Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell will get another chance. Republican Susan Collins and Independent Joe Lieberman say they plan to introduce a stand-alone measure in the lame-duck session, and Harry Reid says he's on board, reports MSNBC. It's no gimme by any stretch—opponents could try to talk it to death with amendments, for one thing, notes the Times—but "we're not going to give up," says Lieberman. Assuming it comes up after the tax issue is settled, it could theoretically pick up three decisive pro-repeal votes from Scott Brown, Lisa Murkowski, and Dick Lugar, writes Greg Sargent at his Plum Line blog.
The measure that failed today (by three votes) was part of a larger defense bill, and Harry Reid knew it was going to fail when he brought it up for vote, writes Sargent. So why did he do it? He figured it was doomed anyway—that even if he had agreed to Collins' demands for four days of debate, others wouldn't abide by that deal. "You can talk about four days until the cows come home," an aide tells Sargent. "That has very little meaning for Coburn and DeMint and others who have become very skilled at grinding this place to a halt." (More Harry Reid stories.)
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