Six Republicans Broke Ranks and Voted With Us On Iraq Tonight!!

The Feingold-Reid amendment, as you may be aware, was shot down big-time--that called for an immediate start to redeployment/withdrawal. That's sort of considered a "defunding" bill, because its aim is not to fund the occupation, just the withdrawal, as I understand it--still apparently too drastic for most of the Senate. HOWEVER, the Levin amendment, which calls for a "more limited set of missions" in Iraq, was much closer: 50-45. Had 5 of our Dem Senators been there, it would have been 55-45, assuming they all voted for it. Feingold (Mr. Principles) was the only Dem voting no, BUT we attracted the MOST REPUBLICAN SUPPORT of any recent Dem/Iraq measure: Six Republicans! Collins, Hagel, Smith, Snowe, and in a nice surprise, Dole and Voinovich! I feel pretty good about this--even if it wasn't a timeline for withdrawal, and even if it failed, some new Repubs are failing to heed the "Surge" BS and are starting to go against Chimpy regarding the conduct of the war, and we haven't lost our "old-standby" anti-war GOP Senators. We have to take our good news where we can get it.

Grouped By Vote Position YEAs ---50
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lincoln (D-AR)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---45
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (R-VA)

Not Voting - 5
Biden (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Obama (D-IL)

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00438

3 of 5? Not Hagel or Snowe?

Snowe and Voinovich are not, IIRC, and Hagel is retiring in 2008.

3 presidential candidates would not vote at all. God i hate politicians who calculate everymove instead of voting with their heart and mind. go kucinich!!! and of course feinstein that freaking dino.

Seriously, though, great news.

I recall getting that impression as the voting was done on Kucinich's resolution last month. There were some early GOP votes in favor of debating it.

I am pretty positive that Feingold's vote was a procedural vote--so that it can be voted on again.
I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

procedurally to re-introduce it, from what I've observed. I don't think this Levin amendment contained any kind of timeline for withdrawal, so it would not surprise me if Russ just couldn't bring himself to vote for it.

I thought it was his own bill he didn't vote for.
Yes, he is principled and if he didn't vote for it...I'm sure there was a darn good reason.

sickening

since he made his valiant stand yesterday.

that list of non-voters. Wow.

(ok, I know everybody read it, but its gonna make me feel better to put the names down)

Not Voting - 5
Biden (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dodd (D-CT)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Obama (D-IL)

None of them were there for the FISA Vote either, or for Dodd's threatened Filibuster. And only after prodding did a couple of them release a statement. Even then, the statement had to be clarified from one. One of them never did commit. I'm not naming names.