What the Hell Was That DADT Vote Yesterday? (Updated):
That was some kind of kabuki shit yesterday in the Senate on the defense budget authorization bill with the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in it. Honestly, the Rude Pundit's having a hard time wrapping his head around this one. Sure, sure, it's easy to say, "Those GOP cocksuckers filibustered it because they hate the gays." And that's part of it. But this shit was just weird. We're left with a whole lotta fuck-you's and not a lot of sense.

Let's see: Fuck Susan Collins and her whiny ass voice and flat fucking koala bear face. She went to the floor of the Senate to take a mighty stand for the process over civil rights. Sure, she said, gays should be allowed to serve openly in the military because it's only fair. But, she added, "I cannot vote to proceed to this bill under a situation that is going to shut down debate and preclude Republican amendments. That too is not fair." You got that? Collins believes there's a moral equivalence between the persecution of gays in the military and Republican senators not being allowed to toss shit at the bill. When's it get to be compared to kristallnacht?

Fuck John McCain and anyone who said "Let's wait for the Pentagon study." The DADT provision said outright that there would be no implementation until after the magical questionnaire o' justice is done being tabulated by unbiased military people. (Seriously, has anyone else's civil rights been subject to the results of a poll?)

Fuck Harry Reid for hastily bringing this up in order to get progressives vaguely excited about something for the midterms. Sure, now he can say, "See? Those bastards block everything," but so fucking what? (And fuck the White House for doing nothing to help passage beyond a little press release. Hey, howzabout ending those discharges, your Commander-in-Chiefiness?)

Fuck anyone who says this is "playing politics." It's the Congress. Politics are always at play. You either support something or you don't, especially when it comes to fundamental rights. And, by the way, filibustering a defense bill used to be akin to treason. Now it's just part and parcel of the political landscape.

Face facts here. Republicans are just better at this shit than Democrats. They know how to play this game to win. Always. Look at what they're doing to Lisa Murkowski. Fuckin' strippin' her of her committee position almost immediately after she went rogue. That's a specific threat to anyone breaking ranks with the famiglia. Democrats didn't have the balls to do that to Lieberman.

This was an enormous clusterfuck of a failure on DADT. Sure, it'll come back after the midterms, in a lame duck session, but some of the wind has been taken out of the sails. Right now, the best hope is that Anthony Kennedy will make it all better at some point.

Update: Republicans have decided not to strip Murkowski of her ranking spot on the Energy Committee. Which means she must have pledged her grandchildren's souls that she'd caucus GOP if she wins. Or she has two less fingers.