Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Breaking News!
Well, Howling Latina is certain that facts will not stop GOPers from spouting some crap about the 'rule of law' as they no doubt continue to speed on the highway, cheat on their taxes and at the polls, and then blame everything under the sun to some hapless third party like boogey illegals.Two new studies by California researchers counter negative perceptions that immigrants increase crime and job competition, showing that they are incarcerated at far lower rates than native-born citizens and actually help boost their wages
A study released Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that immigrants who arrived in the state between 1990 and 2004 increased wages for native workers by an average 4%.
Immigrants are the backbone of this nation. If you don't believe HL, just ask your friendly Northern Virginia real estate agent or builder.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Go Maryland, Go!
As Virginia is set to expand the death penalty, across the Potomac, the Senate Judicial Proceedings committee in Maryland is seriously considering doing away with capital punishment, the Washington Post reports.
Right now, one of the members, Sen. Alex X. Mooney (R-Frederick), is conflicted and holds the key as to whether a bill abolishing the death penalty sees the light of day on the Senate floor or not.
[F]ive of 11 committee members signed on to the bill, Mooney could be the vote that determines whether the repeal legislation gets shelved or makes its way to the Senate floor. Usually a reliable conservative vote -- he opposed expansion of the state's hate crimes definition to protect gays and lesbians two years ago and the stem cell research bill last year -- he said he's undecided.That's a deal that Howling Latina is willing to make with the devil. Reserving the ultimate punishment for the worst of the worst. As things stand in Virginia, the General Assembly simply keeps on adding more and more crimes to the list of capital offenses while leaving it up to the commonwealth attorney to see who spins the wheel of "fortune" in jourisdictional roulette.The Catholic church opposes the death penalty, and Mooney worries about innocents being put to death. But the 35-year-old senator said he has qualms about a complete repeal. He said he wonders whether exceptions should be made for people who murder police officers or prison guards.
Let us pray that Maryland legislators listen to the better angels of their heart and mind. And in the meantime, let us also hope that the Supreme Court strikes mandatory sentencing, which leaves all the power in the hands of prosecutors so judges can once again JUDGE.
That might be the only way to stop the killing machine in Virginia; at least death-row defendants might have a running chance.
Why it Matters...
Nevertheless, in reading a post by Murray Waas of the National Journal, one thing is for sure. Cheney was up to his eyeballs 'en el asunto de Plame.'
You see, Libby testified to the FBI that he learned of Plame's identity from NBC journalist Tim Russert on July 10, 2003, "[b]ut notes of Libby's entered into evidence during his trial indicate that Libby learned that Plame was a CIA officer from Cheney during a June 12, 2003 telephone conversation, almost a month before Libby spoke with Russert."
Libby later told very much the very same story he told Cheney during two FBI interviews in the fall of 2003 and later during two appearances before the federal grand jury hearing evidence in the CIA leak case on March 5, 2004 and March, 24, 2004.
The even more amazing breathtaking aspect is that Cheney obviously knew that Russert had not been the first person to tell Libby about Plame since he'd disclosed the information a whole month beforehand.
Here are portions of the Libby transcript:
"I told the vice- you know, there was- the president said anybody who knows anything should come forward or something like that... I went to the vice president and said, you know, I was not the person who talked to Novak."And he [said] something like, 'I know that.' And I said, you know, 'I learned this from Tim Russert.' And he sort of tilted his head to the side a little bit and then I may have in that conversation said, I talked to other -- I talked to people about it on the weekend," Libby said in apparent reference to his conversations with Cooper and Miller.
Well, why no. Instead Cheney went into immediate action to make sure the White House was "[n]ot going to protect one staffer + sacrifice the guy who was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder because of the incompetence of others."
And around the same time, Bush was busy telling White House reporters that he doubted anyone would ever find out who leaked the name of a CIA operative from his administration to the press, because you know, "how many sources have [reporters] had that's leaked information, that [they've] exposed or...been exposed?" In sync, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan also gave Libby a clean bill of health.
"Must happen today," Cheney had earlier written on a scrap sheet of paper about publicly absolving 'Big-time' Junior.
