Sen. Ensign (R-NV) in car wreck, will miss cloture vote

[blitzen]

breaking news on Faux.

Apparently he's not hurt too bad, but won't make it for the vote

[FreedomAngel82]

1. Oh gosh

I'm glad he's okay.

[HereSince1628]

2. Glad he isn't hurt bad...but happier he won't be voting.

[cindyw]

I think they can vote for him. Anyone know?

[Walt Starr]

6. Nope, you must be present to cast a vote

We're down to only needing 40 votes for a successful filibuster. Today.

[stop the bleeding]

15. wow n/t

[Dinger]

24. A Sign From Above?

Hey, you never know?:think:

[rodeodance]

8. no proxy votes are allowed.

last I heard.

[louis-t]

39. Hmm, time for * to march in with his attorneys

and say proxy votes are legal and "for the good of the country".

[cindyw]

11. Let me add, I hope he is okay.

[LiberalAndProud]

3. If I were Pat Robertson, I might say "God doesn't want Alito on SCOTUS. nt

[cyberpj]

37. good one. nt

[KyndCulture]

4. Glad he's ok...

glad he's not voting too.

That takes them down to 54 then...

[rodeodance]

5. I wish him well.

[Coexist]

7. Glad he's okay -

Not sorry he will miss the vote.

[bbernardini]

9. Freepers claim Clinton was behind the crash in 5...4...3...2...1... nt

[Walt Starr]

10. If a pro-Alito Senator had to have a car accident to not be able to vote

on cloture, I'm glad that pro-Alito Senator was not hurt during the accident.

[deadparrot]

12. That's sad.

Glad it isn't serious.

[seabeyond]

13. well that is kind of the man, i am glad no huge owies.

ty senator r

[w13rd0]

14. I'll add my...

...glad he's ok, don't wish harm on anyone, even BushBots, but I'm glad he'll be missing the vote...

[Hawkeye-X]

16. Oh geez.

Let's one less YES for cloture. Thank you $DIETY for making this happen. Hope he'll recover fast enough to make the next one.

[cally]

17. DU's responses to this are funny

Thanks. I'm glad he's not hurt badly but...I have a big smile that he'll miss the vote.

[johnaries]

56. If it had happened to Kerry or Kennedy, Freepers would be saying

too bad it didn't kill him.

That's one of the differences between DU'ers and Freepers.

[KittyWampus]

18. I could now post the suggestions I've been handing the Universe

but it might not be entirely appropriate.

Let's just say that this doesn't surprise me.

[ET Awful]

19. Oh I do hope he's okay, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience to his

busy schedule. :P

[benburch]

20. I hope he is OK.

Much as I like the fact that he is out of the vote, I don't want to see anybody hurt.

[jsamuel]

21. as long as he is ok

...

...

...

[Nutmegger]

22. Happy to hear that he isn't hurt too badly

Jeez, I almost feel dirty in a way...

[gkhouston]

27. I told you not to put those banana peels on the road!

;-)

[Cobalt Violet]

41. I know what your thinking.

:spank:

[in_cog_ni_to]

23. I hope he's OK, but what does that do to his vote? Can someone

cast a proxy vote for him?

[jsamuel]

26. no, it will count as a vote for the filibuster since he isn't there to

vote yes on cloture

[Walt Starr]

30. Senators must be present in the Senate Chamber in order to cast a vote

There are no poxy votes in the United States Senate. If he's not in the chamber, he does not get to cast a vote.

[in_cog_ni_to]

31. Thank you! That's too bad.

:)

[gkhouston]

33. so the next Rovian plot

will be to hold all the Dem Senators hostage at a topless bar? :silly:

[Pirate Smile]

53. LOL - your comment, not his accident. I hope he will be OK.

[wordpix]

49. woo HOO---the Founding Fathers are smiling down!!!

[endarkenment]

25. If I were Ann Coulter...

I would be wishing for a lot more car accidents.


Damn that was difficult to write.

[cheezus]

28. Thank God!

Glad the Senator wasn't hurt badly.

[blitzen]

29. here's a link....only one i can find so far

http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4429199&nav=168Y

[Pirate Smile]

55. Oowww! Head-on and then rear-ended. It says the injuries aren't life

threatening but they could still be quite serious.

[Ian David]

32. I'm glad he's okay, but hope he had a mistress in the car with him! n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

34. Are you kidding? The corporate media would NEVER tell us if

there was a mistress in the car. Only Democrats are scrutinized that way.

[mdmc]

35. I hope he feels better by the weekend

peace and low stress,
mdmc

[LizW]

36. Sorry to hear it, but I'm so suspicious.

I just watched that episode of The West Wing where Toby got suckered by the Republican majority leader's chief of staff (Felicity Huffman). There was all this finageling about a press conference and Toby thought he was winning. Then, surprisingly, the majority leader didn't appear to speak for the Repugs, claiming he had a sore throat, but the House majority leader launched into this bizarre rant about how the Dems were so partisan, blah, blah, blah. Then the majority leader magically appeared, smoothing things over and looking oh, so presidential.

It was totally deft gamesmanship, and Toby was in HUGE trouble with the Pres.

