We’re making a list, and checking it twice, so we can find out who’s naughty or nice. Here’s a breakdown of the votes on the Thune Amendment, for national reciprocity for concealed carry licenses, in the US Senate. We should not fret, or feel defeated. We just got 58 votes from the most Democratic Senate we’ve had for a long time. Almost a supermajority. We have come a long way, and this was a major piece of legislation. Here are the results.
| YEAs —58 | ||
| Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) |
DeMint (R-SC) Dorgan (D-ND) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Feingold (D-WI) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagan (D-NC) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Lincoln (D-AR) Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ) |
McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Tester (D-MT) Thune (R-SD) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Wicker (R-MS) |
| NAYs —39 | ||
| Akaka (D-HI) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Burris (D-IL) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Dodd (D-CT) Durbin (D-IL) Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY) |
Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Kaufman (D-DE) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lugar (R-IN) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) |
Merkley (D-OR) Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Reed (D-RI) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Voinovich (R-OH) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR) |
| Not Voting – 3 | ||
| Byrd (D-WV) | Kennedy (D-MA) | Mikulski (D-MD) |
I am literally hanging my head in shame that Dick Lugar was one of ONLY TWO Republicans to cross party lines and vote against the amendment.
I’m happy to see that Sen Begich, the freshman senator from AK, decided to retain his NRA “A” rating.
One of the things that I regret about the gun rights issue is how it is so often a litmus test for political acceptability. It is such a significant issue that I could agree with 90% of a politician’s positions, but if they are on the wrong side of this one particular issue, then it is hard to vote for them.
I wish I was surprised to see my two senators (Murray and Cantwell) voting nay. They apparently don’t understand that around 5% of the population of the state here have CPLs. And what’s more, that 5% of the general population is WAY more than 5% of the voting population. After all, if you have a CPL, you meet all the requirements for voting.
And WA’s a funny state. I know a lot of people who probably legally strapped up on their way to drop their Democrat-laden mail-in ballots in the drop box.
Here’s hoping these nay votes come back to bite them in the next election.
You know what pisses me off? They never actually filibuster anymore. They just say “I’m filibustering” and the other guy is like “well we can’t vote for cloture, I guess you win.” But note that no debating is actually going on. There is no actual filibuster!
An actual filibuster consists of endlessly “debating” to prevent a vote from taking place. I say force these guys to actually filibuster. If they want to be seen on C-SPAN for the next couple of months blocking our gun rights by reading from the telephone book, then let them do that and let the chips fall where they may come election time.
The three who voted against may have gone 1-2 for us, but may be not. I suspect Byrd would have.
But on the bright side, Voinovich is gone after his term ends, and so is Specter and Nelson – which will give us 60 votes next Congress (if not more).
Wow, both our WA senators voted against it. This is a STRONG RKBA state.
But I guess you just can’t trust Democratic women to champion the civil and Constitutional right of self-protection for women, queers, minorities, elders, or the disabled! Nope, gotta let those groups all be ghettoized at the whim of states. And if a state says these groups are designated victims at the mercy of patchwork self-protection laws, so be it!
I agree with Chris’s position. I have never been a single-issue voter. I’m somewhat to the left of Mother Jones. And for that reason alone (Mother Jones was no wimp who let the powerful or the degenerate run roughshod over her), Ms. Cantwell and Ms. Murray can expect me to vote for whoever runs against them next time.
This is deeply disturbing to me for, with all due respect, friends, I loathe the GOP and everything it has stood for these past 30 years. I can say the same about the Democrats. :D
Specter voted against in order to ingratiate himself to Sestak’s supporters. I hope you Bitter Pennsylvanians kick his ass back to his Center City law firm.
The Democrats I most admire–Feingold, Dorgan, Bayh, the Udalls, Jon Tester–voted FOR. Lieberman voted AGAINST. So did Kerry. And Bernie Sanders.
Well. Lots of political rethinking to do here in Year One of the Era of Hope. As for me and mine, we’re putting together a range party for the afternoon.
Lugar and Voinovich… GRRRRR. The two votes needed. (Although a Dem or two may have swapped if that happened, but I digress)
They say we should not run “real” conservatives, like Toomey, because we will lose. What’s the freakin’ difference if we “win” and end up being betrayed by a lightweight anyways?
Well, if someone in Hoosierlandia that is even moderately pro-gun goes up against Lugar, they’ve got my vote out of pure spite.
Voinovich doesn’t surprise me, he has always been outspoken on his hate for firearms. Just because he is an “R” doesn’t make him him pro-2A.
