Hayden confirmed as DCI, 78 - 15. This conclusively shows that Congress is incapable of seeing the forest from the trees. If they don't see a connection between the Bush administration's unconstitutional raid of a representative's office and the unconstitutional and illegal surveillance of regular Americans, then they're just plain fools.
List of who voted for and against below. It's a sad state...
Here are the
fifteen Dems who get it fourteen Dems & Specter, because I'm too pissed to read properly:
Bayh (D-IN)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Obama (D-IL)
Specter (R-PA)
Wyden (D-OR)
And here's the list of turncoat Dems who have betrayed the rights of the American people by giving a promotion to an architect and implementer of Bush's limitless powers of the executive.
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Byrd (D-WV)
Carper (D-DE)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
I'd point out that Biden is running for president. Not that I'd support him anyway, but he's now affirmed that he would not be a capable defender of the Constitution. I'd also point out that Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer voted for Hayden. These guys are supposed to be leaders of the Party and yet they continue to abandon their role as advocates for the needs of the American people. How can I trust Reid to guide the Senate if he can't wrangle his troops to oppose someone as dangerous as Hayden? Sure,
this isn't his red-cape defense against Sam Alito's confirmation, but it's pretty damning.
I'd add every Republican voted for Hayden, except the list of senators who were not present at the vote:
Boxer (D-CA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dole (R-NC)
Inouye (D-HI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Thune (R-SD)
I was quick on the draw.
lizah and
adigal already had diaries up on the confirmation. Apologies for the repost, but I want to add the roll call.