Jun 26 2007
Live Blogging The Immigration Vote – It Passes!
Updates Below (roll call)
Right now the Senate is voting on a bill covering some kind of legislation on unions. Following this vote will be the vote on Immigration. America is at a cross roads, as is the GOP. The far right has put a lot of emotion and anger into this issue. It has permanently divided the GOP into two camps which may not reconcile after this vote. The language has been toxic and exaggerated and left too many marks to be put aside easily. So here we sit on one of those historic moments. Let’s see how it goes.
Update: They are starting the role call vote. 60 votes are required in the affirmative to let the Bill move on to the votes on the 24 amendments being proposed.
Update: It will be easier to simply list the “nayes” as they come up and update the post, so keep checking as names are added (there will be typos as the vote goes on, will try and clean them up later).
OK, they did the “ayes” first (and reading fast!) and here is what I heard:
The Ayes:
McConnell, Graham, Lott, Kyl, Martinez, Brownback, McCain, Snowe, Warner, Webb, Allard, Reid, Murray, Cantwell, Whitehouse, Specter, McCulsky. Ensign, Hagel
The Nayes:
Chambliss, Isaackson, Demint, Byrd, McCaskill, Bunning, Shelby, Sessions, Dole, Dorgan, Stabenow, Cornyn, Rockefeller
Folks, they are reading to fast so these are just key names I am pulling out to indicate where they are coming down. Not a comprehensive list yet. But it is clear there are dems and reps in both camps. The amensty hypochondriac wing is not as big is some think it is.
Update: Final tally: Ayes 64 Nayes 35! It passes!
Clearly the amnesty hypochondriac wing of the GOP is not that big. Even with a lot of liberals and democrats voting ‘naye’ the bill still passed the 60 threshold – by a much larger margin than I predicted.
Now we go to the sausage making stage and see if the poison pills can be kept out while strengthening the bill. Good start though. And I expect all the hypochondriac to applaud this wonderful demonstration of the American democratic system and El Presidente Jorge’s efforts to take the tough stances and get us at least to the point there is a chance for progress on this festering issue. I cannot wait to see the accolades from the GOP on how “American” this result is.
Update: I will have the final vote tally up when it comes out in about 30 minutes or so – so check back!
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bunning (R-KY)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Only 24 Republicans out of 49. Interesting.
One more interesting item from Ed Goes and Immigration support. Turns out the more Americans hear about what is in the bill the more they LIKE IT:
When the details are fully explained, an overwhelming majority of Americans favor the immigration bill being debated in the Senate, Ed Goeas, president and CEO of The Tarrance Group, tells me.
The Tarrance Group is a Republican polling and strategy firm that works for Rudy Giuliani, 47 congressmen, 10 senators, and five governors.
Without referring to the Senate bill itself or using terms like “amnesty” that are open to interpretation, the firm polled Americans on whether they would favor its components.
“When we walked through the series of measures that are being proposed, we got 77 percent of Republicans, 72 percent of Democrats, and 70 percent of independents supporting it,” says Goeas (pronounced GO-as). “There’s not a piece of research I’ve seen that, if you explain each one of those pieces, you don’t get a majority saying they approve it.” Several issues are at play, Goeas says.
Hat tip to Harold Hutchison posting over at Mac Ranger’s.
Update: NRO is wondering why this debate feels bad? Maybe because they poisoned the GOP well so badly???
I hear that the Republican Caucus in the House is coming out in opposition to the Senate bill
I count about62 ayes as of now
Brownback???? Is that the Presidential hopeful Brownback???
Wow! He can kiss any chance he had goodbye. That includes any chance at a VP slot.
64 -35
I wouldn’t have thought there were 64 idiots in the Senate, but i’ve learned not to be surprised in politics
and El Presidente Jorge’s
So you’ve now taken up this title along the the Amnesty hypowhatevers? More name calling.
FE,
Thanks for demonstrating why it is way past time to stop listening to the far right. Try and lose graciously next time.
This only brings the bill to the floor. The bill itself has not passed.
“Brownback???? Is that the Presidential hopeful Brownback???”
It is. I like Brownback but I thinkl his vote is going to Huckabee. His immigration stance is consistent and very much informed by his Christian faith as well as common sense Economics and other American needs.
You will find that this vote will not hurt him. THe segemnt of voters that are giving him a look are much more concerned about Stem Cell, Abortion, Gay marriage, and other right to life issues. ALso if Romeny or Guillani get it Brownback is the sort of man they need to the ticket to win. At the end of the day there also need s to be someone that can go into the Hispanic community and has the background and votes to do damage control
Jacqui, we know that. But the votes from here on out our simple majorities for passage. I would expect more test votes, but this is very telling. And watch as the sky doesn’t fall and Americans do not get upset…..
The two senators from Texas stayed on the Nay side.
McCain stayed on “no hope for president anyhow” side,
Cochran from Ms stayed on Nay
Its funny. The radical hissyfitters supporting the bill crying and moaning when they perceive Pres Bush calling them names but then they do the same thing…..for instance, take this quote from the rocket scientist FE:
quote:
“I wouldn’t have thought there were 64 idiots in the Senate, but i’ve learned not to be surprised in politics
Left by For Enforcement on June 26th, 2007”
end quote.
Pathetic.
But the votes from here on out our simple majorities for passage
Bzzzz…wrong…but then, you have been so wrong about so much on this bill I’m not surprised. I suspect it will pass, but the actual cloture vote is Thursday. And a majority won’t cut it.
Well, the Immigration Hypochondriacs and the Amnesty Obsessives will really find out whom the electorate favors come 2008
I wouldn’t count my tortillas yet, though. The House is not going to pass this bill.
Funny how you can be on both side of an issue and consider yourself on the winning side in both.
side 1 For Cloture ie no more debate
side 2 for more debate
want no more debate then wants more debate.
The bill has zero chance of ever becoming law.
And watch as the sky doesn’t fall
you’re confusing issues, that’s one of the global warming myths.
Less than one day of “debate”. On a bill that has over 300 pages to it and 24 amendments that are being “allowed” to be voted on. Yes. This has been a good day for someone, just not the American citizen.
“The bill has zero chance of ever becoming law.”
I probably agree with that. The drug dealers, large real estate developers, and huge corporate farmers will see that nothing changes. Too much money being made now keeping those people “under the table”.
Well, my senators are safe. They voted no on reintroducing this bill for further “debate”. Hope they have lots of bottled water on hand. Their throats are liable to get mighty dry, debating for ONE WHOLE DAY.
It’s a sad day in America when it’s congress goes against the will of the vast majority of Americans by writing a bill in secret, then limiting debate to keep as much of it from the American people as possible, and some misguided agenda driven useful idiots cheer it on as a great day for democracy!