W.V. Sen. Would Have Voted Against Repeal

A Christmas party prevented it, but Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin says he would have voted against the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" had he been in Washington, D.C. this weekend.

Machin, who was in Pennsylvania at the time, apologized for missing the vote: "Saturday was our (family's) Christmas and Saturday evening was our Christmas dinner. I got up Sunday and came back to Washington to make the votes I had to make," he said, according to West Virginia's MetroNews.

Manchin, who won a special election to replace deceased senator Robert Byrd, also missed the vote on the DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for immigrants who pursue college or military service—he would have voted no on that too, he said.

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