The Sierra Club called it "an against-all-odds" victory

[mtnsnake]

(NOTE: At the bottom of this post check out the Senators who voted "Yea" (against drilling), those who voted "Nay", and those who didn't vote.)

"December 22, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate blocked opening the nation's largest untapped oil reserve in an Alaska wildlife refuge Wednesday, denying President Bush his top energy priority and delivering a victory to environmentalists who said drilling would threaten wildlife.

snip:
It was a stinging defeat for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, one of the Senate's most powerful members, who had hoped to garner more votes by putting the measure onto a defense spending bill. That forced senators to choose between supporting the drilling measure, or risking the political fallout from voting against money for the troops and hurricane victims.

snip:
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led the floor debate in opposition to the drilling provision, called it "legislative blackmail" and said Democrats agreed they "were not going to get jammed" by the tactic.

snip:
The Sierra Club called it "an against-all-odds" victory.

"Drilling proponents pulled out all the stops, and tried every trick in their playbook," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "This is a tremendous victory for all Americans and proof that the fate of the Arctic refuge must be debated on its merits, not as part of a sneak attack"
http://channelone.com/news/2005/12/22/ap_anwr/

----------------------------------------------

How They Voted:

A yea vote was a vote to strip ANWR drilling from the final defense spending bill.


• YEA (48): Akaka, D-Hawaii; Baucus, D-Mont.; Bayh, D-Ind.; Biden, D-Del.; Bingaman, D-N.M.; Boxer, D-Calif.; Byrd, D-W.V.; Cantwell, D-Wash.; Carper, D-Del.; Clinton, D-N.Y.; Coleman, R-Minn.; Collins, R-Maine; Conrad, D-N.D.; Dayton, D-Minn.; DeWine, R-Ohio.; Dorgan, D-N.D.; Durbin, D-Ill.; Feingold, D-Wis.; Feinstein, D-Calif.; Inouye, D-Hawaii.; Jeffords, I-Vt.; Johnson, D-S.D.; Kennedy, D-Mass.; Kerry, D-Mass.; Kohl, D-Wis.; Lautenberg, D-N.J.; Leahy, D-Vt.; Levin, D-MI.; Lieberman, D-Conn.; Lincoln, D-Ariz.; Lugar, R-Ind.; Mikulski, D-Md.; Murray, D-Wash.; Nelson, D-Fla.; Nelson, D-N.E.; Obama, D-Ill.; Pryor, D-Ariz.; Reed, D-R.I.; Reid, D-Nev.; Rockefeller, D-W.V.; Salazar, D-Colo.; Sarbanes, D-Md.; Schumer, D-N.Y.; Smith, R-Ore.; Snowe, R-Maine; Specter, R-Pa.; Stabenow, D-Mich.; Wyden, D-Ore.

• Nay (45): Alexander, R-Tenn.; Allard, R-Colo.; Allen, R-Va.; Bennett, R-Utah; Bond, R-Mo.; Brownback, R-Kan.; Bunning, R-Ky.; Burns, R-Mont.; Burr, R-N.C.; Chambliss, R-Ga.; Coburn, R-Okla.; Cochran, R-Miss.; Cornyn, R-Texas; Craig, R-Idaho.; Crapo, R-Idaho; Dole, R-N.C.; Domenici, R-N.M.; Ensign, R-Nev.; Enzi, R-Wyo.; Frist, R-Tenn.; Graham, R-S.C.; Grassley, R-Iowa.; Hagel, R-Neb.; Hatch, R-Utah.; Hutchison, R-Texas.; Inhofe, R-Okla.; Isakson, R-Ga.; Kyl, R-Ariz.; Landrieu, D-La.; Lott, R-MS.; Martinez, R-Fla.; McConnell, R-Ky.; Murkowski, R-Alaska.; Roberts, R-Kan.; Santorum, R-Pa.; Sessions, R-Ala.; Shelby, R-Ala.; Stevens, R-Alaska.; Sununu, R-N.H.; Talent, R-Mo.; Thomas, R-Wyo.; Thune, R-S.D.; Vitter, R-La.; Voinovich, R-Ohio.; Warner, R-Va.

• Not voting (7): Chafee, R-R.I.; Corzine, D-N.J.; DeMint, R-S.C.; Dodd, D-Conn.; Gregg, R-N.H.; Harkin, D-Iowa.; McCain, R-Ariz.
http://www.adn.com/front/story/7306045p-7217771c.html

A few things I think we should make note of here:

1) Bush's scheme to drill in the Arctic was so underhanded that 6 Repugs decided to join ranks with the Democrats on this one....Coleman, R-Minn, DeWine, R-Ohio, Lugar, R-Ind, Smith, R-Ore, Snowe, R-Maine; and Specter, R-Pa. I'll bet they're not too popular with Rush these days.

2) One Democrat broke rank and voted with the bushbots...Landrieu, D-La. WTF is up with Landrieu?

3) Check out the people who didn't vote on this important bill:

Three Democrats didn't vote...(Corzine, D-N.J.; Dodd, D-Conn.; and Harkin, D-Iowa.) I hope they had a good excuse.

