When Republicans successfully mustered their entire caucus to block an up-or-down vote on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" on Tuesday, they were blocking a heck of a lot more. (...) As the party of "Hell no!" tries to convince voters that it has an affirmative vision for America, here's a look at just a few of the other rules Republicans didn't want to become the law of the land—from combating contractor corruption and reducing Uncle Sam's foreign footprint, to going green and caring for wounded warriors:
Revamping US Military and Foreign Policy ...
Anti-Corruption ...
Environmental Progress ...
Service Member Welfare ...
Disaster Response ...
Except Republicans did get plenty of say on this bill. That's how we got amendments like these:
* Prohibition on the use of funds for the transfer or release of individuals detained at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
~snip~
There's also this:
* Sense of Congress regarding recreational hunting and fishing on military installations.
And my favorite:
* Sense of Congress encouraging the President to order the United States flag to be flown over United States military and civilian outposts in Haiti during earthquake relief efforts.
Because what displaced Haitians really need right now is to see Old Glory flapping in the breeze from, you know, somebody else's enclosed shelter.
In the end, even these concessions weren't enough for Republicans to allow a majority vote on the overall bill. Why? ... it all comes back to one 573-word provision tucked into this 190,655-word bill. That provision, comprising three-tenths of 1 percent of the National Defense Authorization Act, is Section 536: "Department of Defense policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces."
We have this to be thankful for, at least: Conservatives have made it clear where their legislative priorities lie.
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