Mike Dewine (the other “R” senator from Ohio) was the same way before he got beat by Brown. Brown actually had a D or C rating from the NRA during the last election while Dewine had a solid F-.
This was a surprising result. One that the amendment was voted on so fast that it took a lot of people by surprise. Shumer was about to burst a blood vessel thinking it would pass.
The other surprise is that it almost past.
Only 2 GOP voted against it: Lugar and Voinovich. I think that will kill their election chances by the GOP and they will have primary challenges.
Bryd and Kennedy not voting was expected,but Mikulski was a reliable anti gun vote and she did not vote. To be assured of passage next time we need 3 Democrats to vote yay.
I am not surprised by the Senate support on a general law on gun rights but federal pushing to state to permit CCW in their states against their will is surprising. A lot of people were concerned about consolidating the idea that the feds can do this. If they require gun permits to be honored they can vote against CCW in the states is my worry.
This vote shows how the gains in the states in the last 20 years on CCW from Florida to the most recent, I think Michagan, had set the stage for this and probably the positive Heller decision.
I’m with you Caleb. It will be a symbolic gesture, but Lugar won’t get any vote from me either.
I’ll say it again and again. How can a hoosier politician name Lugar :) vote against this?
To those unfamiliar with the bristlling with guns SW area of Indianapolis, that joke might not be as funny, but I can’t help laughing about even though I’m as pissed about the vote as Caleb is.
RAH. Lugar is entrenched. For those of you outside the Hoosier state and unfamiliar with the situation, I have to let you know. Voting against anyone named Bayh, Lugar, or Carson is a losing proposition, and most likely synbolic regardless of cause or need supporting that choice.
So, how long until we can try again?
Any time really, but that’s going to be based on what Harry Reid is willing to do, and also on the political situation. It wouldn’t make much sense to bring it back under circumstances where we’ll get defeated again.
Bringing it back as a standalone bill isn’t a possibility as long as Big-O is in the White House. It has to get attached to a must pass bill.
Okay, rephrasing:
How long do you think until it will be reintroduced? After 2010?
I don’t really know. All I can offer is a wild assed guess. But I’m going to guess it’ll probably appear before 2010. But we’ll see.
Dave is right – Indiana politics are seriously entrenched, and it would take nothing short of several miracles to unseat Lugar come 2010. Hell, in 2006 he ran unopposed. People talk about Chicago Machine politics, but we’ve got a pretty efficient machine in Indiana.
Is not Indiana a pro gun state? I know that near the Illinois border it is not. But surely a GOP can challenge Lugar in a primary? Lugar has been reliable liberal vote for a while.
Or are the primaries open? If so that can hurt a conservative pro gun candidate.
Daschle was a hard person to dislodge but Thune did it.
I do not know Indiana politics so that is why I am asking.
Very much a pro gun state. In fact, I think the state has the highest percentage of permit holders of any state in the country. I also recall reading about the extremely high percentage of folks living in the general SW side of Indianapolis that have guns, and having lived in that area on and off much of my life, I believe it.
Part of the problem here is guns are pretty much safe from state level shenanigans, so fewer people pay enough attention to the gun issue. As for running against him, I posted what I think is a funny solution over at Caleb’s blog.
Dave, I read your idea on Caleb’s, It is a cute idea. I do agree that the time has come to get rid of Lugar and recruit a good pro gun candidate.
Maybe your idea would work!
I kinda wonder why Ron Wyden voted no.
I mean, yeah, he’s a complete douchebag “Progressive” democrat and I rue the day my vote failed to oppose him effectively enough last November.
But Oregon has shall-issue CCWs, and I don’t see why he’d oppose the bill.
(And I’d love to see it as a standalone bill just to force Obama to veto it with is own hands and then explain it away in 2012.
If he bothers to run.)
A standalone bill is just going to die in the Senate. Pelosi controls the agenda in the House. It’ll never see Obama’s desk, except attached to something the Democrats have to pass.
On the bright side, my two Colorado senators (both with D’s next to their names) both voted yes.
I just sent thank you letters to Burr and Hagan. Good to see the support.
As will I. Seeing Hagan come through was a pleasant surprise.
It’s gonna be great when Specter is retired next year.
I note that my michigan senators stabenow and levin both voted no. I contacted them before and urged them to vote yes. I guess I should not be surprised,but I kind of was, as Michigan recognizes ccw permits from any other issuing state. I am not a single issue voter, and am an independant, but I am watching the records of my elected officials closely like never before. I think maybe all of this stuff happening maybe a good thing, if for no other reason than that.