Lady Gaga will rally in Portland Maine tomorrow against John McCain's filibuster of the Defense Authorization. It is a push to force Maine's relatively moderate Republican Senators - Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins - to join Democrats and end the Senate filibuster, bringing the bill (which contains a provision to end Don't Ask Don't Tell) to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), the 60 votes to end the filibuster are NOT in place - so support fromSnowe and Collins is crucial. Via AmericaBlog
The votes to break McCain’s filibuster are not there. We need Sens. Snowe and Collins on board; they’re key to us breaking the filibuster. With the vote less than 48 hours away, we need everyone supporting repeal to call the Senate. We’re bringing gay and straight service members to Portland to help make the case. And we’re proud to have the support of Lady Gaga to bring grassroots attention to repeal at a critical hour. Like Lady Gaga, all New England senators, indeed all 100 senators, Democrats and Republicans, need to engage in a real debate on this issue, and not just posture and spin this week over procedure and Senate rules.
The rally, called “For the 14,000”: A Rally for the 14,000+ Discharged" is tomorrow at 4:00 PM Eastern in Deering Oaks Park (near the University of Southern Maine). For those on Twitter, the hashtag is #4the14k.
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