The good news first: the Senate passed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." There were 33 votes against, if you can believe it, and leading the charge: Senator John McCain. Who would have thought he'd want to be remembered for fighting to keep gay soldiers from disclosing their sexuality without fear of reprisal?It was a big day for John McCain, who also voted against the DREAM Act -- and found himself on the winning side this time. Please remember that John McCain was once a sponsor of the DREAM Act -- more than once, actually. And in fact, what he supported was a much more generous version of the DREAM Act, as the restrictions on who would be able to apply for citizenship and how have been made much stronger in the current bill, in hopes of attracting more Republican votes. But that was before the new, "I never considered myself a maverick" McCain came on the scene. Still, the vote was 55 to 41 in favor of the bill -- but it still loses, because nothing short of 60 votes can stop a Republican filibuster. (Special thanks, then, to the five Democrats who voted against it.)The New York Times has maps showing which senators voted which way, for both DADT and the DREAM Act.

Mollie Wilson O’​Reilly is editor-at-large and columnist at Commonweal.

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