Sure appears a bit astonishing...a whole lot of planets coincidentally aligning at the same angle and at the very same time.
UPDATE: Raw Story reports that a top Libby court blogger thinks Cheney is the next fish on the menu of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. To make her point, Marcy Wheeler noted that Fitzgerald had not called as a witness during Libby's trial his former deputy, Eric Edelman, or former Cheney spokeswoman and Libby aide, Jenny Mayfield.
Savings them for next Fitzmas, perhaps...?
Sunday, February 18, 2007
'McMissile' Brings McMega Misjustice
Today the Washington Post reports that a mother of three whose husband is serving his third duty in Iraq has been thrown into prison by some frigging jury who obviously doesn't have the sense that God gave a cockroach.
You see, she threw a McDonald cup filled with ice at another vehicle; and the other woman, well, she's fine, but thank you for asking.
The Stafford woman was sentenced the minimum two years--wholly based on what this dumb-ass prosecutor decided to charge her with. The poor woman was set to start nursing school; and now her whole life is ruined because of some bullshit case-hardened prosecutor.
Well, let's hope the judge overrules the jury's pronouncement and reduces the verdict and sentence to fit the proportionality of the crime.
Howling Latina probably doesn't have to tell you that the woman is a person of color; just another one to add to the list of those who are disenfranchised with no voice in their government.
Can any person reading this post honestly believe that if the person throwing the cup had been lili-white with a few well placed connections the charge and verdict would not have been different?!?
Think it's all about the rule of law?!? Well, let us harken back to the case of Susan Cummings, the heiress from Fauquier County of a few years ago who received 60 days for killing her Argentine polo-playing boyfriend...
Enough with treating every damn law infraction as if it's the most horrid sin and demanding the needle, or at minimum a felony conviction with prison time when a much lesser penalty is in order.
For crying out loud, don't we have a budget to fix and roads to build?!? With these tyrannical laws zapping all the $$$ toward correction elites and the correctional complex, no wonder Virginia is too broke to fix the transporation problem and hire a few teachers to properly educate our children.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Holy Cow! Dems Picked Up Seven Republicans
Howling Latina had presciently predicted that Dems would fall four short, even if her math at the time was a little screwy
Republicans voting with the Democratic majority were Sens. John Warner of Virginia, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Gordon Smith of Oregon, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine.
Looks like Liebermann broke the Sabbath commandment "to vote for more war."
Well...here's where the other four votes are going to come from: John Sununu of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and two from the following three: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Pete Domenici of New Mexico or Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina. All candidates are up for reelection in '08 and Dole is complaining that the upcoming congressional elections are beset by "the worst political environment in memory." .
She ain't seen nothing yet. America will not be denied. Bush's outrage and disaster must immediately end!
Please Sen. Russ Potts, Don't Retire!
Leading the divide are social issues, including immigration, but as evidenced by the comments at the end of the post, the hysteria is about them 'illegals," specifically, intolerance.
The list of complains are the uppidiness of immigrants for refusing to keep their social place as 'migrant workers' with absolutely no rights, the horror of their language, and about taxpayers having to 'dig' into their imaginary pockets to pay their way.
Well, here's a little secret. A majority of 'illegals' pay taxes under a phony social security card and will never collect said benefits for same.
The only people robbing taxpayers are the legislators who blab on and on about how they're savings citizens' way of life as they let the whole state go to hell in a handbasket and try to take away the right to live free of Big Virginia Brother!
Yes, they spout some crapola about saving taxpayers from some unknown evil tax hike, while the zillionaires and behemoth corporations get millions and millions of $$$ in tax breaks and the commonwealth lies on the brink of the abyss.
The immigrant boogie man is just the latest wedge issue so that batwings can keep their unchecked power as schools deteriorate, traffic piles up, energy prices skyrocket, and all the while they try to distract us by laying blame on a nonexistent problem caused by a powerless minority, when in fact it is they who caused a majority of the chaos through their cavalier neglect.
Remember Willie Horton?!? And the mighty need to build all those state prisons to feed the correctional institution elites?!? Exactly what did Virginians gain from all those prisons, except to find our children caught up in the Draconian edicts of the new laws?!?
