Closing the deal on 'Don't Ask'

The "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal vote today culminated years of advocacy, campaigning, and lobbying, but it also involved a last-minute tactical scramble after the failure to attach the repeal measure to the Defense authorization bill failed on December 9.

That approach, championed by Barney Frank, had been the central strategy this Congress. Advocacy groups like Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund and the rest of their coalition, and staff and members in the Senate and House had considered a last-ditch alternative of "decoupling" the two bills, but that path only became clear Thursday night after an impromptu meeting between HRC's legislative director, Allison Herwitt, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Herwitt, people who were present say, grabbed Hoyer at the Christmas Party of lobbyist Steve Elmendorf Thursday night, and proceeded to bend his ear on the urgency of the standalone bill. Hoyer didn't commit then, but called the group's president, Joe Solmonese, later that evening to say he'd adopted the plan, and that HRC and other groups should work to get key senators -- led by Susan Collins -- on board. Collins accepted the plan, and it began moving forward that morning.

Various participants have different views on whether that conversation was pivotal, or whether Hoyer -- whose staff had already discussed doing a standalone bill -- was already planning to move forward. (Victory having a thousand fathers and all.) In any event, the decision hadn't been made until after the authorization plan failed.

Hoyer spokeswoman Katie Grant emails:

They did talk, but he had already been discussing with staff how to revive it after the Senate couldn't get cloture. Mr. Hoyer has been engaged on this since the spring, when his staff wrote the final language that passed the House in May and SASC, and is the language the Senate is voting on today. He appreciates HRC's active role in working to get repeal passed through Congress.