Flashback: 8 DEMOCRATIC senators killed the DREAM back in 2007

[alp227]

In October 2007, the US Senate debated the DREAM Act (S. 2205). The final vote was 52-44 in favour with 8 votes short of cloture.

The senators who didn't vote on October 24, 2007 were: Republican John McCain and Democrats Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, and Chris Dodd.

Democrats who voted Nay on the 2007 version of the DREAM Act were: (2007 Americans for Democratic Action ratings followed by 2007 National Journal liberal ratings in parentheses)
- Max Baucus (80%, 57.3%)
- Robert Byrd (80%, 64.3%)
- Kent Conrad (80%, 57.3%)
- Byron Dorgan (85%, 59%)
- Mary Landrieu (80%, 53%)
- Claire McCaskill (90%, 57.3%)
- Mark Pryor (70%, 55%)
- Jon Tester (95%, 61.7%)

Hmm, by ADA's count all these senators are at least left-of-centre, while by NJ's count these are all moderate Dems.

BTW, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton all voted Yea on the 2007 DREAM Act as senators.

Republicans who voted Yea: (2007 American Conservative Union ratings, 2007 National Journal conservative ratings)
- Bob Bennett (75, 74)
- Sam Brownback (whaaaaa?) (95, 76.5)
- Norm Coleman (64, 57.5)
- Susan Collins (36, 52.8)
- Larry Craig (what, he thought this bill would satisfy his wet dreams?) (90, 78.8)
- Chuck Hagel (79, 61.3)
- Orrin Hatch (sponsored DREAM back in '01) (76, 66.5)
- Kay Bailey Hutchinson (88, 75.2)
- Trent Lott (even after his segregationist jokes at Strom Thurmond's birthday party?) (86, 82.5)
- Richard Lugar (60, 58.2)
- Mel Martinez (himself a Cuban immigrant) (80, 68.2)
- Olympia Snowe (28, 52.2)

Including even very conservative senators Larry Craig, Trent Lott, and Sam Brownback!

So back in 2007, there were more Republicans supporting the DREAM Act than Democrats opposing the DREAM Act.

As I post this, Republicans have now successfully filibustered the DREAM Act today. So now we can conclude that both parties favour playing politics over serving their constituents.

In the S. 3454 roll call, all the senators who originally voted for the 2007 DREAM Act are now blocking cloture (letting debate go on). NO Republican (including the successors of the senators from 2007 who voted Yea) voted Yea on the defence bill as it is. (Apparently Maj Ldr Reid also voted nay because he wants debate to continue too.) But thankfully Franken is also a Yea vote for Minnesota.

Pryor voted Nay in both 2007 and 2010. Reid and Lincoln shifted from Yea to Nay. The rest of the Democrats who voted Nay in 2007 supported cloture today (including the late Byrd's successor Carte Goodwin).