The stand-alone Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal measure is set for a cloture vote in the senate on Saturday, with a final vote possible on Monday, and both of Alaska's senators have agreed to vote for it!
Senator Murkowski's spokesman Michael Brumas verified on the phone on Thursday:
"Senator Murkowski will vote in favor of DADT cloture on Saturday morning. She will also vote to repeal DADT when it comes to a vote on Monday."
The comment was made to clarify an earlier statement. A blog post titled Snowe and Murkowski Vow To Vote For DADT Repeal quoted Brumas as saying:
"Sen. Murkowski will support a stand-alone repeal of the DADT law. With the tax package out of the way, and legislation to fund the government on a glide path to passage, Sen. Murkowski will vote to move to DADT when it is brought to the floor."
That did not sound like a 'vow to vote for' this repeal measure, and a Facebook friend of Bent Alaska asked her office for an explanation. Murkowski recently expressed support for repealing DADT, but voted against cloture on the repeal last week when it was attached to the defense budget. Repeal supporters were disappointed by her no vote and want to be sure we understand her position on the current measure.
Senator Murkowski is still being pressured by opponents to vote against this repeal measure.
Please call Sen. Murkowski today, thank her for supporting all of our troops and remind her to vote for S 4023, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, this session: 202-224-6665 (DC office) or 877-829-6030 (AK office).
The stand-alone DADT repeal passed the House by a wide margin on Wednesday, although Rep. Young voted against it.
A few hours after the House vote, several news sites said that Sen. Murkowski "announced" support for the stand-alone DADT measure, but they didn't quote or link the announcement.
Senator Begich continues to support the repeal of DADT and voted for cloture last week.
On Thursday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unexpectedly filed cloture on the stand-alone DADT repeal passed by the House and on the DREAM Act, and announced that he will hold the cloture vote on both measures on Saturday.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who introduced the stand-alone DADT repeal, said "We can get it done by Monday, maybe Tuesday at the latest, and then go back to the START treaty."
They expect to get the 60 votes needed to stop a filibuster by Sen. McCain. Here's the breakdown, according to the Advocate: of the 58 Democratic senators, 56 are likely to vote for passage (excluding Sen. Joe Manchin, who joined the last GOP filibuster of the defense authorization bill, and Sen. Ron Wyden, who was recently diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing surgery Monday); but the support of GOP senators Susan Collins, Scott Brown, and Lisa Murkowski brings the count to 59, and most believe Sen. Olympia Snowe will also come along since she stated support for repeal though not specifically for the stand-alone bill. A few other GOP senators, such as Richard Lugar and George Voinovich, are also potential votes.
It's going to be close!
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