The only Democrat who opposes repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). All others support it. So why did only 56 out of 58 Democrats vote for it today?
“Senator [Blanche] Lincoln didn’t make it back to this vote because she was in a dentist chair, and ran back and missed it by three minutes,” Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told reporters tonight. “She was very frustrated and apologized to both of us.”
“I would like to have been recorded as voting yes,” Lincon said on the floor when she arrived, too late to record a vote. “Had I been here I would have voted yes.”
The clean-toothed Lincoln lost re-election in Arkansas this November, and will be replaced next year by Rep. John Boozman, who supports the continuation DADT as-is — and might well suffer through a painful cavity to make sure it isn’t repealed.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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