Quote of the Day:

"We can have justice whenever those who have not been injured by injustice are as outraged by it as those who have been."

-- Solon (594 B.C.)

Subject: Another Victory!

We just won another victory (our 13th victory since 2006). The Senate killed S. 3297 yesterday. This massive bill, called the "Advancing America's Priorities Act," contained 36 completely unrelated measures. Sixty votes were needed to close debate and bring the bill to a final vote. It received only 52 votes -- there were 40 votes against.

This shows us something: There are many ways to defeat bad bills.

Senators can place holds on bills. This is what Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma did on many of the bills that were included in this package. That's why the Senate leadership decided to bundle them together to try to pass them as a group. We could win more fights by convincing more Senators to place holds on bad bills.

We could also win more often if we could cause more bills to fall short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate to permit a final vote.

We could win by getting the vote we want in one chamber of Congress, even if we lose the vote in the other chamber.

In many cases, we could win if we could just convince Democrats to vote like liberals on civil liberties, and Republicans to vote like conservatives on fiscal issues.

There are many different ways to win as we grow larger and stronger. In this case, by helping to defeat S. 3297 we saved taxpayers $10 billion!

We need to thank those Senators who voted against S. 3297, and spank those who voted for it. A complete roster of how the Senate voted is listed beneath my signature, in alphabetical order, by state. Check how your Senators voted, and then send them a message either thanking them or spanking them. You can send your message here.

Remember, if you get a white page, please hit Refresh, or Back and try again.

My Senators voted different ways, so here's what I sent: "I'm glad S. 3297 failed. We don't need to spend $10 billion on questionable new programs at a time when the federal deficit is so large, and taxpayers are having trouble making ends meet. Thank you to Senator Voinovich for voting against this monstrosity. And I want to encourage Senator Brown to stop voting for bloated spending bills, especially when they contain multiple unrelated proposals."

Please send your "thank/spank" message now. Remember to hit your refresh button if you get a white screen.

Please also consider making a contribution to our emergency fundraising drive. We started out needing more than $5,000, but now we're down to less than $1,500. There are just three days until the deadline, so we need your help now. You can contribute here.

Don't forget to check how your Senators voted below my signature, and send your message.

Thank you for being a part of the growing and increasingly victorious Downsize DC army,

Jim Babka

President

DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Here's how the Senate voted, in state alphabetical order:

Sessions (R-AL), Nay

Shelby (R-AL), Nay

Murkowski (R-AK), Nay

Stevens (R-AK), Nay

Lincoln (D-AR), Yea

Pryor (D-AR), Yea

Kyl (R-AZ), Nay

McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting

Boxer (D-CA), Yea

Feinstein (D-CA), Yea

Allard (R-CO), Not Voting

Salazar (D-CO), Yea

Dodd (D-CT), Yea

Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea

Biden (D-DE), Yea

Carper (D-DE), Yea

Martinez (R-FL), Nay

Nelson (D-FL), Yea

Chambliss (R-GA), Nay

Isakson (R-GA), Nay

Akaka (D-HI), Yea

Inouye (D-HI), Yea

Grassley (R-IA), Nay

Harkin (D-IA), Yea

Craig (R-ID), Nay

Crapo (R-ID), Nay

Durbin (D-IL), Yea

Obama (D-IL), Not Voting

Bayh (D-IN), Yea

Lugar (R-IN), Nay

Brownback (R-KS), Nay

Roberts (R-KS), Nay

Bunning (R-KY), Nay

McConnell (R-KY), Nay

Landrieu (D-LA), Yea

Vitter (R-LA), Nay

Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting

Kerry (D-MA), Yea

Cardin (D-MD), Yea

Mikulski (D-MD), Yea

Collins (R-ME), Nay

Snowe (R-ME), Nay

Levin (D-MI), Yea

Stabenow (D-MI), Yea

Coleman (R-MN), Yea

Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea

Bond (R-MO), Nay

McCaskill (D-MO), Yea

Cochran (R-MS), Nay

Wicker (R-MS), Nay

Baucus (D-MT), Yea

Tester (D-MT), Yea

Burr (R-NC), Nay

Dole (R-NC), Not Voting

Conrad (D-ND), Yea

Dorgan (D-ND), Yea

Hagel (R-NE), Not Voting

Nelson (D-NE), Yea

Gregg (R-NH), Nay

Sununu (R-NH), Not Voting

Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea

Menendez (D-NJ), Yea

Bingaman (D-NM), Yea

Domenici (R-NM), Nay

Ensign (R-NV), Not Voting

Reid (D-NV), Yea

Clinton (D-NY), Yea

Schumer (D-NY), Yea

Brown (D-OH), Yea

Voinovich (R-OH), Nay

Coburn (R-OK), Nay

Inhofe (R-OK), Nay

Smith (R-OR), Yea

Wyden (D-OR), Yea

Casey (D-PA), Yea

Specter (R-PA), Nay

Reed (D-RI), Yea

Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea

DeMint (R-SC), Nay

Graham (R-SC), Nay

Johnson (D-SD), Yea

Thune (R-SD), Nay

Alexander (R-TN), Nay

Corker (R-TN), Nay

Cornyn (R-TX), Nay

Hutchison (R-TX), Nay

Bennett (R-UT), Nay

Hatch (R-UT), Nay

Warner (R-VA), Yea

Webb (D-VA), Yea

Leahy (D-VT), Yea

Sanders (I-VT), Yea

Cantwell (D-WA), Yea

Murray (D-WA), Yea

Feingold (D-WI), Yea

Kohl (D-WI), Yea

Byrd (D-WV), Yea

Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea

Barrasso (R-WY), Nay

Enzi (R-WY), Nay

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

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