memeorandum: Immigration Vote Leaves Obama's Policy in Disarray (Julia Preston/New York Times)

11:05 AM ET, December 19, 2010

Top Items:

John McCain at his fieriest before 'don't ask, don't tell' vote — If John McCain gets any more hostile toward his Senate colleagues, they might consider having him go through the metal detector before he enters the Capitol. — Saturday's debate on the repeal of the “don't-ask-don't-tell” …

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Washington Monthly, DownWithTyranny!, The Atlantic Online, Brilliant at Breakfast, Balloon Juice, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Althouse

Manu Raju / The Politico:

John McCain's new role: GOP agitator — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is getting under the skin of Democrats these days - and he seems to be relishing it. — After Democrats scrapped a massive $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill on Thursday, McCain gloated about its defeat — and Democrats fumed.

Discussion: CNN, Theo Spark and Pat Dollard

Joe Klein / Swampland:

Two Dreams, One Dead — The Senate today passed the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” which is a good thing. It did not pass the “Dream Act,” which is a cold, cold abomination. There is a relationship between the two. Repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” will allow homosexuals …

Discussion: Mother Jones, The Note, Sky Dancing and neo-neocon

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

McCain's New START amendment goes down, Risch amendment up next — Supporters of the New Start treaty staved off an attempt by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and John Barrasso (R-WY) to attach a “treaty killing” amendment on the Senate floor Saturday afternoon. Next up is an amendment by Sen. James Risch …

Discussion: NBC New York, Wonk Room, Daily Kos and Firedoglake

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
DADT repeal wins!

Discussion: Big Think, The Huffington Post and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
START treaty survives threat from McCain amendment on missile defense

Discussion: Blue Wave News and National Review

Peter Baker / New York Times:
Senate Rejects Amendment Blocking New Start Treaty

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Monthly, CNN, Prairie Weather, The Hill and ThinkProgress

Bryan Fischer / afa.net:

Benedict Arnold Republicans destroy military and our national security — We are now stuck with sexual deviants serving openly in the U.S. military because of turncoat Republican senators. — (Dictionary definition of “deviant”: “departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior.”

Discussion: Confederate Yankee, Right Wing Watch, The Volokh Conspiracy, American Power, Bold Faith Type, Booman Tribune, Right Wing News and DownWithTyranny!

ABCNEWS:

Democrats Confident that 9/11 Health Bill Will Pass — One More Republican Vote Needed to Pass Bill for Responders and Victims — The first responders still suffering health effects more than nine years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks could get a “Christmas miracle” this year, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said today.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times and Raw Story

Shira Toeplitz / The Politico:
Eight Republicans back 'Don't ask' repeal

Discussion: Washington Monthly, JOSHUAPUNDIT, The Hill, Ben Smith's Blog, Power Line, Liberal Values, Weasel Zippers, Crooks and Liars and FrumForum

Evan McMorris-Santoro / TPMDC:
Senate Repeals Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Discussion: Off the Kuff, ACS Blog, Examiner, Talking Points Memo, Feministing, Lean Left, Blue Wave News, Gawker and Wake up America

Julia Preston / New York Times:

Immigration Vote Leaves Obama's Policy in Disarray — The vote by the Senate on Saturday to block a bill to grant legal status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant students was a painful setback to an emerging movement of immigrants and also appeared to leave the immigration policy …

Discussion: Right Wing News

Shankar Vedantam / Washington Post:
Defeat of immigration measure reveals failed White House strategy, advocates say

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly and New York Times

Jason Redmond / Associated Press:
Republicans block youth immigration bill

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, NewsBusters.org blogs, National Review, The Anchoress and Hot Air

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

Gays in the Military, ROTC back on Campus? — Now that the lame duck Democratic Congress has repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), the new Congress will have to see to it that the Obama administration manages the implementation of repeal responsibly, and that the concerns of military leaders and troops are taken seriously.

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Ivies moving toward restoring ROTC — Some top universities moved quickly Saturday to respond to the vote repealing the ban on gays in the military, and those who don't restore their ROTC programs in the wake of the vote are likely to face immediate pressure on the issue.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Weekly Standard and Instapundit

Michael Kinsley / New York Times:

Bush on Bush — They call themselves, smugly, “41” and “43,” meaning the 41st and 43rd presidents of the United States. You're supposed to prefer the father, all graciousness and handwritten little notes, over the son, who — even in memoirs written at age 64 after two terms as president — seems callow.

Discussion: NewsBusters.org blogs

New York Post:

Saudi king may want to move Ground Zero mosque to St. Vincent's site — A Manhattan lawyer with ties to the Saudi royal family is sounding out officials and community leaders about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to the West Village. — Attorney Dudley Gaffin …

Discussion: JammieWearingFool

Felicia Sonmez / Washington Post:

Joe Manchin absent for two major Senate votes — When the Senate took two of its most highly anticipated votes of the lame-duck session on Saturday, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin was nowhere to be found. — Manchin, who was sworn into office last month after winning …

Discussion: Power Line, America's Voice Blog, Don Surber, TPMDC, Daily Kos, FrumForum and HotAirPundit

Alison Knezevich / Squawk Box:
Manchin skips votes on DADT, DREAM Act

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Ben Smith's Blog, TPMDC, West Virginia Blue, AOL News, The Note, TPMCafe, Whiskey Fire and Washington Post

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog: Manchin's whereabouts — Today's minor mystery was the location …

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

A Gay Commander in Chief: Ready or Not? — Jimmy Carter is putting the out in outspokenness. — In an interview with bigthink.com, the former president was asked, “Is the country ready for a gay president?” — Even as John McCain and other ossified Republicans were staging last-minute maneuvers …

Discussion: BuzzFlash.org and Prairie Weather

Army Court-Martial Defense Specialist / The Law Office …:

A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning — PFC Manning is currently being held in maximum custody. Since arriving at the Quantico Confinement Facility in July of 2010, he has been held under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch. — His cell is approximately six feet wide and twelve feet in length.

Discussion: The Independent, The Greenroom, The Moderate Voice, Agence France Presse, The Confluence and Balloon Juice

Chris Geidner / Poliglot:

White House Won't Commit to Halting DADT Discharges — a Move Urged By Reid, Levin — Saying that they had been “focused” on the vote, a senior White House aide intimately familiar with the administration's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” repeal efforts was unwilling to say whether President Obama agrees …

Discussion: Firedoglake and Pam's House Blend

Ed O'Keefe / Washington Post:
Senate votes to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell'

Discussion: The Fix, Bloomberg, Daily Kos, The Mahablog, Fox News, PostPartisan, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh, The Hill and CNN

USA Today:

Senate passes 'don't ask,' sends repeal to Obama — In a historic move, the Senate on Saturday passed a bill to repeal the “don't ask, don't tell” policy that clears the way for gay people to serve openly in the military. — The legislation now goes to President Obama, who will sign it into law.