Well looks like DADT Repeal got another challenger, this time from the head of the Armed Services committee, and democrat, Ike Skelton.
Ike Skelton Dares Obama to veto Defense bill with DADT Repeal
Now, the Senate version of the bill doesn’t contain funding for the second engine of the plane. So the magic of the House-Senate conference could bring the bill to Obama’s desk without anything veto-provoking within it.
But that doesn’t answer the political calculation that Skelton is raising. If the bill comes to Obama’s desk with the engine money in it, what’s the priority? Keeping a promise to the gay community or keeping a promise to his defense secretary?
Meanwhile, here’s Rogin’s account of just why exactly Skelton opposed placing a repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" in the defense bill. Was it to preserve Secretary Gates’ timetable for receiving the perspective of a Working Group he convened on how to repeal the ban before any legislative action, as many of the provision’s opponents desired? Apparently not:
So here's what he's doing. He's saying the only way he'll get the engine out of the defense bill would be if Obama were to veto the defense bill, thus killing the DADT repeal amendment. I expected this behavior from Republicans, but Democrats LOVE their pork just as much as Republicans do, evidently.
Let him know how you feel:
Washington, DC Office
Congressman Ike Skelton
U.S. House of Representatives
2206 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-2504
Telephone: 202-225-2876
Fax: 202-225-2695
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