Not a single one; many of whom are still in the Senate… It was a strict party line vote…From the Senate’s website:
Grouped By Vote Position
| YEAs —52 | ||
| Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Allen (R-VA) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Chafee (R-RI) Chambliss (R-GA) Cochran (R-MS) Coleman (R-MN) Collins (R-ME) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) DeWine (R-OH) |
Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Enzi (R-WY) Frist (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Lott (R-MS) Lugar (R-IN) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) |
Murkowski (R-AK) Roberts (R-KS) Santorum (R-PA) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (R-PA) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (R-VA) |
| NAYs —48 | ||
| Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Biden (D-DE) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Burns (R-MT) Byrd (D-WV) Cantwell (D-WA) Carper (D-DE) Clinton (D-NY) Coburn (R-OK) Conrad (D-ND) Dayton (D-MN) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) |
Durbin (D-IL) Ensign (R-NV) Feingold (D-WI) Feinstein (D-CA) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Jeffords (I-VT) Johnson (D-SD) Kennedy (D-MA) Kerry (D-MA) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (D-CT) |
Lincoln (D-AR) Menendez (D-NJ) Mikulski (D-MD) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Obama (D-IL) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Salazar (D-CO) Sarbanes (D-MD) Schumer (D-NY) Stabenow (D-MI) Wyden (D-OR) |
Now I don’t know about you, kind reader, but I don’t recall any of the current hyperventilating that we’re hearing these days, now that the shoe is on the other foot-so to speak. Senate Democrats weren’t being characterized as RAAAAACIST! h8terz; heartless politicians who wanted to see old people die-and be forced on to a cat food diet until that happened; who were abandoning our troops in the field without bullets or butter; who were denying our college kids the loans and grants they needed; who callously chose to deny poor children school means and the homeless a place to sleep; who were choosing Wall Street over Main Street-doing all these things to benefit “Big Oil” and corporate jet owners…
Help me out here if I’m wrong, but none of this comes to mind. In fact, I remember a very passionate speech by a junior Senator at that time:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
Who said those stirring words? Why, none other than then-Senator, now-President, Obama. And he was right, we do deserve better…
So next time you hear about how all of this is UNPRECEDENTED!, HYPERPARTISAN! HOSTAGE TAKING! on the part of the TALIBAN RETHUGS!, feel free to remind the speaker of the events of 2006.
In fact, if you live in a deep blue state, it might be handy to have this information at hand when you contact your Senator and ask them to vote FOR cloture on Saturday when the House’s Cut, Cap, and Balance legislation is brought up. Because if nothing else, CC&B deserves a fair vote in the Senate.
- Excited
- Angry
- Not as Angry
- Bored
- Indifferent
- Sad
