FMA Roll Call: Props to Chaffee, McCain, Collins, Snowe, Campbell...

[phillybri]

...and Sununu for voting w/ their conscience. Also big ups to the Dems for making the knuckledraggers look like the asses they are.

Big fat boos for the Zell-out, Nelson (NE), and Robert Byrd...

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00155

YEAs ---48
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Fitzgerald (R-IL)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Miller (D-GA)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Nickles (R-OK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)

NAYs ---50
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Breaux (D-LA)
Campbell (R-CO)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Daschle (D-SD)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (D-FL)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hollings (D-SC)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCain (R-AZ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Wyden (D-OR)

[Not Me]

1. I am disappointed in Byrd...

I know WV isn't a bastion of liberal thought, and that he knew the vote was safe without his NAY, but I thought he'd have stood up against tinkering with the constitution on terms that even Conservatives could understand.

Am I missing something? Has he commented?

[lukasahero]

2. And a big WTF

to Kerry and Edwards the only two "not voting" votes. Arg. I love these guys but this was important!

[wryter2000]

4. Welcome to DU

Everyone knew this was going to fail. It wasn't worth disrupting the campaign for them to go vote. Besideds, they might have just delayed the vote again.

Your sentiment is right on, though.

[merh]

14. No - this becomes a non issue during the campaign - they did

not vote for or against, thus the weed that would be king's campaign (red rover) can't use it against them. NON--ISSUE

[Maine-i-acs]

6. They can't run back to DC for everything -

Though Kerry's made a point of trying to get there for critical stuff, the Repubes would take advantage of this effort. Kerry and Edwards should be campaigning, raising money and getting the word out. They knew FMA did not have the votes to pass.

[FreeState]

7. Their vote was not needed

They needed 60 votes to force a vote and as you can see they did not have it. The number of votes they need on this does not change even if people are absent. So its no big deal they did not vote.

[lukasahero]

13. To all above, thanks

I know they weren't needed and I know it would disrupt the campaign. I guess I was just frustrated to see that they were the only two names on the not voting list. I'm over it and back on the bus. :)

[lapfog_1]

12. The rethugs in the senate have a plan

It's simple and nefarious.

Schedule as many votes on important issues as possible, in an
attempt to get Kerry (and now Edwards) to return to DC to vote,
but if they DO return to vote, then slip the schedule or delay
or even postpone it, all in an attempt (childish) to make Kerry
and Edwards "look" bad. If they miss the vote, use this against
them in attack ads (just saw one today from * campaign, saying
Kerry has missed 66 percent of votes in the Senate since he started
his campaign for POTUS). If they DO vote on some issue, it will
be some trumped up issue that doesn't have a prayer of passing, but
will be a "wedge" issue... like this stupid amendment.

Anyway, the vote was on a procedural issue (which would allow for
a substitute bill to be considered instead of the introduced bill),
NOT on the bill itself. The democratic leadership has a good count
of the nays and yeahs so IF it had been important, I'm sure a phone
call would have been made and Kerry/Edwards would have been present.
But this was NOT a vote on the amendment itself, so it's not really
important that Kerry/Edwards be on record about it... and it was
going to be defeated anyway.

I suspect that a NEW amendment will be introduced shortly (though
maybe not because of having to go through committee and such... and
time is getting short before Senate recess)... all in an effort to
try to make Kerry looks both liberal and/or not responsible (by
missing votes).

Read between the lines, vote these repug assholes out of office.
It's not enough to win the presidency, we need the Senate and the
House too. And it would be nice to own some part of the media
too.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Sununu and Byrd totally shocked me!

--------------------------------------------------------
An open letter to John Kerry, John Edwards, and the DNC:
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/OpenLetter.htm

[punpirate]

5. Why on earth did Byrd...

... the staunch defender of the Constitution, vote to further a Constitutional amendment which would have damaged the Constitution?

Did Byrd make any statements on his reasons for doing so?

[lazarus]

17. who knows?

He hates us atheists, too.

[Maine-i-acs]

8. Snowe and Collins make Maine proud.

In fact I think that all of New England except Judd Gregg (R-NH) voted the same.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. I'm not a real Collins fan, but times like these make me

glad we don't have a Santorum to contend with.

--------------------------------------------------------
An open letter to John Kerry, John Edwards, and the DNC:
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/OpenLetter.htm

[Justitia]

9. I'm waiting on Sen Byrd to hear him out

Any comment from him yet? I'm really, really surprised by his vote.
What gives?

[phillybri]

15. The old guy still has some bad ideas in his head...

Sad but true...

[NewJerseyDem]

16. Byrd has never supported gay rights

This is hardly surprising at all to me.

Back in 2000, he opposed included sexual orientation in hate crimes, but he changed to support that in 2002.

In 1996, he was key in defeating ENDA which was defeated only 49-50. So, if he voted the other way, ENDA would have passed the Senate.

This is a quote from his speech in support of DOMA:

http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/issues/v73/n22/gorb.22v.html

"The suggestion that relationships between members of the same sex should ever be accorded the status or the designation of marriage flies in the face of the thousands of years of experience about the societal stability that traditional marriage has afforded human civilization .... is patently absurd."

[Green Mountain Dem]

10. I am really bummed......

that my hero Robert Byrd, the MOST avid defender of the Constitution, would vote to amend that most precious document in such a frivolous and partisan manner. I hope he offers an explanation for his apparent defense of this abhorrent FMA attempt.

Cudos to my Senators, Jeffords and Leahy for their impassioned speeches...and their votes.

[dflprincess]

18. Dayton - good

Coleman - still has his lips stuck to Bush's butt - no surprise here.