The Senate voted 81-18 to end debate on Priscilla Owen’s nomination to the 5th Circuit, setting up an up-or-down vote soon (and you can be sure the result will be "up"). Local boys Kennedy and Kerry both voted "no" (i.e., voted to continue debate). Not voting was Daniel Inouye (D-HI), one of the signatories on the Deal.
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Doesn’t that mean Inouye is in violation of the deal? Ramifications?
I suppose as a technical matter, since the 14 signatories committed to vote “for cloture” and Inouye didn’t vote at all, he could be deemed in violation. But I assume it’s because he wasn’t around (I don’t know why he wasn’t there). The real violation, of course, would have been for him to vote against cloture. (Plus, the vote was so lopsided that no one’s going to get too worried if he happened to miss this vote for some reason.)
I would hope (assume) that Inouye was out-of-the-office, and he (a) let the other folks know, and (b) found a substitute vote on the matter.It sounds like it ought to be on the up-and-up, anyway.