Not So Lame After All

It seems that President Obama's "caving in" to the Republicans and top 2 percent wealthy elites was not true at all. On Wednesday morning, the President signed the bill repealing the unpopular "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. On the same day, the Senate passed the START treaty and the 911 Responders Health Bill. This has been the most productive lame duck session of Congress in decades. Several Republicans like Senators Collins & Snowe promised to pass the Obama bills only after the Bush tax cuts were extended by Congress and it seems the other side kept their promise. Even the START treaty garnered 71 "yea" votes from the Senate surpassing the two-thirds requirement.

Republican Senator McCain remains bitter and seems to be preparing to make the transition to the new military rules very difficult. He is actively courting the Family Research Council (FRC), an anti-gay conservative Christian group. Tony Perkins, the FRC's leader said this "I’ve already been in conversations with Hill leaders about holding hearings in the New Year, as well as statutory and legislative oversight steps that can be taken to turn back aspects of the repeal and slow down–if not stop–the rest. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others will be working with FRC to put a strict evaluation process in place. We want to ensure that the Pentagon is monitoring the effect of this radical change on the men and women in harm’s way. One way to do that is demanding specific measurables–like tracking the sexual assaults, dips in recruitment and retention, combat distractions, and more. If there’s the slightest disruption to the military’s mission, you can bet that FRC will be on the Hill, demanding to revisit this repeal." They want to sue the government to stop implementation of the new law. It seems when they want something changed in government they are more than happy to go to a judge for help. That's in contrast from last September, when the FRC accused Judge Virginia Phillips’ ruling on DADT as the "very definition of judicial activism".

You can bet that the next two years leading to the next Presidential election will be the most contentious, expensive and partisan we have yet to see.