cohesion. like, like it s okay to discriminate or discharge gay soldiers because we are homophobic. we, we are uncomfortable, and we do not agree with homosexuality, and i can t focus on the field of duty while i am fighting. in less than 24 hours, the united states senate will have the opportunity to pave the way for a complete repeal of don t ask, don t tell. the policy may begin to die tomorrow afternoon. if lady gaga gets her way and if john mccain well, new john mccain doesn t. in just a moment, we ll be talking with nbc news producer ken strickland in washington this evening for the latest on the senate vote and then major mike almy will join us. he was discharged from the air force on don t ask, don t tell. he spoke today at the maine rally. when and how and if don t ask, don t tell is going to be repealed, when we come back. (announcer) if you think all batteries are the same, consider this:
senators are using homophobia as a defense in their argument, as the nexus of this law, openly gay soldiers affect unit cohesion. like, like it s okay to discriminate or discharge gay soldiers because we are homophobic. we, we are uncomfortable, and we do not agree with homosexuality, and i can t focus on the field of duty while i am fighting. in less than 24 hours, the united states senate will have the opportunity to pave the way for a complete repeal of don t ask, don t tell. the policy may begin to die tomorrow afternoon. if lady gaga gets her way and if john mccain well, new john mccain doesn t. in just a moment, we ll be talking with nbc news producer ken strickland in washington this evening for the latest on the senate vote and then major mike almy will join us. he was discharged from the air force on don t ask, don t tell.
i have a feeling we ll be bugging you all day tomorrow so keep us posted on how things are going. no problem. joining us now is major mike almy, who was discharged from the air force under don t ask, don t tell, although he was asked and never told. he testified at the federal trial that resulted in don t ask, don t tell is unconstitutional. today he spoke at the rally in maine. mike, thanks very much for being here. nice to see you again. good to see you again. thank you, rachel, for having me. hearing that update from ken strickland, from our senate producer there, do you have any expectations in terms of what s going to happen in the senate tomorrow? are you optimistic about the chances for repeal? personally, i m still optimistic. there s been so much effort to get us to this day tomorrow, and there has been so much pressure, so much grassroots movement to get these senators to sway their vote, to support the american public on this issue. the reality of it is we just don
capitol hill on what could be another filibuster eve. and there are two big reasons why thursday is a day to mark on your electoral calendar. it should favor democrats and howard dean will help us explain. that s all to come. but first, when a political candidate comes from outside mainstream politics and that candidate gets nominated to represent a major party, and part of that candidate s appeal is that they come from outside mainstream politics, there s now a well-established process of making that candidate over, subtly, to make them seem more mainstreamy for the general election. we saw that process in action with the post-primary scrubbing of republican senate candidate, sharron angle of nevada. we saw that in the shut down all media access scrubbing of rand paul. and we re now seeing the same process at work with christine o donnell of delaware. if you go to christine o donnell s campaign website right now, here s what you ll find. victory in delaware! a short arti
why thursday is a day to mark on your electoral calendar. it should favor democrats and howard dean will help us explain. that s all to come. but first, when a political candidate comes from outside mainstream politics and that candidate gets nominated to represent a major party, and part of that candidate s appeal is that they come from outside mainstream politics, there s now a well-established process of making that candidate over, subtly, to make them seem more mainstreamy for the general election. we saw that process in action with the post-primary scrubbing of republican senate candidate, sharron angle of nevada. we saw that in the shut down all media access scrubbing of rand paul. and we re now seeing the same process at work with christine o donnell of delaware. if you two to christine o donnell s campaign website right now, here s what you ll find. victory in delaware! a short article thanking the people of delaware for making christine o donnell the republican n