Strange Equivalency

Sen. Collins on the Senate floor:

I support the provisions in this bill. I debated for them; I was the sole Republican on the Committee that voted for the Lieberman-Levin language on don't ask, don't tell. I think it's the right thing to do, I think it's only fair...But I cannot vote to proceed to this bill under a situation that is going to shut down debate and preclude Republican amendments. That too is not fair.

Does Collins believe that preventing Republicans from offering every poison pill amendment under the sun is unfair in roughly the same way--or to the same degree--as is a blatantly discriminatory federal policy?

I don't think it requires too tortured a reading of the above paragraph to conclude that she's implying some sort of equivalency.

Of course, the fact that Collins views phantom Republican procedural prerogatives as comparable in importance to equal treatment under the law--with the former edging out the latter--speaks volumes.