With remarkable speed, political momentum in Congress is mounting in support of finally repealing the controversial Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, with key votes scheduled tomorrow.
So far today, OpenLeft blog reported that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson – thought to be a possibly no vote on the Senate's armed services committee – will vote to scrap the policy:
I just received a phone call from a senior official in Senator Ben Nelson's office, who told me Senator Nelson is going to vote in favor of repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the Senate Armed Services Committee later this week.
The newly-elected Republican congressman Charles Djou – who won the congressional seat containing Barack Obama's childhood home last weekend in a special election – is also on board with repeal:
Charles Djou, a Chinese-American from Hawaii, serves as a captain in the Army Reserves and is a staunch opponent of the failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
Elsewhere, Brian Beutler of TPM has a good background piece on how repealing DADT got moved back to the top of the political agenda after several stalled attempts:
What made Democrats on the Hill so antsy to get moving? Undoubtedly the looming losses expected in the November elections played a big role. If Congress waited until after the pentagon's report was released in December, then DADT would be kicked to the next Congress, where Democratic majorities in both chambers are expected to be much smaller.