Well, get use to it, my dear Virginians. With Northern Virginia growing by leaps and bounds, moderation and temperance will rule supreme; and after the 2010 census, the batwings will be slapped with a dose of constituent reality without the benefit of their gerrymandered districts.
Oh, please Sen. Potts, as one of your constituents, don't retire. Just one more term!
"Meet the Press"
The topic will the recent Iraqi vote in the House and Senate against Bush's escalation from the perspective of two opponents, the White House reaction and how things look on the ground as told by a veteran war correspondent back in the states for a few days. .
Friday, February 16, 2007
Holy Cow! Dems May Only Need Four More Senators
You see, Sen. John Mc Cain will not be voting; and of course, Sen. Tim Johnson will still be in the hospital. Sen. Joe Libermann does not work on the Sabbath, which leaves 97 senators -- provided every other GOP and Democratic member shows up and votes.
Calculating what it would take to break a filibuster of 97 senators, leaves 58 votes needed. And with Sens. John Warner of Virginia, Gordon Smith of Washington, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine ready to vote with the Dems, we only need four more vote to break the filibuster.
Ninety-seven senators times three-fifths of total votes = 58 needed votes.
Oops, that's right; it's three-fifths of all members or 60 votes. But...as the Washington Times helpfully points out the rules were changed with majority votes only.
[T]thanks in large part to the efforts of Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, the Senate rule governing filibusters was significantly changed in 1975. No longer would two-thirds of the members voting be necessary to invoke cloture; instead, three-fifths of the Senate membership (or 60 votes in a 100-member body) would be required. To achieve that Senate rule change in 1975, moreover, the Senate used at least three majority votes (51-42, 48-40, 46-43).Oh, never mind; it did initially look like a good idea but Howling Latina supposes that Dems shouldn't really monkey around with Senate rules, especially since the pesky law of karma usuually reigns supreme. Something GOPers forgot during the "nuclear option" debate; and their unrepentant hubris in their quest for power in recent yesteryears.
Roll Call - What'z Up with JoAnn Davis?
Interestingly, Republican Rep. JoAnn Davis, Howling Latina's own congresswoman did not vote at all. Other Republicans not voting were Reps. Charles William Boustany Jr., who serves a mostly Democratic district in the southwest tip of Louisiana, Frank A. LoBiondo of New Jersey and Dennis Hastern, the former Speaker of the House.
As some readers might recall, Davis recently recovered from cancer; but in the 210th Congress, she was able to vote for the Democratic bill to raise the minimum wage as well as introduce a bevy of bills.
Curious and even more curiouser is the fact that Davis did not record a vote when Congress voted on CAFTA back in 2005. Although some might fault her for not voting with the Dems, she is a Republican, after all.
HL finds her voting record sort've inexplicable in light of her alleged hard-right worldview.
Republican Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia voted with the Democrats; and some have hinted Davis will retire from the House in '08, whether Sen. John Warner seeks reelection or not.
Finally, the only two Democrats to vote with the GOPers were Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, who also voted "for all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton and Jim Marshall of Georgia. Democrats not voting were Reps. Brian Norton Baird of New Mexico and Jerrold Nadler of New York.
For the roll call, click here.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
House Rules Committee - Worst Person in the World'
That's right. Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's "Countdown" awarded the dubious distinction to the Rules Committee of the Virginia State House for refusing to set-up a commission to help celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 200th anniversary in 2009.
An idiotic Virginian is even quoted by the Richmond Times-Dispatch saying that honoring the 16th president would represent the worst kind of "historical myopia and amnesia at its worse." How dare folks “kowto[w] to the leader of Virginia's enemies"? he decries.
Robert Lamb, a lawyer and member of Sons of Confederate Veterans, speaking for himself, reminded the Virginia legislators that Lincoln, after all, “sent armies into Virginia [and] ‘laid waste to the land.’"
If anyone's 200th birthday should be honored, it should be that of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America, who was born on June 3, 1808, said Lamb, who was wearing a tie with a pattern of Confederate flags.
House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, said he didn't favor the resolution, but not because of Lamb's comments, which he later called "just awful." The state should celebrate Lincoln's birth along with the rest of the nation, he said.
