pork in his sleepy rural district. so many taxpayer dollars, so many goodies, they call his hometown mr. roger s neighborhood, yet he says he s a budget cutter and he s about to be in charge of the committee that directly controls how your money is spent. later, polygamist leader warren jeffs facing a new trial on sex crimes charges. for the first time you ll come face to face with the self-proclaimed prophet and hear how a follower shockingly justifies sex with minors. we begin with the breaking news, late word out of washington that supporters last best hope of ending the military s don t ask, don t tell policy just got better. the senate deal making going late into the evening on that defense bill which includes repeal language on don t ask, don t tell. a vote was scheduled for tonight. it was pushed by majority leader harry reid but it s been put off. put off because that deal making talks with maine republican susan collinsou see there, appear to be going well.
opponent it s this debate is going on on the floor, one of the key amendments would be to strike out the don t ask, don t tell repeal from the defense bill. but it could be a host of things having to do with don t ask don t tell or anything zblels so, paul, this just sounds like basically kind of the back room deal making. well, it does, if i had any hair left i d be tearing it out. this is senator collins position as i understand it. this defense authorization bill has been worked on by the senate since february 23rd. that s when the senate darted tart ted working on, that collins serves on. 22 subcommittee hearings on the bill, two full days of markup where they actually write the bill, thousands and thousands of hours by staff and senators put in this. and now at the 11th hour she says, it s just not enough. it s really, it s got to now, harry reid i think being very gracious, he has 58 senators, the republicans only have 42, but he s going to let them have two-thirds of the am
she s one of several moderate republicans who might be needed to get the 60 votes required for bringing a bill to the senate floor. so she s obviously being heavily courted for her vote of the details of this are a little confusing, but just stick with me because we think it s important to let you know what we ve heard is happening behind the scenes. even though she s holding out, senator colins is already on record supporting are the repeal of don t ask, don t tell. take a look. let me start by making my position crystal clear. i agree with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, that the don t ask, don t tell law should be repealed. it should be repealed, contingent upon the certifications of the president, the secretary of defense, and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. so that was senator collins back in september saying she
says, it s just not enough. it s really, it s got to now, harry reid i think being very gracious, he has 58 senators, the republicans only have 42, but he s going to let them have two-thirds of the amendments. ten amendments for their side, only five amendments for reid s side. and what collins is trying to do, apparently is drag this out so that forcing an instant vote on this tax package, which isn t even in legislative language on, puts more on the deficit without a second thought. you ve got to sort of question what the heck is going on. nancy, how do you see what senator collins is doing? well, first of all, just to maybe correct the record or at least register a counterperspective to whether the tax bill matters from a timing standpoint, the burden of proof is on who s pushing don t ask, don t tell, something that could be taken up at any point and bringing it up when we re fighting two wars is a bit much. it s only happening because it s a lame duck session. the tax extend
you ve got to sort of question what the heck is going on. nancy, how do you see what senator collins is doing? well, first of all, just to maybe correct the record or at least register a counterperspective to whether the tax bill matters from a timing standpoint, the burden of proof is on who s pushing don t ask, don t tell, something that could be taken up at any point and bringing it up when we re fighting two wars is a bit much. it s only happening because it s a lame duck session. the tax extenders must occur or we hit this economy with a crippling tax increase within a matter of weeks. so it is only responsible to deal with the tax question first. as far as amendments being offered to the defense authorization bill, i find it stunning that people here are challenging the fact that the senate, the u.s. senate, which is supposed to be the most deliberative body in the world, would want to debate and offer amendments on a bill of this significance. nancy, they ve had 9 1/2 mont