[Riot]

How about the completely hypocritical jackwads who said, "Oh, I'm in favor of repeal, I'll vote for that!" but just voted to not bring it to the floor so they could vote on it! Two-faced political suck ups. And Blanche Lincoln? Loser.

Let's be really clear what happened here: DADT needs 51 votes to be repealed. It had 60. But the GOP filibustered it, including Senators who said they would vote in favor of repeal (!) so the 57 filibuster break votes was not sufficient, so it could not be brought to the floor and repealed.

The minority of 40 prevented the overwhelming majority of 60 in the US Senate from passing a bill to repeal DADT.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a lead proponent of repeal, promised after the vote to introduce stand-alone legislation quickly to repeal the ban. "Reid [told Lieberman] he would bring it up by the end of lame duck," a Reid aide said. "That is all that I know right now. And Reid will cosponsor it."

Sens. Brown and Murkowski had previously said they supported repeal of DADT but demanded an "open amendment process" to ensure Republicans can make changes to the defense bill. Reid, in turn, offered Collins 15 amendments -- 10 for Republicans and five for Democrats -- but she countered with a request for four days of floor debate.

Democrats on the floor conferred closely with Manchin, apparently in hopes of changing his vote. If he switched and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) showed up to vote, Democrats would've gotten to 59, putting even greater pressure on Murkowski, but particularly on Brown, who is up for reelection before a liberal electorate in 2012.

An aide to Reid said that he wasn't immediately aware if the Majority Leader knew that Manchin was going to vote no. The West Virginia Democrat did, however, express his desire to review the issues more fully and was giving off indications that his vote was gettable. "I would say that if he was somehow the 60th vote, I do not think he would have voted the way he did," the aide said.

Reporters in the gallery watched closely for Lincoln, who ultimately arrived a considerable time after the vote ended. "I would like to have been recorded as voting yes," she said to a largely empty chamber. Lincoln, whose two-term career ends at the end of this session, was told that the rules do not allow such a revision. "Had I been here I would have voted yes," she said.

It's clear that Republicans don't want to hold a vote on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'" Reid said. "They want to block a bill on this at all costs, even if it means not passing the defense authorization bill for the first time in 48 years."

The defense authorization bill also includes a number of other provisions, including bonuses for service members and improved health coverage for troops, Reid pointed out. He said the bill is necessary and must move forward.