"I don't know if we need a commission" since he wasn't a native Virginian, he said of the Kentucky-born Lincoln, who launched his political career in Illinois.
House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, said the three-year, 15-member commission "is perhaps a bit more than we need to do."
The measure was unanimously passed by the Senate earlier this year; and the cost, according to Democratic supporters would be nominal.
Besides....like "House Minority Leader Franklin P. Hall, D-Richmond...reminded the GOP-controlled committee," Lincoln was a Republican, after all.
It's Almost Official, Tom Davis Is Not 'Surging'
Rep. thomas M. Davis II (R-Va.) lamented that "these are purely political statements, and the debate we should be having is the most apolitical subject of all -- national security in a time of peril." He then announced that he will vote for the resolution.Davis has also done a little early-season flip-flopping as regards the Tysons Corner tunnel, the Washington Post reports this morning as well.
Maybe his lovely bride's upcoming state Senate campaign may have swayed his resoluteness with election-year light to see things the same way as Gov. Tim Kaine and a majority of Northern Virginians.
You know, the same governor who is doing everything humanly possible to keep Virginia moving forward but nonetheless gets characterized by GOP mouthpieces as a booster of higher taxes!
Indeed! What hath thou now to sayeth about one of your own, my dear GOP shills; and you know who you are...The public groundswell against building an elevated track through Tysons Corner for a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport has failed to force a change in course. But it has helped sway one key player: Rep. Thomas M. Davis III.
In July, the Virginia Republican co-wrote a forceful letter warning Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) that switching to an underground route in Tysons could jeopardize federal funding for the 23-mile line. The warnings, repeated in later meetings, persuaded Kaine to reject a tunnel in September.
[...]
Last weekend, Davis appeared at a rally of tunnel supporters in Vienna, wearing a pro-tunnel sticker and declaring that elected officials must do everything they can to determine whether an underground route is possible. He said yesterday that he is building congressional support for preserving federal funding for the project if it switches to a tunnel.
Shaun Kenney & The Washington Post
The Democratic Party is having their annual JJ Dinner at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on Saturday and Obama will be the speaker of honor. Every ticket has been sold; and more than few sad supporters had to be turned away.Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president Saturday, pledging early support from a Southern Democrat as the Illinois senator begins his campaign for the White House.
Kaine will sign onto Obama's presidential team ahead of the senator's appearance at the Virginia Democratic Party's annual fundraiser Saturday night, according to sources familiar with Kaine's decision. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they do not want to preempt the formal announcement.
Now, for some lame reason the Washington Post also felt the need to quote a GOPer, who of course spouted some inane hackneyed commentary as old-hat as the canned laughter on an "I Love Lucy" rerun.
Shaun Kenney, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia, said Kaine's endorsement of Obama would be in keeping with the political principles of both men.Yea, yea, Democrats will raise your taxes and GOPers will bankrupt you.
"I don't think it's surprising that a governor who has proposed billion-dollar tax increases will endorse one of the most liberal members of the United States Senate," Kenney said Wednesday.
Hmm, what ever happened to that ol' journalism truism that a quote should never be added unless it brings color, freshness, sparkle or something new to a story?!?
Update: Contrary to what HT was told over the phone, there are still a few tickets remaining at $165 a pop.
Is Tom Davis Surging?@?
This morning, The New Republic online offers a story about "House Republicans danc[ing] awkwardly around the Iraq vote." And leading the hoedoewn of mavericks is Representative Walter Jones of North Carolina; ten other GOPers have joined him so far.
Of special interest to Northern Virginians, one member of the exclusive club is none other than our own Tom Davis, the Virginia would-be senator (if only that ol' geezer Warner would retire) who is chomping at the bits to permanently boogie to music on the Senate floor.
Virginia Republican Tom Davis spent the first part of this week weighing the resolution's pros and cons and teasing the press corps, telling The Washington Post's Jonathan Weisman that it was "not inconceivable" he would decide to support it.Now, let's just see if Davis follows through and joins the Dems with his vote. Earlier in the story, the reporter also mentions that Davis had happily sat in a "seat...within the chamber's staunch Republican section."