Four Repugs didn't vote....Chafee, R-R.I.; DeMint, R-S.C.; Gregg, R-N.H.; McCain, R-Ariz. Perhaps McCain was afraid to piss off the people who might be voting for him in 2008? Maybe Democrats should remember this and ask him about that in any future presidential debates that concern the environment.

4) What a great victory for the good guys and for the environment. To think we pulled this important one off and we did it while being the minority. Animals in the Arctic are smiling everywhere today!

[bleedingheart]

1. Santorum voted Nay....for a moment I thought ice tea in Hell was being

served...

[rd_kent]

2. I was a win on the battlefield but not the war

This issue will cntinue to raise its ugly head as long as the neocons have power.

[blm]

6. Isn't this the 4th time it's been pushed by the GOPs? They'll do it again.

They never give up when they think money can be transferred to their cronies.

According to this Kerry quote, they've been battling Repubs on this for many years:

Key Democrats split with Kerry on Arctic oil
Three candidates are vital in helping their party regain Senate

By Tom Curry
National affairs writer
MSNBC
Updated: 6:35 p.m. ET July 9, 2004
WASHINGTON - While the man at the top of the Democratic ticket, Sen. John Kerry, has led the opposition to oil drilling on the coastal plain of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Democrats' hopes of regaining control of the Senate hinge on pro-drilling candidates in three key states: Alaska, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

In Washington on Thursday, the three Democratic candidates in those states — Rep. Brad Carson of Oklahoma, Rep. Chris John of Louisiana, and former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles — joined forces to, in effect, declare their ANWR independence from Kerry.

If this trio wins their races this fall, they'll do it partly by running against Kerry on ANWR.

Not only did Kerry lead a 2002 filibuster that scuttled any chance of approval of ANWR drilling, but he reveled in his role as anti-ANWR crusader.

"How sweet it is," Kerry told reporters after the April 2002 vote to sustain the filibuster against drilling.

In an energy policy speech in January 2002, Kerry said, “Big oil and its allies have lusted over the (Alaska) refuge for two decades. With each attempt, they made up new arguments for despoiling a unique and irreplaceable Arctic environment.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5395869

[acmejack]

3. Landrieu is a DLC dimwit!

Any other questions?

DLC | New Dem Of The Week | December 16, 2002
New Dem of the Week: Mary Landrieu
Despite naysaying from pundits who doubted her prospects of winning, New Democrat Senator Mary Landrieu pulled out a decisive 52-48 victory last week in a Louisiana run-off campaign, earning herself a second term in the U.S. Senate and snuffing talk of a GOP juggernaut in the process.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=103&subid=111&contentid=251108

[rox63]

4. Landrieu is somewhat beholden to the oil industry

It's a big part of the Louisiana economy, and she probably figured she couldn't afford to piss them off too much.

Kinda like Biden on the Bankruptcy bill. Delaware is a center of the credit card industry, which probably is a major reason he supported it.

[Sal Minella]

10. Funds for rebuilding in Louisiana were tied directly to the

ANWR drilling -- Stevens was berating the senators loudly for denying funds to those poor people in Louisiana. Like he cared.

[mainegreen]

5. Note: Snowe didn't break ranks according to your stats.

Snowe is not a moderate. She'll vote for any old crap they shove her way.

[citizen snips]

7. Stevens sure was pissed.

But this is a huge victory for the environment.

[mtnsnake]

8. Yes he was. Look at his picture

and check out his mouth. Whose mouth does it remind you of?

[Larkspur]

9. I believed Chris Dodd had knee surgery when this vote was done

But he flew back 3 or 4 days after his surgery to vote AGAINST the budget bill.

[mtnsnake]

11. Update: This article names only 2 Repugs as joining Dem ranks on this

Looks like DeWine and Chafee were the only 2 Repugs voting with the Dems. I guess several Repugs chickened at the end. I'm not sure why the discrepancy in the two articles, in who voted for what, because both articles were published on Dec 22. Anyway, bottom line is that the Repukes didn't get enough votes...at least this time around.

"Thursday, December 22, 2005

Grudgingly, Snowe and Collins vote for drilling


By BART JANSEN, Washington D.C. Correspondent

"WASHINGTON — Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins essentially held their noses Wednesday and - despite longstanding opposition - cast votes that would have allowed oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Maine Republicans joined a 56-44 majority to limit debate on the $453 billion spending bill for the Defense Department. But 60 votes were needed to overcome the largely Democratic filibuster against the provision to allow Arctic drilling, so the bill's fate remains unresolved.

The only two Republicans to join Democrats in opposing a limit on debate were Sens. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island and Mike DeWine of Ohio.

Technically, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., switched his vote at the end to oppose an end to debate. But that was simply to preserve his right to call up the legislation for another vote in the future. With Frist's vote, the true support for the bill was 57 to 43 in favor of ending debate, three votes shy of victory."

Collins said, "It's very frustrating to have an issue as important as ANWR slipped into a bill that is vital to our national security, essential to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and critical to the future of Bath Iron Works," she said. "That is just an abuse of the legislative process."
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/051222drillinglocal.shtml