Senate Procedural Tax Cut Vote

With a scant debate of 45 minutes and despite Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I- Vt) heroic and brilliant 8.5 hour filibuster on the Senate floor on Friday, December 10 (see CSPAN video), the Senate voted  in a procedural vote to move forward with President Obama’s tax cut ‘compromise’ with Republicans (HR 4853)  83 – 15.

While voting began at 3 pm and the required 60 votes was reached in less than an hour, the vote remained open for another two and a half hours in a highly unusual move as Senators were brought back to DC to cast their vote.  My best guess is that the desire for a Big Win was about making the President look good and ease passage in the House.  

The following Senators voted No; those with an asterisk * are up for re-election in 2012.

* Bingaman (D-NM)

* Brown (D-Oh)

  Coburn (R-Ok)

   DeMint (R SC)

* Ensign (R-Nv)

      Feingold (D-Wisc)

* Gillibrand (D-NY)

Hagan (D-NC)

Lautenberg (D-NJ)

      Leahy (D-Vt)

      Levin (D-Mi)

* Sanders (I-Vt)

Sessions (R-Al)

      Udall (D-Co)

      Voinovich (R-Oh)

December 13, 2010