When I saw that the Senate confirmed Robert Gates by a vote of 95-2 I wanted to know who the two Senators were that voted no. I also wanted to know who the three Senators were that abstained. Maybe some Democrats were expressing displeasure with Gates? What was their reasoning? So, I looked up the vote. Much to my surprise I found that the ‘no’ votes were not Democrats. They were Republicans.
Two Bush allies, Sens. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and Jim Bunning, R-Ky., voted against Gates, citing his criticism of the war and his view that the U.S. should engage Iran as part of a solution.
“Mr. Gates has repeatedly criticized our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan without providing any viable solutions to the problems our troops currently face,” Bunning said. “We need a secretary of defense to think forward with solutions and not backward on history we cannot change.”
Santorum, who lost his re-election bid last month, mocked the idea of engaging dictators and talked at length of the evils of “radical Islamic fascism.” When it comes to reaching out to Iran to discuss the security of Iraq, Santorum said of Gates, “I think he is in error.”
After I got done laughing (a deep belly-laugh, BTW), I looked for the abstentions. Turns out that Liddy Dole didn’t bother to vote. I have no idea why. Does it have anything to do with the long-standing rivalry between Poppy Bush and Bob Dole? I don’t know.
The other two absentions were presidential hopefuls Joe Biden and Evan Bayh. The only explanation I have uncovered is that they simply missed the votes. I don’t know why they missed the votes or if they are even in Washington.
You gotta love Bunning and Santorum though. Those guys are rabid fruitcakes.