Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Another Vote To End Iraq War Defeated updated

Senator Russ Feingold is an American patriot.

Only 28 Democrats voted for the Feingold-Reid bill today. Nays included Webb,
Tester, Inouye, who according to Feingold’s office wanted a clean appropriations
bill, and many others, including Carl Levin and Joe Lieberman. Nays were 68,
with 4 senators, including Barack Obama, not voting. I called his senate office
but no one had information on whether he was in D.C. this morning or why he
didn’t vote on this important bill. I’m waiting to hear back from them.

Obama has supported Reid-Feingold twice before. But to say this is a pattern with Obama is an understatement. He didn’t vote for the Lieberman-Kyle legislation either. In addition, on my radio show today, Chase Martyn mentioned that Obama plans to also skip out on a barbecue this Saturday where all of the other candidates will appear. He doesn’t seem to want to be caught standing next to his opponents. Evidently, the plan is to market Obama as above and beyond his colleagues. They don’t want a side by side comparison if they can control it and keep it from happening. He began skipping out on events at the first of the year and I called him on it. I took heat for it too. Nobody else seems interested.

Akaka (D-HI), Yea Biden (D-DE), Yea Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Yea Byrd (D-WV), Yea Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea Clinton (D-NY), Yea Dodd (D-CT), Yea Durbin (D-IL), Yea Feingold (D-WI), Yea Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Yea Kennedy (D-MA), Yea Kerry (D-MA), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea Menendez (D-NJ), Yea Murray (D-WA), Yea Obama (D-IL), Not Voting Reid (D-NV), Yea Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Yea Schumer (D-NY), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Yea

UPDATE II: I was able to confirm that Obama was in Washington Cty. Iowa until 1:45 p.m. central time today. Thanks Chase. He’s supposedly going to Chicago for the evening, as some commenters have mentioned.

UPDATE: More drama on Iraq, this coming from the House.

I’m told, however, that there’s a bit more to these tensions than meet the eye. House insiders say they think that this anonymous dumping on Obey came from the office of House Dem leader Steny Hoyer. (snip) Hoyer is a big proponent of the new House Iraq bill being sponsored by Dem Rep. Neil Abercrombie that was voted on yesterday and passed overwhelmingly. Because this measure lacks a binding withdrawal timetable, others in leadership — like Pelosi — are cool to the idea, insiders point out. Hoyer cared more about Abercrombie than the other leaders did, leading his office to get irked by Obey’s distraction. “The dumping on Obey likely came from Hoyer, who was much more enthusiastic about the moderate — read: toothless — Abercrombie legislation than the rest of leadership is,” a House insider tells me. … ..