NAME AND SHAME - DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST BACKGROUND CHECKS

Five Democrats voted against strengthening background checks for gun sales.

Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas
Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota
Sen. Max Baucus of Montana.
Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who switched his vote only to allow the measure to be called up again. 

Double shame on you, senators.

Four Republicans voted for the bill.

Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois
Sen. John McCain of Arizona

Thank you, senators.

The rest of the Republican senators, double shame on you.

MORE GOOD NEWS FROM ELECTION 2012

 

Besides the reelection of President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, Election 2012 resulted in other good news for Democrats.

•Democrats gained two seats in the US Senate.  In states where the incumbent stepped down, Democrats retained the seats.   Democrats gained seven seats in the US House of Representatives.

•Women now hold 20 seats in the Senate, a record, and a record number of seats in the US House.

•In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin was elected the first openly gay or lesbian member of the US Senate.

•The States of  Maryland, Maine, and Washington voted yes to gay marriage which brings the total to 9 states and the District of Columbia that allow gay marriage.

•Minnesota voted down a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman, which may make allow for the possibility of civil unions.

•Massachusetts voted to legalize the use of medical marijuana.

•The States of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana.  Federal law still prohibits recreational use of marijuana, so we'll wait and see how the laws will apply in practice.

DADT IN THE DUSTBIN OF HISTORY - YES!

From TPM:

With just a signature from President Obama, a ban on openly gay servicemembers will no longer be the law of the land.

By a vote of 65 to 31 this afternoon, the Senate voted to repeal the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

As with almost everything in the Senate these days, the vote for something is a lot less newsworthy than the vote to consider voting for something. Thus, the real fight was over whether repeal proponents could gather the required 60 votes to break a GOP filibuster, end debate and hold a final vote. They did that -- led by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) -- and repeal moved ahead earlier today.

Go ahead and smile, Harry. I give you permission to gloat. I'm gloating. It's way past time for the discriminatory and ridiculous policy to be repealed.

Back when Clinton announced the DADT policy, I thought, "How ridiculous and unworkable!" And so it turned out to be.

Congress is good for something, after all.