F-22 Vote In The Senate

The word from the White House was that they'd get this vote, so we'll see. Watching on C-SPAN now...

...I've heard a Lamar Alexander, Mark Warner and Ben Nelson Aye, with Maria Cantwell and Susan Collins no. It'll be close.

Bayh, aye!

Klobuchar, Harkin, Tim Johnson aye, and Bill Nelson as well. Blanche Lincoln gets an aye as well, with Wyden and Stabenow. Lieberman's a no.

I think some of the moderate Dems without a big stake in the F-22 are being at least a little honest about fiscal responsibility.

Udall of Colorado a no...

Bob Casey, aye... Udall of Colorado just changed his vote to aye! Pryor went aye as well, with Webb and Dorgan.

I think we might get this.

...Ensign went aye. I guess Judd Gregg and Mike Enzi did as well. And Coburn!

...I may not have added context. An aye vote would strike funding from the defense authorization bill for the F-22 fighter, a weapon of which the Pentagon and the Air Force don't want any more. If we're ever going to break the military-industrial complex, we have to win this kind of vote.

George Voinovich and Jeff Merkley went aye. And Kit Bond! Wow, lots of Republicans voting for this. Richard Shelby, too.

...Conrad and Landrieu are aye votes. McCaskill went aye. And John Kerry. No for Mark Begich, I think this is an Alaska-Hawaii alliance, as both Hawaii Senators went no as well. That happens fairly often in the Senate.

Lindsey Graham and Lisa Murkowski go no, with Jon Tester (damn). Baucus goes no.

Lindsey Graham just changed his vote to aye!

...The final vote is 58-40! Amendment approved! That's a huge victory for the President and transforming defense spending.

...Obama comments on the passage of stripping F-22 funding. "I reject the notion that we have to waste billions of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary weapons... that's why I'm grateful that the Senate just voted not to spend $1.75 billion on F-22 funding that we don't need. Our budget is a zero-sum game, and if more money goes to F-22's, it is our troops and our citizens who lose."