[...]
"From here, the surge looks more like the status quo on steroids," he said,
but then he added that "the symbolic resolution doesn't say enough. It says only
what some members are against, not what they are for."
After he finished, the reporters in the gallery clustered together in confusion. "Did he say what he was gonna do?" one hissed. He may not have said it, but his recessional made it perfectly clear: Slowly and somberly...Davis and his flack wound their way to the left, along the darkened corridor behind the Republican section and through the rows of empty chairs to join Jones and his renegade band.
Looks like Andrew Hurst scared the bejeezus out of Davis. After all, it wasn't that long ago when Davis was busy helping Tom DeLay keep his crooked ass in the majority.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Gov.Tim Kaine to Endorse Obama!
ABC 7 News reports that Gov. Tim Kaine will be endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president.
My readers may recall that Howling Latina endorsed Obama back in November when posts about Obama on my humble blog were highlighted by google.news.
Yep, the buzz was that low.
Officials say Virginia Governor Tim Kaine plans to endorse Illinois Senator Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
Two people with political ties to the governor say that Kaine could make the endorsement as early as this weekend.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
"Meet the Press"
Russert will then hold a roundtable discussion with David Broder, Washington Post columnist, Gwen Ifill, PBS moderator of "Washington Week," Howard Kurtz, Washington Post media reporter and host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and Roger Simon, chief political columnist of Politico, a new blog with former Washington Post reporters.
Topics will include the '08 White House race and Barak Obama's announcement, the Libby trial and other news related morsels of interest.
A Shout-out to His Homies, from Jackson Miller
An insane bill recently introduced by Del. Jackson Miller and passed by the House would even go so far as to "strip charities...of state and local funding if any of the money" were to be used to provide any "services" to illegal immigrants.
Howling Latina supposes that places of worship like Manassas Baptist Church will now have to stop their afternoon services and Bible study groups in Spanish, because you know, heaven forbid some illegal receive "services."
Yep, and in honor and glory of the new law, all church daycare centers will henceforth ask Sonia and Julito for documentation before they take their swing seat in the playground.
This is to make sure the monies that are going to charities and organizations go to the people they are intended to go to, which is legal immigrants," said Del. Jackson H. Miller (R-Manassas), the sponsor of the bill. "The ultimate goal is to make the commonwealth of Virginia an unwelcome place if you are in this country illegally."
Maj. James Allison, general secretary of the National Capital and Virginia Division of the Salvation Army, said his organization will have no choice but to turn people away if Miller's bill is approved. "Our main desire is to get service to people who need it, without discrimination, but we have to comply by state, federal and local guidelines as it relates to funding, so we would have to tighten up," Allison said.
Go figure!
Groups linked to the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads and neo-Nazis grew significantly more active, holding more rallies, distributing leaflets and increasing their presence on the Internet — much of it focused on stirring anti-immigrant sentiment, a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League says.
“Extremist groups are good at seizing on whatever the hot button is of the day and twisting the message to get new members,” Deborah M. Lauter, ADL civil rights director, said Monday. “This one seems to be taking hold with more of mainstream America than we’d like to see.”
Kitty Hardt, director of program operations at Commonwealth Catholic Charities: "We don't stop services to look for documentation."
The firestones of humanity are constantly stoked by people like Miller and his ilk, equal to any garden-variety hate group. Yes Virginia, we must be vigilant against those with sweet words that make the once unthinkable seem reasonable.
As Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes recently told Newsweek: “Whenever you think the Klan is down and out, they find another way to reinvent themselves."
Hell, illegals are just the latest fall guys for bigots and racists.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Sen. Tim Johnson May Break Filibuster
That's right, my dear GOP wingnuts, "after suffering a brain injury in December, Johnson is "initiating conversations with friends and family. He's also reading letters and cards, a sign that his mental sharpness is steadily improving," writes the Sioux Falls Argus Leader via Political Wire.
And the ground breaking news is that "[i]f Democrats need his vote to approve a resolution opposing a troop increase in Iraq, [Senate Majority Leader] Reid told McClatchy-Tribune News Service, he might bring Johnson in."
