February 11, 2005

JUST KEEP WINNING:

Senate Passes Overhaul of Rules for Class-Action Lawsuits (DAVID STOUT, Feb. 10, 2005, NY Times)

The Senate voted overwhelmingly today to shift many class-action lawsuits from state courts to federal courts, handing President Bush and his supporters in the business world a major legislative triumph.

The 72-to-26 vote sends the bill to the House of Representatives, where it will probably be quickly passed and sped on its way to the desk of the president, who is eager to sign it.

Passage in the House seems assured, since that chamber overwhelmingly endorsed similar legislation last year, before it stalled in the Senate. This time, though, the idea was backed by enough senators, Democrats as well as Republicans, that passage was not in doubt.

The Senate vote this afternoon followed repeated attempts by some Democrats to enact amendments curbing the effects of the measure. They were beaten back in part because some Democrats had also seen problems in the current state of the law.

All 26 votes against the measure were cast by Democrats.


Here're the Nays:
NAYs ---26
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Clinton (D-NY)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 11, 2005 12:00 AM
Comments

As I note on my own blog, the one that sticks out is Bill Nelson. Siding with the leftward half of the Democrats isn't going to do him much good next November. I guess this is just the price he agreed to pay for voting for Gonzales. What pound of flesh with the others offer up?

Posted by: Timothy at February 11, 2005 1:43 AM

The list of the vulnerable.

Posted by: jd watson at February 11, 2005 4:33 AM

Interesting point on Bill Nelson. His opposite, Mel Martinez, was a supposed to be a "trial lawyer friendly" Republican (formed head of that organization on Florida) who may have misgivings about all this "tort reform stuff". And he found the bill reasonable enough to vote for it. Bill Nelson, trial lawyer puppet.

Posted by: Moe from NC at February 11, 2005 7:56 AM

Also, another notable is Hillary. For all her supposed, newly found conservativism, she voted with the most liberal elements of her party on this one. A socialist at heart, with no appreciation for (and perhaps little understanding of) how a free market economy creates long-term growth.

Posted by: Moe from NC at February 11, 2005 8:03 AM

Some of the Democrats who voted for the bill are interesting: Schumer, Reed(RI), Obama, Kohl, Feinstein, Conrad. People one wouldn't think were corporate stooges.

Bill Nelson may think that his stint as Insurance Commissioner in Florida where he gained enough popularity to beat McCollum narrowly will insulate him from criticism while enabling him to get trial lawyer bounty.

Posted by: Bart at February 11, 2005 8:24 AM

Interesting that Conrad, Bayh, and Ben Nelson voted 'yes'.

Hillary has yet to make her Sister Souljah moment. All to date has been smoke and mirrors. When the votes are counted, she is reliably socialist, as Moe noted.

Posted by: jim hamlen at February 11, 2005 8:53 AM

Wasn't David Pryor supposed to be a conservative?

Ha.

Posted by: ratbert at February 11, 2005 8:55 AM

He and Hillary are Arkansas lawyers.

Posted by: oj at February 11, 2005 9:03 AM

It got lots of votes because (so far as I can tell after quick scans of the bill) this was just good legislation all around, addressing real abuses of class action law suits while still leaving the method available as an effective remedy in situations where there is a "class" of injured plaintiffs.

As it stood, class action lawyers were able to rake in astounding fees, and memebers of the "class" might get a couple of bucks or worse, a coupon, all they while not even knowing how they were "injured".

I hope tort form is as well crafted.

Posted by: Twn at February 11, 2005 9:09 AM

Hillary is from (formerly upscale) Park Ridge.

She may be an Arkansas lawyer, but she is not an Arkansas woman.

Cantwell voted in favor as well. Bush will get his Democratic votes for SS (probably 5 or 6) after all.

Remember, he got 12 for his tax cuts in 2001.

Posted by: jim hamlen at February 11, 2005 4:17 PM
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