Senate Vote Tally re: HR 1426 - The Budget "Compromise"

Well... here are the 32 Republicans who voted with the Democrats and Boehner forces yesterday:

Alexander (R-TN); Ayotte (R-NH); Barrasso (R-WY); Blunt (R-MO); Boozman (R-AR); Brown (R-MA); Burr (R-NC); Chambliss (R-GA); Coats (R-IN); Cochran (R-MS); Collins (R-ME); Corker (R-TN); Cornyn (R-TX); Enzi (R-WY); Grassley (R-IA); Hoeven (R-ND); Hutchison (R-TX); Isakson (R-GA); Johanns (R-NE); Kirk (R-IL); Kyl (R-AZ); Lugar (R-IN); McCain (R-AZ); McConnell (R-KY); Moran (R-KS); Murkowski (R-AK); Portman (R-OH); Roberts (R-KS); Sessions (R-AL); Snowe (R-ME); Thune (R-SD); Wicker (R-MS)

Notice, folks, the two boldfaced names.

(*SHRUG*)

As to "the good guys," the Republican Senators who stood by the principles they publicly espouse:

Coburn (R-OK); Crapo (R-ID); DeMint (R-SC); Ensign (R-NV); Graham (R-SC); Hatch (R-UT); Inhofe (R-OK); Johnson (R-WI); Lee (R-UT); Levin (D-MI); Paul (R-KY); Risch (R-ID); Rubio (R-FL); Shelby (R-AL); Toomey (R-PA); Vitter (R-LA)

Notice Lindsey Graham's name on this list. Note David Vitter's name as well.

Let me just say, folks, though of course we'll never know, my guess is that had either man been the deciding vote to pass or defeat this abortion of a bill... (*SHRUG*)... I have absolutely no doubt that both Graham and Vitter would have voted with McCain, McConnell, and the Dems.

Folks... you need to understand... the House had already passed the bill and in the Senate the Dems were guaranteed a win absent a a united GOP Senate caucus front of opposition.

(*SIGH*)

For the likes of a Lindsey Graham... aligning with "the good guys" on this one was nothing more than a cynical exercise in bait and switch, in "business as usual" smoke and mirrors politics; a vote that was meaningless in terms of advancing conservative constitutionist but one which contributes to Graham's "conservative" voting record as tallied by groups which compile and publicize such ratings.

Folks... yesterday demonstrated beyond any shred of doubt that contrary to common perception, the United States actually is a "four-party" state and not a two-party state.

We have the Democrats.

We have the "TEA Party" Republicans.

We have the Republicrats.

We have the Dempublicans.

Folks... when push came to shove... we had 59 House "TEA Party" Republicans and 16 "TEA Party" Republican Senators stand up for what was right.

On the flip side... 179 Republicrats in the House and 32 Republicrat Senators voted to spend more in 2011 than was spent in 2010.

I truly believe that history will point to yesterday - April 14, 2011 - as the turning point where the decline and fall of the United States of America was set in stone.

OH...! ONE MORE THING...

Up above I deliberately referred to the budget "compromise" as an "abortion of a bill."

A little play on words, my friend... allow me to explain:

You folks remember the whole Planned Parenthood funding issue as it applied to the "riders" originally in HR 1426, right?

Do you remember that as part of the initial "deal" to get the main budget passed Boehner, Reid, and Obama agreed that in return for Republicrats giving away the store, Democrats would "allow" the defunding of Planned Parenthood to be voted upon separately in the Senate... in the Reid Senate... in the Senate Democrats control...?

(*SMIRK*) (*SNORT*)

Now of course the fate of the measure was never in doubt in the Senate. This being the case, more Republicrats felt comfortable joining their "TEA Party" Republican peers in their quixotic quest to ensure that the Hyde Amendment is actually upheld as the Law of the Land and that Planned Parenthood no longer has the opportunity to basic "fund" abortions via the expedient of claiming that federal funding only goes to their "non-abortion" activities.

(Folks... com'on... for those of you who don't know what the word "fungible" means...)

(*SIGH*)

Anyway... along with voting to continue bankrupting our country, the United States Senate also voted on House/Senate Concurrent Resolution 36 - aka: Legislation to defund Planned Parenthood.

Not one single Democrat voted "yea" to defunding Planned Parenthood.

Aside from the abortion issue, just based upon federal governmental funding priorities, 50 Democrats, 2 "Independents" (Lieberman and Sanders), and....

(*DRUM ROLL*)

...five Republicrats voted "nay," signaling that even though our acknowledged national debt (absent unfunded future liabilities) is well over $14 trillion and climbing... even though this year's deficit may run $1.65 trillion (which is of course added to the aforementioned national debt)... they consider continued federal funding the the privately run Planned Parenthood organization to be right up their with national defense and funding the other Constitutionally mandated functions of the federal government.

Just so you know... these five Republicrats were:

Brown (R-MA); Collins (R-ME); Kirk (R-IL); Murkowski (R-AK); and Snowe (R-ME).