On Debt Ceiling Votes, Senate Dems Have Some Explaining To Do

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As Congress considers whether to raise the debt ceiling in the coming weeks, President Obama has had to respond to questions about his own prior votes on the debt limit when he was a United States senator. Obama’s press secretary Jay Carney told reporters yesterday that the president “regrets” his 2006 vote against raising the debt ceiling, saying Obama believes it was a mistake. But what about his fellow Democratic senators?

On that particular vote in March 2006, 44 Democrats voted “nay,” including 31 senators who are still in office. They are Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Max Baucus of Montana, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Barbara Boxer of California, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Tom Carper of Delaware, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Dianne Feinstein of California, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Carl Levin of Michigan, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Patty Murray of Washington, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Harry Reid of Nevada, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Chuck Schumer of New York, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Ron Wyden of Oregon. In addition, three members of Obama’s cabinet voted the same way: Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.

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