Rick Klein
ABCNews.com
5/19/2010
ABC’s Jonathan Karl reports: Did Harry Reid just call Scott Brown a liar?
Basically, yes.
Here’s the story: The Senate just rejected Reid’s effort to move to a vote on the Wall Street reform bill, 57-42 (60 votes were needed).
“I don’t know a lot about anything, but I know how to count votes,” Reid said after the vote. “But a Senator broke his word with me.”
According to multiple Democratic sources, he was talking about Senator Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, who, the sources say, told Senator Reid he would vote yes but instead voted no.
In a written statement, Senator Brown explained that he voted no because the bill, in his current form, would hurt businesses in Massachusetts.
“My constituents sent me to Washington to look out for their priorities first and foremost, and I cannot in good conscience vote to end debate on a flawed bill,” Brown said. “I will continue to work in a bipartisan fashion in the days ahead to improve this bill for my state and my country.”
Two Republicans – Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine — joined 55 Democrats in voting yes.
Senator Reid could have prevailed if all Democratic Senators voted yes. Scott Brown’s vote would not have been enough for him to prevail.
Two Democrats joined 39 Republicans in voting no – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). Reid himself also voted no, but only as a procedural tactic that will allow him to bring the vote up again at a later time. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) did not vote.
Read also Banking reform cloture vote fails: Don’t blame the GOP. Progressive defections submarined Harry Reid’s attempt to end debate at Salon.com
