Last night, the Senate failed to approve the auto rescue package, voting 52–35 in favor of proceeding on the bill — just eight short of the 60 votes that were needed. Over on the Wonk Room, Dan Weiss takes a look at the 20 senators who voted for the Wall Street bailout but voted against the auto rescue last night (as well as the 10 others who skipped the vote last night, but voted for the financial bailout):
Yes to TARP, No to autoYes to TARP, Absent for autoSen. Max Baucus (D-MT)Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX)Sen. John Isakson (R-GA)Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL)Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)Sen. John Thune (R-SD)Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE)Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR)Sen.Ted Stevens (R-AK)Sen. John Sununu (R-NH)
Biden was tending to transition duties, while Kerry was in Poznan, Poland, participating in U.N. climate change talks. Alexander was home recovering from surgery. Why did these other Senators feel auto workers weren’t as deserving as Wall Street? We’d like to know. If you see statements from them, please let us know by email or in the comments section.
Update:
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher in his heyday, was scheduled to appear Sunday at a sports card show in Taylor, Michigan to sign autographs. “But Bunning was kicked off the schedule after he helped derail an auto-industry loan package in the Senate Thursday night.” (HT: TP commenter cali)