These are all subjective examinations of the current gestalt, which is a pretentious way of saying ‘They’re all WAGs.’ Caveat emptor, and all that.
- DADT Repeal: will pass. I think that we’ve* got the votes; Northeast Republicans are just generally more comfortable with the idea; and this is one area where libertarians are going to be not in sync with social conservatives.
- DREAM Act: will not pass. Immigration issues are very touchy right now, thanks to the Democrats’ incredibly ham-handed attempt to demonize over half of the population for daring to think that existing federal immigration law should be, you know, taken seriously. Supporting this will mean the difference between a credible primary challenge and a token one for at least two Republican Senators – and could easily be the last nail in the coffin for at least four Democratic ones.
- START: will pass, but the odds are almost even. If Reid only needed sixty votes it’d pass. It’s a treaty, so he needs sixty-seven; it’ll be a close-run thing. I think.
Guess we’ll see tomorrow, huh?
Moe Lane
*Note pronoun.
You know, I think it’s a generational thing rather than a ‘northeastern RINO’ thing. My generation is just more open to things like repealing DADT than my parents. Having said that, however, I’m sympathetic to the idea that social-engineering changes to our fighting forces that might adversely affect them, while we’re at war, might not be the best idea ever. And you know that’s something the Democrats don’t think about, heck, most of them don’t actually acknowledge we’re at war.
However, if it does pass I do have faith that our military will make it work.