverse the ban, and said it was “time to close this chapter in our history.”
“As commander in chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best-led and best-trained fighting force the world has ever known.”
It wasn’t easy, but it got done. Congratulations to everyone.