Let's look at the cloture tally:
TPM Cafe has an excellent post about the GOP Class of '08.On the Democratic side:Akaka, Daniel K.- (D - HI), Baucus, Max- (D - MT), Bayh, Evan- (D - IN), Biden, Joseph R., Jr.- (D - DE), Bingaman, Jeff- (D - NM), Boxer, Barbara- (D - CA), Brown, Sherrod- (D - OH), Byrd, Robert C.- (D - WV), Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA), Cardin, Benjamin L.- (D - MD), Carper, Thomas R.- (D - DE), Casey, Robert P., Jr.- (D - PA), Clinton, Hillary Rodham- (D - NY), Conrad, Kent- (D - ND), Dodd, Christopher J.- (D - CT), Dorgan, Byron L.- (D - ND), Durbin, Richard- (D - IL), Feingold, Russell D.- (D - WI), Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA), Harkin, Tom- (D - IA), Inouye, Daniel K.- (D - HI), Kennedy, Edward M.- (D - MA), Kerry, John F.- (D - MA), Klobuchar, Amy- (D - MN), Kohl, Herb- (D - WI), Landrieu, Mary L.- (D - LA), Lautenberg, Frank R.- (D - NJ), Leahy, Patrick J.- (D - VT), Levin, Carl- (D - MI), Lincoln, Blanche L.- (D - AR), McCaskill, Claire- (D - MO), Menendez, Robert- (D - NJ), Mikulski, Barbara A.- (D - MD), Murray, Patty- (D - WA), Nelson, Bill- (D - FL), Nelson, E. Benjamin- (D - NE), Obama, Barack- (D - IL), Pryor, Mark L.- (D - AR), Reed, Jack- (D - RI), Reid, Harry- (D - NV), Rockefeller, John D., IV- (D - WV), Salazar, Ken- (D - CO), Schumer, Charles E.- (D - NY), Stabenow, Debbie- (D - MI), Tester, Jon- (D - MT), Webb, Jim- (D - VA), Whitehouse, Sheldon- (D - RI) and Wyden, Ron- (D - OR).
On the Independent side: Sanders, Bernard- (I - VT).
On the Republican side: Brownback, Sam- (R - KS), Coleman, Norm- (R - MN), Collins, Susan M.- (R - ME), Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE), Snowe, Olympia J.- (R - ME), Specter, Arlen- (R - PA), Warner, John- (R - VA) L
Possible Defections: Alexander, Lamar- (R - TN), Gregg, Judd- (R - NH) , Murkowski, Lisa- (R - AK) and Sununu, John E.- (R - NH)
Less likely defections: Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID), Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC), Domenici, Pete V.- (R - NM) and Voinovich, George V.- (R - OH) .
Unknowns: Corker, Bob- (R - TN) and Vitter, David- (R - LA)
Up for reelection in 2008 are class 2 senators: Alexander, Lamar- (R - TN), Allard, Wayne- (R - CO), Baucus, Max- (D - MT), Biden, Joseph R., Jr.- (D - DE), Chambliss, Saxby- (R - GA), Cochran, Thad- (R - MS), Coleman, Norm- (R - MN), Collins, Susan M.- (R - ME), Cornyn, John- (R - TX), Craig, Larry E.- (R - ID), Dole, Elizabeth- (R - NC), Domenici, Pete V.- (R - NM), Durbin, Richard- (D - IL), Enzi, Michael B.- (R - WY), Graham, Lindsey- (R - SC), Hagel, Chuck- (R - NE), Harkin, Tom- (D - IA), Inouye, Daniel K.- (D - HI), Johnson, Tim- (D - SD), Kerry, John F.- (D - MA), Landrieu, Mary L.- (D - LA), Lautenberg, Frank R.- (D - NJ), Levin, Carl- (D - MI), McConnell, Mitch- (R - KY), Pryor, Mark L.- (D - AR), Reed, Jack- (D - RI), Roberts, Pat- (R - KS), Rockefeller, John D., IV- (D - WV), Sessions, Jeff- (R - AL), Smith, Gordon H.- (R - OR), Stevens, Ted- (R - AK), Sununu, John E.- (R - NH) and Warner, John- (R - VA).
