Update: An extremely reliable source personally close to Sen. Bayh in Indiana, and formerly with his office, confirmed that Sen. Bayh will vote in favor, and said he released a statement to that effect this afternoon. The delay was as a result, I was told, of a tendency on the part of Sen. Bayh to avoid announcing positions on "social issues" early to avoid blowback. I haven't seen the statement anywhere in print, but I think that's that. We will have the votes in hand going into tomorrow. Thanks everyone for all your calls and organizing.
Just received confirmation that DADT-related votes on the Senate Armed Services Committee are going to be held tomorrow. The House is likely to vote late tomorrow, but possibly Friday.
An editorial in The Hill from SLDN ED Aubrey Sarvis urging those who want DADT repealed to weigh in now.
I just finished watching Chris Matthews on Hardball read a letter from a closeted gay soldier and editorialize in favor of repeal, and even gave out the Congressional switchboard number (202-224-3121) to ask viewers to call members of the Armed Services Committee and tell them to vote in favor of repeal. Good stuff.
HRC held an event today with discharged veterans and House repeal amendment sponsor Rep. Susan Davis to deliver 20,000 postcards from across the country urging repeal. One of the veterans was Walker Burttschell, a former U.S Marine discharged under DADT, who walked from Norfolk, VA to Washington, DC to raise awareness and deliver a message to Sen. Jim Webb.
The NYTimes editorializes in favor of the compromise, calling it "a path to full integration of the military." Which it is, and this is a step forward on that path.
Rep. Patrick Murphy's appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show last night. They're both frickin' great.
Rep. Murphy also sits down with Kerry at The Advocate to explain provisions of the compromise and how it came about.
Family Research Council's last-ditch assault is that repealing DADT will increase sexual assault. Which is funny because lots of countries who have repealed their bans say "um, no."
Johnny Mac- who, I found out, has a gay former chief of staff running his pander factory re-election campaign, is now threatening to filibuster the full defense authorization bill on the floor.
Richard Allen Smith over at VetVoice has a great open letter to Sen. Scott Brown, offering to sit down with him and actually read the DADT amendment.
As of 6:15 PM, Sens. Byrd has still not announced a position on the amendment. Sen. Bayh has not formally released a statement that I have seen, but see the top of this post for an update confirming he will vote in favor.
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