Senate Bigotry Watch

The Senate vote for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage failed miserably, of course. The final vote was 49-48 in favor, far short of the 67 votes needed to approve the amendment. This is no surprise since no one expected the measure to pass—the vote was just a callous attempt by Republicans to pander to the bigotry of their base, after all.

Of the 49 votes in favor, all but two were cast by Republicans. The "yea" votes cast by Democrats were from former Klansman Robert Byrd and conservative Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. Plaudits to the following six Republicans for resisting their party's hateful agenda and voting with the Democratic bloc:

• Chafee (R-RI)
• Collins (R-ME)
• Gregg (R-NH)
• McCain (R-AZ)
• Snowe (R-ME)
• Specter (R-PA)
• Sununu (R-NH)

That's basically all the New England Republicans in the Senate, plus John McCain (and—surprise, surprise—not including Santorum from Pennsylvania). It's nice to see that a few people in the Senate still have a conscience. The fact that they're outnumbered should surprise no one who follows politics.