The Democrats Finally Get It Done!

After all the compromising on other issues, the Democrats have finally passed legislation to end the Armed Forces policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." By a vote of 65 to 31, including eight Republicans, the up or down vote passed the Senate and will go to President Obama's desk for his signature.

Finally, an important promise made during his campaign has been kept by President Obama, righting the wrong that was done back under the Clinton Administration that forced gays and lesbians in the services to hide who they are.

For anyone who once respected Senator John McCain, I think his opposition to repealing DADT will be the final straw; his reinvention as a right wing idealogue is complete. From the article linked above:

"Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and his party’s presidential candidate in 2008, led the opposition to the repeal and said the vote was a sad day in history. 'I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand that we are doing great damage,' Mr. McCain said. 'And we could possibly and probably, as the commandant of the Marine Corps said, and as I have been told by literally thousands of members of the military, harm the battle effectiveness vital to the survival of our young men and women in the military.'"

Needless to say, some day people will look back on that comment and note the absurdity of it, especially since gay and lesbian service members have already been serving honorably in the armed forces all along, side by side with their heterosexual comrades in arms.

Even Joe Lieberman was on the right side of history, voting to repeal the act, and saying:

"'We righted a wrong,' said Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the independent from Connecticut who led the effort to end the ban. 'Today we’ve done justice.'"

Of course, the day wasn't all good - the DREAM Act that would have allowed young immigrants to gain a path to citizenship by joining the armed forces or attending college for two years, among other stipulations, was voted down. Despite passing by a majority (55-41), it lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

Something has to be done about the ability of opposition parties to filibuster just by saying they will. But that is a problem for another day.

Today is a day to rejoice.