Today, the Democrats outdid themselves. With the exception of fifteen Senators who voted "nay" and a couple who had good excuses for not being there, the entire Senate once again disgraced themselves. Like the House before them, they puffed up their chests today to make us safe from a few religious fanatics who live in one of the poorest regions on Earth. All they had to do to achieve that lofty goal was take away our freedom. Here is the list of Democratic winners:
Max Baucus (D-MT)
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Thomas Carper (D-DE)
Robert Casey (D-PA)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Joe (Short Ride) Lieberman (ID-CT)
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
James Webb (D-VA)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)
Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Carl Levin (D-MI)
Patty Murray (D-WA)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Jon Tester (D-MT)
Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Barack Obama (D-IL)
The first group are repeat winners from February. The second group are new, added because they can't seem to figure out that not calling something "immunity" doesn't mean it isn't immunity. The third group, which includes two Presidential candidates, simply didn't vote.
Clinton and Obama are particularly sorry cases. They wouldn't even stand up and be counted. This isn't unusual behavior for either one of them, but it's sad to think that these two were the ones left until the end of primary season. Far better people dropped out early. Ian Welsh sums up this situation pretty well:
Obama and McCain were both absent, as was Clinton. Unimpressive, but unsurprising, though I suppose I'm disappointed by Clinton (Obama has made it clear he didn't intend to try and stop the bill.) Clinton and Obama will claim there was no point since it wasn't close. But, with their leadership, it might well have gone the other way.
The Real FISA Vote Passes 80 to 15 With the Presidential Nominees Passing
I'm not in the least surprised that "Mr. Present" ducked under the couch again, and for McCain it was just another day of not being on the job, I'm sure.
That's some fine bunch we have running for the leadership of the Free World.
The Republicans all voted to break cloture. They deserve the award because they don't need to roll over for President Bush any more. He'll be gone in a few months, and those who haven't retired will be in the worst electoral trouble they've seen in many years.
All of these people have disgraced themselves and their party. As always, procurement of and payment for prizes are the responsibility of the winners. Enjoy your biscuits, ladies and gentlemen.
(h/t to Ian Welsh and commenters at FireDogLake who made those lists)
UPDATE (Jun. 26): Added a clause to the opening paragraph explaining what two Senators "had good excuses" for. Ted Kennedy has brain cancer and Robert Byrd has been ill of late.
4 comments:
I think I'll hand Patty her prize personally next time she holds a fundraiser. That will be my donation to her reelection campaign: a Milkbone. Actually, no. A Wal-Mart ripoff of a Milkbone, because I'm not wasting good money that could go to a quality Democrat on that woman.
Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold are my heroes for the week.
Not up for comparing your list, the list of nay votes, and suchlike to the full list of senators - who had good excuses?
Kennedy and Byrd. As I understand it, both are experiencing health problems.
Murray has done some good work, particularly on veterans' issues, but she is a senior Senator now, and she's done nothing to stop this. I've had enough of that. People who can't remember what their basic jobs are tend to lose them in real life. I see no reason why the Congress should be an exception.
Mine(Salazar) is a repeat offender which is nothing new. They do not get a pass for the "good things" they do for the state.
Obama and Clinton either together or other could have turned this into something dramatic easily but did not. Something that could have rallyed our side.
June 26, 2008 5:35 PM
Yes, One Fly, it's one hell of a missed opportunity. They live in such a bubble that they don't realize that most of us out here either value freedom more than we fear terrorism, or are too shallow to hold onto an opinion for long.
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