Never, EVER trust a Republican.

[newportdadde]

38. Now if I was Pat Robertson.... ....

[MADem]

40. Who knows, maybe he's turning trash into treasure

I wonder if any other GOP guys with consciences will get stuck in traffic, miss their flights, fall down the stairs, get palpitations, or find some other way to "not be able to make it."

The smart ones would watch the weather and arrange to be stuck somewhere that the planes aren't flying....!

[w8liftinglady]

42. cspan has yes next to his name ?

[Walt Starr]

43. That has nothing to do with an actual vote

Cloture vote is at 4:30. IF he's not there, he can't vote.

[w8liftinglady]

45. Ahh...thanks for the info:)

[benburch]

44. It is only yes if he shows up for the vote.

His intentions do not count.

[Ian David]

46. What city was he in? And what's located near Paradise and Sands?

I'd like to do some Google Maps research and see if the Senator may have been cruising a gay pick-up area or something.

[Wheezy]

66. Vegas strip. n/t

[Wheezy]

68. He had stitches in his elbow. treated and released.

[Ian David]

47. IRONY! Senator was advocate AGAINST car and highway safety!

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

Advocates' Oppose Allen's seat belt amendment

May 16, 2005

Dear Senator:

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), a coalition of consumer, health, safety, medical and insurance organizations, strongly supports provisions in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reauthorization bill adopted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last month that would provide incentive grants to states that enact a primary enforcement seat belt law.

We strongly oppose any amendment to H.R.3, the surface transportation reauthorization bill, offered by Senator Allen (R-VA) and Senator Ensign (R-NV), to strike or weaken these provisions.

Currently, 29 states still need to adopt a primary enforcement seat belt law. Use rates in states with these effective laws are higher than in states with secondary enforcement provisions, resulting in many more lives saved and injuries avoided. Only one state adopted primary enforcement in 2004, and none have done so in 2005.

The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's language provides significant funding to states to encourage enactment of primary enforcement laws, will encourage more states to act, and will lead to fewer deaths and injuries on our nation's roads and highways. In addition to focusing on the need for better laws and setting a higher bar for national seat belt use of 90%, the Committee provisions provide generous incentive grant funding for states that already have primary enforcement seat belt laws.

The Allen/Ensign amendment places no emphasis on the need for adoption of primary enforcement seat belt laws, which are necessary if the nation's seat belt use rates are to rise to 90% or above, the level enjoyed by most other industrialized nations throughout the world.

Please oppose the Allen/Ensign amendment and support the important seat belt incentive provisions already adopted by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Judith Lee Stone
President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

More:
http://www.saferoads.org/sec_federal2003.htm


And his stand on medical trauma treatment?

Senate Floor Statement of Senator Ensign
PREGNANCY AND TRAUMA CARE ACCESS PROTECTION ACT OF 2004--MOTION TO PROCEED
http://ensign.senate.gov/issleg/issues/record.cfm?id=223906&

[slaveplanet]

62. Be wary

The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's language provides significant funding to states to encourage enactment of primary enforcement laws, will encourage more states to act

Federal funding ALWAYS comes with strings attached...be highly suspicious when they do not tell you about the strings...

[wordpix]

48. self-delete

[Walt Starr]

50. Again, there are no proxies allowed under the rules of the Senate

nor the Rules of the House, for that matter.

One must be present within the chamber to cast a vote on any matter. If you are not present, you cannot cast a vote.

[sandnsea]

51. Okay, who hit him???

Kidding. I keed.

Much prayer and blessings to Senator Ensign for his speedy recovery. Seriously. Yes I really do mean that.

[alcibiades_mystery]

52. He's also worried about a challenge in November

This is an easy out for him, either way.

Hope all is well with the Senator.

[jfern]

54. This means we need 1 fewer person today

We only need 40 to block with Ensign not present. But they'll just bring it up again, so we should really have 41.

[in_cog_ni_to]

57. RIGHT and I do believe we are VERY close to 40. : ) n/t

[SharonRB]

58. I'm so sorry to hear that...

sorry he was in an accident, but not sorry he won't make the vote!

Someone is looking out for us.

[Oreo]

59. Jesus just told me he let the accident happen to help the vote

;)

If the crazed right can say it why can't we?

[Imalittleteapot]

64. giggle

:rofl:

[KitSileya]

60. I hope no one involved was hurt,

but I am glad that helps the numbers.

I hope the others involved had good insurance, if they were hurt.

[medeak]

70. minor cuts and bruises...was on way to airport. n/t

[WinkyDink]

61. WWRS

What Would Robertson Say?

[Dawgs]

63. Let's hope we get 41 anyways...

Could you imagine the news tonight if they only got 40?

[Twist_U_Up]

65. I cant beleive I ran that STOP sign.

on such an important day for him too. <snark>

[johnnyrocket]

67. Holy moly! Are the stars aligning?

This is like an inside straight on all your chips, a 90 yard touchdown attempt...this has the potential of being a major coup!

C'mon, Senators, follow your conscious!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

69. Tell me you're kidding?

I hope he gets better, but someone watch to make sure that one of his aids don't vote in his place.

[greiner3]

71. One down, is it 64 to go? n/t