There was only one legitimate reason for a Democrat to vote for cloture on the bankruptcy bill -- that elected official's constituency had jobs on the line. And in that regards, it gives officials from South Dakota and Delaware (centers of credit card companies) an excuse. I can't fault those who vote the interests of their constituents.
That is, unless those elected officials try to go national. As such, Joe Biden (D-MBNA) can kiss his presidential ambitions goodby.
But what about the other Dems who voted for cloture? The full list:
Biden (DE)
Byrd (WV)
Carper (DE)
Conrad (ND)
Johnson (SD)
Kohl (WI)
Landrieu (LA)
Lieberman (CT)
Lincoln (AR)
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Salazar (CO)
Stabenow (MI)
What was their motivation for voting this way? As Atrios points out, many of these senators will vote against the final bill and campaign against the evil bankruptcy bill, but ultimately,
this is the vote that will matter most.
Where was the political pressure to vote for this bill? Who, outside of the powerful credit card lobby (2004 profits: $30 billion) lobbied for passage? Who would've suffered political retribution had they voted against cloture?
Look, the GOP has a big lead in the Senate and solid lead in the House. They have the White House. They will win more of these battles than they will lose.
What we can best do, at this point, is hold our Democrats accountable for their votes. Chosing their corporate funders over the people has to hurt. They have to learn to fear the voters, rather than their corporate funders.
Update: Kevin has more. Even Glenn Reynolds doesn't like it.