...Senate GOP leaders had managed to fend off the detainee language this summer, saying the Congress should not constrain the executive branch’s options. But last night, 89 senators sided with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who led the fight for the interrogation restrictions. McCain said military officers have implored Congress for guidelines, adding that he mourns “what we lose when by official policy or by official negligence we allow, confuse or encourage our soldiers to forget . . . that which is our greatest strength: that we are different and better than our enemies.” ...
The Senate’s 90 to 9 vote suggested a new boldness among Republicans to challenge the White House on war policy. The amendment by McCain, one of Bush’s most significant backers at the outset of the Iraq war, would establish uniform standards for the interrogation of people detained by U.S. military personnel, prohibiting “cruel, inhuman or degrading” treatment while they are in U.S. custody…
In its statement on the veto threat, the White House said the measure would “restrict the president’s authority to protect Americans effectively from terrorist attack and bringing terrorists to justice.”
Senators who voted against the bill:
Allard (R-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Stevens (R-AK)
There is good news, of course, which is that the Senate voted overwhelmingly AGAINST torture… Except the 9 listed above.