98 senators voted on the Dodd-Feingold-Leahy amendment today that would have taken telecom immunity for past warrant-less wiretaps out of the FISA bill.
Two senators did not vote.
- Ted Kennedy, recuperating from brain surgery
- John McCain
Senators Obama and Clinton voted for the amendment, along with 30 others. 66 voted against.
Update: Actually McCain was the only senator absent all day today.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts walked triumphantly into the Senate on Wednesday for the first time since learning that he had brain cancer, hoping to provide Democrats with the crucial, single vote that they need to reverse a cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors.
Update 2: Here are the 28 U.S. senators who took their oath to defend the Constitution seriously and voted against the bill itself.
Akaka, Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Brown, Byrd, Cantwell, Cardin, Clinton, Dodd, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Harkin, Kerry, Klobuchar, Lautenburg, Leahy, Levin, Menendez, Murray, Reed, Reid, Sanders, Schumer, Stabenow, Tester, Wyden.
Thank you Senator Bingaman.
Well, he has to be out campaigning on the weekdays. After all, the man doesn’t campaign on weekends.
Well I should be a little gun shy after my last rant 6 months ago (the switch to digital tvs without warning?), and I actually heard about this story first on Fox, and so I was a little hesitant to accept that it was true (go figure). However, shouldn’t this mean that now there is only one person (Bush) who should be held accountable for the (as every news source states) “illegal wiretapping program”? It really is time to get rid of all of them (except perhaps the 30 real patriots you mention here).
What the hell is wrong with the Democrats? Republicans are supposed to hate freedom and the constitution. There is no good reason, however, that 22 out of 49 Democrats (not counting Kennedy or Lieberman) should vote the wrong way.
BTW, too many late nights = rant #2 = ?huh?. What I was trying to say was that Bush should at least be impeached, if not jailed. The senators who voted for this should resign or be kicked out of office. Having written that, I probably don’t know enough about the bill, but it seems inexcusable to grant immunity to telcom executives who broke the law without taking some responsibility themselves. The punishment for these senators’ crime should be removal from office. As far as Bush, haven’t we seen enough to deserve a real impeachment hearing?
I often wonder about this, too. I don’t think anyone wants Cheney to be president, which would happen if they impeach GW, so they just count the days until both of them (and their henchmen) are gone. Not saying it’s right to let them get away with it mind you….