The Specter/Leahy amendment was defeated by a 51-48 vote. Olympia Snowe is apparently dealing with a funeral in Maine and is not in DC. Ben Nelson of Nebraska is the only Democrat to vote against the amendment. I have no idea why he can’t vote for these amendments, especially since he knows they will fail and that he is going to vote yes on final passage. The Republicans voting yes were Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, Gordon Smith of Oregon, John Sununu of New Hampshire, and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. All four of those states voted for Kerry.
Byrd wants to provide a five year sunset for torturing people.
