The failure of a single Republican to vote against a filibuster and move to repeal the disgraceful exclusion of gays and lesbians from the military illustrates a point I made last week. If there was ever an issue tailor-made for a moderate Northeastern Republican, this is it; "don't ask, don't tell" is a policy that's not only bad on the merits but is highly unpopular. But none of the contingent of GOP "moderates" -- not Snowe, not Collins, not Brown -- would vote against a filibuster. The fact is, the moderate image these legislators currently project is a complete fraud. Whatever their nominal positions, if an issue matters to the Republican leadership, Maine might as well be represented by James Inhofe and Jeff Sessions. Hopefully the electorate there will eventually figure that out, and in the meantime I'm rooting for the Tea Party in all Republican Senate primaries.
-- Scott Lemieux
