Jun 14, 2005
The Anti-Anti-Lynching Senators ...
I've been curious to know who were the Senators who held out on the Senate's official apology for its failure to adopt anti-lynching legislation in due time. The apology was sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu (D, La) and George Allen (R, Va). It was adopted on a voice vote last night – a voice vote because some Senators did not want a recorded vote. By the time the voice vote was taken, most members of the Senate had signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution. Those who did not, according to Chris Geidner at Law Dork are: Richard Shelby (R, Al), Thad Cochran (R, Ms), Trent Lott (R, Ms), Lamar Alexander (R, Tn), John Cornyn (R, Tx), and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R, Tx). Thanks to Armand at Bloodless Coup for the tip.
Update: Thanks to Rob McDougall in comments, here's a list of additional Senators who apparently did not support the anti-lynching resolution of apology: Robert Bennett (R-Ut.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Michael Crapo (R-Id.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), John Kyl (R-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), and George Voinovich (R-Oh.).
Further Update: Because the Senate did not have a recorded vote on the resolution, the process of trying to identify those who did not support it has been on-going and the lists continue to shift. Law Dork called the offices of all Senators who were not on record as co-sponsors of the resolution and now gives us a list of those whose offices either did not claim to support the resolution or gave mushy answers (such as,"Of course, he must have supported it. It passed unanimously, didn't it?" That's evasive because the resolution was adopted by unanimous consent and there were only about a half-dozen Senators on the floor at the time.) After the telephone calls, Law Dork's list of non-supporters is: Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Michael Crapo (R-Id.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx.), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), and George Voinovich (R-Oh.).
Update: Thanks to Rob McDougall in comments, here's a list of additional Senators who apparently did not support the anti-lynching resolution of apology: Robert Bennett (R-Ut.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Michael Crapo (R-Id.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), John Kyl (R-Ariz.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), and George Voinovich (R-Oh.).
Further Update: Because the Senate did not have a recorded vote on the resolution, the process of trying to identify those who did not support it has been on-going and the lists continue to shift. Law Dork called the offices of all Senators who were not on record as co-sponsors of the resolution and now gives us a list of those whose offices either did not claim to support the resolution or gave mushy answers (such as,"Of course, he must have supported it. It passed unanimously, didn't it?" That's evasive because the resolution was adopted by unanimous consent and there were only about a half-dozen Senators on the floor at the time.) After the telephone calls, Law Dork's list of non-supporters is: Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Michael Crapo (R-Id.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tx.), Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.), and George Voinovich (R-Oh.).