Supporting the Troops - for real

The Senate voted today on another war supplemental (the Senate votes every six months on funding for Iraq and Afghanistan rather than add the costs to the annual budget), and added on Jim Webb's GI education funding bill. As late as last week, Webb was 2 votes shy of getting the 60 needed for a veto-proof majority. Today the Senate stood up and did the right thing and voted 75-22 to pass the bill. President Bush has promised to veto the bill. Good. Do it. The Senate will override your veto and pass the bill over your temper tantrums.

Roll call (with Republicans who stood up to the President and did the right thing for the troops in bold):

Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---75
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---22 (all Republicans):

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lugar (R-IN)
McConnell (R-KY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Voinovich (R-OH)

Not Voting - 3
Coburn (R-OK)
Kennedy (D-MA)
McCain (R-AZ)*

I'm fairly impressed with the list of Republicans who grew a set and voted yes. It's a real mix of passionate conservatives (Chambliss, Crapo, Inhofe, Isakson, Thune, Vitter, Wicker) and fairly moderate Republicans (Specter, Snowe, Collins, Hagel) and everyone in between.

But speaking of temper tantrums, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) threw one today and it's got to be seen to be believed.



He's got it completely backward. You will be rewarded if you vote against the Webb bill - with a one way ticket back home on November 5, 2008. Unsolicited advice to McBush: please, please, please pick Lindsay Graham as your Veep. I would love to see the conservative Christians supporting McBush stand up for a guy like Lindsay with some...how shall I put this...interesting rumors about him....

*Apparently, presidential candidate John McBush couldn't be bothered to come back to DC to vote - too busy raising benjamins.