If you win, you win. If you lose, you still win

I have no idea why Schumer was ever reluctant to bring the Respect for Marriage Act to the floor, but obviously there should be a vote either way, and sooner rather than later:

“I’m encouraged that we have introduced a bipartisan bill, keep on adding co-sponsors and the very strong vote in the House of Representatives yesterday, so we hope to see that follow suit here,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), a co-sponsor of the bill. Ms. Baldwin was the first openly gay U.S. senator.

Ahead of the House vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) had been noncommittal about bringing the bill to the Senate floor. However, after seeing the level of Republican support Tuesday evening, he said Wednesday he wanted to bring it up for a Senate vote, saying he was “impressed by how much bipartisan support it got in the House.”

The White House said President Biden was urging Congress to pass the bill and send it to his desk.

The Respect for Marriage Act, if signed into law, would codify into law the ability for same-sex and interracial couples to get married and require states to recognize the marriage. It would also repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. That law isn’t enforced following Supreme Court decisions but remains on the books.

The best-case scenario is that the bill passes. But if more than 40 Republicans want to go on the record with an extremely unpopular position, that’s also useful. What makes no sense at all is letting them off the hook if you can’t get to 60 (and my bet is that you won’t — Little Marco’s chickenshit non-reason for voting “nay” is likely the bellwether,) at least make them own it.