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now when was the last time the president aristide to chairman of the joint chiefs for the defense
secretary add up to seventy five percent of the american people
all agreed on
well anything really
but it turns out this time incredibly they all
all agree
on repealing the policy known as don't ask don't tell which bans gays and lesbians from
serving openly in the military
so they should be an easy win right
of course not
back going as usual in my opinion especially after serious flaws in the election democrats
like senate majority leader harry reid
now say that without republican operation
they might not even be able to debate the issue
back cooperation appears far less likely
out of the midterms especially when you consider the report on the hill which raised quote
senators carl levin of michigan and john mccain of arizona the top democrat a republican on
the senate armed services committee are in talks on stripping the proposed repeal from
our broader defense still leaving their appeal with no legislative vehicle they carried too
which i say oblong
our press of course it's gone
now joining us john r roses
he's editor at americablog busted contact he's a political columnists and salon dot
com
by john first are you surprised that the democrats are mighty caving in to do you think they
are
dot known of course they are on the you know it is as big as the congressman said is a
leopard changes stripes or whatever the hell was
fight you know not a problem for the democrats on so many progressive issues and god knows
were having on gay issues
is they came
as you said don't ask don't tell is bowl between seventy and eighty percent for repeal in like
ten tolls in a row
the defense department at least the senior leadership there at the chairman of the undersecretary
onboard you've got the present on board
but then we come to getting the votes
you don't really fine salary i think doing enough and frankly don't see president obama
doing enough to get as the votes and now to talk about killing it yet again what a surprise
see what's logic behind i mean if you're a political party yet
i mean there was one poll that had a that seventy percent approval you've got even a
majority through service in grief
so what's the logic of bottling up what i mean i think what's happening here is this
you not for the first time this is a big important issue that's getting caught up in the incomprehensible
politics of the u_s_ senate for the issue sort of being held hostage by republicans
were using as a bargaining chip in
wealthy take this thing off the table maybe we'll give you start review every exact logic
is ready there's an opportunity in if the president obama and it would be
sort of an until bomb a like a move when you look at his presidency so far but he has i
believe he has the power issues executive order on this hitting anything over night
and i think he would change the way the issues for instead of having this his incomprehensible
debate the senate where you know there's an amended for this the amended for another obama
can ishii executive order to simply dear the republicans to say do you want to take legal
action you wanted legislative steps to try to reinstate this policy and that's right
seventy percent unicycle obama stars come into play because then i think you'd have
republicans to be saying you know what this is not a fight we would have right now let's
just let the state and let's move on to be republicans making noise but the party would
be divided angers opportunity for a bomb to do that
willie directly naively is way yet the i see this conference and with the day
weakest you just say
they were on this site will long with seven of seven there'd be more pressure on the other
side does not have an office
so-and-so let me go to having do you think that president while the candidates should
he do that
is it a good strategy
he can do it he should do it and it is a good strategy but i agree with the with the other
guest
by this president doesn't import i don't know why don't we see it on health care reform
god knows we sought on the stimulus he didn't ask for the amount of money he thought he
needed and frankly hairy *** for the entire amount of money and republican said no
weaker blamed the the economy on them right now
but for some reason someone in the white house had problems the president himself
thinks boulders batter bold is dangerous and that's what we need right now otherwise
this is gonna be a disaster for the president the gay community is is not going to take
this anymore exam by the way he john is right and it looked you had uh...
public option which had nearly seven percent approval rating right white house videosift
why why do you like these images
i need campaign finance reform huge
people hate citizens united
eighty percent of republican status it is united actual boaters
and they don't do anything on it and the list goes on and on
so it now for the report was of course are gonna be aggressive then or after democratic
senators a steep alone after mansion
he just got elected as a democrat of west virginia and they're trying to steal 'em according
to some reports including from foxes dot com uh... what do you think it is mention open
to that no i don't think so i think the timing is is really bad because he just got elected
he just got elected after republicans spent five million dollar seems part of the obama's
socialist agenda
but i think it does raise an issue we have to look at in the next congress now is between
joe mentioned
joe lieberman in bed nelson figure to be sort of the three most conservative across the
senate all of them are up for re-election in two thousand twelve all of them were cordial
in at least nelson mission or potentially facing hostile lectured states that really
don't like the democrats really don't like rock about mine if you can think that's the
last sort of watershed republican election we had like this in nineteen ninety-four within
the first five months after the nineteen ninety-four midterm elections two democratic senators
actually switched sides ben nighthorse campbell and richard shelby switched the republican
party so historically there's that window here for the sort of conservative democrats
to come over i think the saving grace the democrats might actually have is the example
of arlen specter from earlier this year because i think i got a commissioner guy like nelson
looks at specter who switched parties to try to save his height and they found out that
the other parties electorate wasn't gonna have any of it saying if you look at the republican
primary elected today a guy like ben nelson knows if he goes and switches the republican
party iraq renominate all your ideas o_j_'s winnie
and lieberman bad does have a hard sell liquor but it does any one of our ministry with him
their hearts so you know there are difficult
john you know and on this man to think it will probably seem to be if the reports are
right
offer him about a billion dollars for coal project the one citizen sage
and then energy committee possibly
uh... is is there some hiring the republicans giving out a billion dollars and pork to get
this another democrat
beyond that we don't what's amazing to me isn't that the republicans of ratify officentre
with poor when
part of this election was about all the way washington does don we gotta change that
but frankly it shows the back on the republicans have these guys are fearless
there's still the minority in the senate and are fearless
our guys i'm not saying the democrat to be buying guides of pork but
change you know you wish for once the democrats have have a little backbone so the republicans
seemed and even the house is the same problem republicans always pulled this motion to recommit
out of their back pocket
and we'll pass creek threads that what's the motion to recommit
but it shut down all sorts of legislation when the republicans were in the minority
the democrats and minority and we are going to go i don't know what the filibuster i don't
know no it's the first
can you imagine harried say
how do you have come in for my senators
uncommon for years that if if is that the color of the example from the earlier and
i mean the between reading obama obama same joe lieberman's bought and what do you get
for it i mean we just
we don't hold our own guys online and we don't show boldness and i don't know why and it's
really frustrated sorry john endorses the practice a predominance test