The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

Alex · 05-21-2007, 11:40 PM

So, on a procedural vote yesterday to move forward in the Senate with the immigration compromise bill the vote was 69-23. That is 8 abstentions.

7 were Democrats, and one was a Republican.

I'm sure they were just busy and, after all, it was just a procedural motion. There is an interesting common thread among most of the abstentions:

Joseph Biden
Hillary Clinton
Christopher Dodd
John Kerry
Barak Obama
John McCain

That's six of the eight. Number 7 is Tim Johnson of South Dakota who is still recovering from a brain hemorrhage last year, so he probably actually was otherwise occupied. The eighth it Bill Nelson from Miami-Dade and I would guess he honestly doesn't know what to do since his Cuban constituents can't, almost by definition, be illegal immigrants.

So, six of the seven real abstentions just happen to be people heavily involved in the run for the White House (or, in Kerry's case, flying in those circles on some kind of political inertia). I could be wrong, but when everybody running for president suddenly develops prior obligations preventing them from getting to the floor for a vote I would have to argue that the issue isn't a popular one.

05-21-2007, 11:40 PM	#11
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	So, on a procedural vote yesterday to move forward in the Senate with the immigration compromise bill the vote was 69-23. That is 8 abstentions. 7 were Democrats, and one was a Republican. I'm sure they were just busy and, after all, it was just a procedural motion. There is an interesting common thread among most of the abstentions: Joseph Biden Hillary Clinton Christopher Dodd John Kerry Barak Obama John McCain That's six of the eight. Number 7 is Tim Johnson of South Dakota who is still recovering from a brain hemorrhage last year, so he probably actually was otherwise occupied. The eighth it Bill Nelson from Miami-Dade and I would guess he honestly doesn't know what to do since his Cuban constituents can't, almost by definition, be illegal immigrants. So, six of the seven real abstentions just happen to be people heavily involved in the run for the White House (or, in Kerry's case, flying in those circles on some kind of political inertia). I could be wrong, but when everybody running for president suddenly develops prior obligations preventing them from getting to the floor for a vote I would have to argue that the issue isn't a popular one.
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