In a historic vote, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is repealed. But the “Dream Act” dies for lack of a filibuster-proof majority.

As a veritable log jam of legislation gets broken up in the  Senate, December 18th will doubtless go down as one of the more momentous days in the recent history of the U.S. Congress.
Shortly after noon, Pacific Time, the Senate voted 65-31 to end the 17-year-old discriminatory policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prevented gay and lesbian soldiers and sailors from serving in the U.S. military without constant fear of being discharged. According to the Washington Post, more than 13,000 service-members have been expelled from military under the policy since 1992. In swift fashion today, the Senate first voted to end debate on the repeal measure, and then voted to pass the repeal measure itself.
It was a stunning development for several reasons, most notably because the repeal vote broke up what, until today, has been a virtual wall of Republican resistance to moving any controversial legislation through the body.  (thus snuffing the threat of a filibuster, the tactic that the Republican minority in the Senate  has used to bottle up literally hundreds of bills passed by the House of Representatives in 2010.)
Passage of the repeal succeeded against solid opposition from the Senate’s minority leadership, and especially former 2008 Republican Presidential candidate John McCain.
A high profile bill that didn’t survive a cloture vote (to end debate) was the “Dream Act.” Sponsored by Senator Richard Durbin and Rep. Howard Berman, the Dream Act would have allowed alien minors to have a path for citizenship if they:
•entered the country before the age of 16;
•lived in the U.S. at least 5 years before the bill’s enactment;
•have graduated from a U.S. high school, or obtained a GED, or been accepted into a college or university.
•have demonstrated good moral character.
Although once a bipartisan initiative, the Dream Act has lost favor over time among Republicans. The legislation passed the House of Representatives last week, but even though the vote to bring it to the floor of the Senate this morning receive 55 votes (versus 41 against), it still fell short of the 60 votes needed to preclude a filibuster.
Shortly after the vote to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” passed the Senate, President Obama released the following statement:
Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend. By ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.
As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known. And I join the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of service members asked by the Pentagon, in knowing that we can responsibly transition to a new policy while ensuring our military strength and readiness.
I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done. It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly. I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.