I complained of Republicans blocking a vote on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" yesterday -- something I'm strongly in favor of. But as it turns out, that's not the whole of the story.
Over at Redstate, Dan McLaughlin explains how Democrats tied a vote on immigration reform onto a vote on defense appropriations -- which included "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The so-called DREAM Act is somewhat related to defense in that it would allow illegal aliens to earn citizenship by serving in the military or enroll in college, but it's understandable that Republicans didn't appreciate having to say "yes" to both at once.
I'm all in favor of freer immigration as well and the DREAM Act sounds like a smart idea but this unnecessary trick on part of the Democrats makes no sense. If they want to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", why attach it to a vote on immigration reform which they could perfectly expect Republicans to filibuster?
But now, they have a chance to portray Republicans as both anti-gay and anti-immigration, all that just a few weeks before the midterm elections which are likely to turn out disastrous for them anyway.
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