Republicans Fillibuster Fair Pay Act
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act failed to get 60 votes in the Senate yesterday. Here are the Senators that care about women (i.e., they voted YES to fair pay):
Lincoln (D-AR), Pryor (D-AR), Boxer (D-CA), Feinstein (D-CA), Salazar (D-CO), Dodd (D-CT),Lieberman (ID-CT) Hey! How 'bout that!, Biden (D-DE), Carper(D-DE), Nelson (D-FL), Akaka (D-HI), Inouye (D-HI), Durbin (D-IL), Obama (D-IL), Bayh (D-IN), Harkin (D-IA), Landrieu (D-LA), Collins (R-ME), Snowe (R-ME), Cardin (D-MD), Mikulski (D-MD), Kennedy (D-MA), Kerry (D-MA), Levin (D-MI), Stabenow (D-MI), Coleman (R-MN), Klobuchar (D-MN), McCaskill (D-MO), Baucus (D-MT), Tester (D-MT), Sununu (R-NH), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Menendez (D-NJ), Bingaman (D-NM), Clinton (D-NY), Schumer (D-NY), Conrad (D-ND), Dorgan (D-ND), Brown (D-OH), Smith (R-OR), Wyden (D-OR), Casey (D-PA), Specter (R-PA), Reed (D-RI), Whitehouse (D-RI), Johnson (D-SD), Leahy (D-VT), Sanders (I-VT), Webb (D-VA), Cantwell (D-WA), Murray (D-WA), Byrd (D-WV), Rockefeller (D-WV), Feingold (D-WI), Kohl (D-WI)
Here are the Senators who don't give a shit about women (i.e., they voted NO or didn't vote at all):
Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Murkowski (R-AK), Stevens (R-AK), Kyl (R-AZ), McCain (R-AZ -- didn't vote), Allard (R-CO), Martinez (R-FL), Chambliss (R-GA), Isakson (R-GA), Craig (R-ID), Crapo (R-ID), Grassley (R-IA), Brownback (R-KS), Roberts (R-KS), Bunning (R-KY), McConnell (R-KY), Vitter (R-LA), Cochran (R-MS), Wicker (R-MS), Bond (R-MO), Hagel (R-NE -- didn't vote), Ensign (R-NV), Gregg (R-NH), Domenici (R-NM), Burr (R-NC), Dole (R-NC), Voinovich (R-OH), Coburn (R-OK), Inhofe (R-OK), DeMint (R-SC), Graham (R-SC), Thune (R-SD), Alexander (R-TN), Corker (R-TN), Cornyn (R-TX), Hutchison (R-TX), Bennett (R-UT), Hatch (R-UT), Warner (R-VA), Barrasso (R-WY), Enzi (R-WY)
Harry Reid (D-NV) voted NO for "technical reasons" but strongly supports the bill and will bring the bill up at another time. I don't know what those technical reasons are . . . .
Contact your Senators and thank them or tell them you're disappointed, depending on how they voted.
3 comments:
Harry Reid's stance is one of the biggest difficulties with following and judging US politics (I don't actually know if it's a problem in other countries). So often, there are completely unrelated issues tacked onto a bill, so that a senator cannot with a clear conscience vote for a bill. Or the bill is a completely neutered version of the original, and passing it will only make it more difficult to pass a bill that enacts real change.
Regardless of these issues, politicians often wind up voting for the bills with NAMES they (or their constituants) support, because it's tough to be re-elected otherwise. "He voted against funding for pre-schoolers!" is the sort of thing you tend to hear, but nobody mentions what else that bill did.
To really evaluate a senator, try looking at their bills sponsored, and even more importantly, their bills written. That's how you know what they really care about.
I haven't read the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act myself. I assumed that since the vote went almost completely down party lines that there was not much for the Republicans to vote for (or the Democrats to vote against).
A few months ago, a bill to increase abstinence-only funds was voted on in the House, and Dennis Kucinich, among many other Democrats, voted for the bill. A lot of people wondered why such a liberal Democrat running for president would vote for such a bill. We later realized that expansion to Medicaid that specifically helps poor women and children was also on that bill. I probably would have voted the same way Kucinich did, because health care is more of an immediate and necessary need than accurate sex education. We don't live in a time right now where we can have both, unfortunately.
But I'll read the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to see what else is in there that didn't get enough Republicans to vote in favor of it.
I have absolutely no knowledge of this particular bill - I was just commenting on a general phenomenon in our system.
You provided a great example - Kucinich's willingness to bite the bullet and vote based on the entire bill and not just the title is one of many reasons that he will never come anywhere near the presidency.
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