People For the American Way attended yesterday’s enrollment ceremony for the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal bill. Representatives and Senators stood alongside those discharged under this discriminatory policy to formally send the bill to President Obama for his signing. Each should be commended for their dedication to this cause, especially Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA8), a veteran himself and the lead House sponsor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010. From CNN:

There were many strong speeches during the House debate on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Part 1. Part 2.

I wanted to share three highlights with you now.

PFAW was just as disappointed as anyone to see last Thursday’s procedural defeat of the FY11 Defense authorization bill.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has been a failed experiment in discrimination—it has kept countless patriotic Americans from serving their country in the military, and sent thousands of brave men and women packing after honorable careers in the armed forces. For too long, an unjust, ineffective, and unpopular policy has been kept in place by the divisive politics of the far-right fringe. As Sec. Gates has acknowledged, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell won’t hold up for long in the court of law. The Senate’s refusal to end the policy at Sec. Gates’ request—and to sink an important Defense bill along with it—is short-sighted and irresponsible, and puts right-wing politics ahead of national security.

But we have called on you to keep fighting, in particular on behalf of S. 4023 – the stand-alone repeal bill introduced by Senator Lieberman, with Senators Collins, Gillibrand, Mark Udall, and 38 other cosponsors (as of 12/13).

On November 16, 1952, Lucy yanked the football out from under Charlie Brown.

Today, Senator McCain is doing the same to America. Majority Leader Reid:

Yesterday, Majority Leader Reid gave a floor speech about the Senate’s lame duck agenda.

The Senate Armed Services Committee closed its two days of hearings on the Pentagon’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell report with the testimony of the chiefs of the various armed services.

On November 30, the Pentagon released its Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell report, including:

With the fight to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell approaching a critical turning point, Senators Lieberman and Collins have called on the Pentagon to expedite its DADT report. Leaks from the report, due December 1, suggest that it will corroborate what experts have been saying all along in the DADT debate – that the policy could be repealed “with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts.”

With the House and Senate set to reconvene next week, we’re hearing a lot of talk about what will or won’t be considered, especially when it comes to the FY 2011 Defense authorization bill. PFAW and AAMIA have both supported the inclusion of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal, which passed as an amendment on the House floor and in the Senate Armed Services Committee. Now is the time – likely the only time for the foreseeable future – to close the deal on the Senate floor and send repeal to the President’s desk.

People For the American Way and African American Ministers in Action wrote to Congress today urging repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Votes are imminent in both the House and Senate.