Alaskan Wildlife Refuge Saved For Billionth Time

The Senate was asked to support the troops this morning via a defence spending bill that included money for soldiers in Iraq, Katrina aid and, of course, drilling for oil in the Alaskan wildlife refuge. Attaching ANWR drilling to a defence spending bill that must get passed was the brainchild of Senator Stevens of Alaska who has been trying to dig up the refuge for twenty years, a move that Senator John McCain called, "disgraceful" and "disgusting." This is probably his most fail-safe attempt to date and it failed. Screw you, Stevens.

Sixty votes were needed by proponents of drilling to avoid Washington Senator Maria Cantwell's promised filibuster and the vote fell 56-44.

From the P-I:

The vote was a stinging defeat for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who for years has waged an intense fight to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He had thought this time he would finally get his wish.

Stevens called the refuge's oil vital to national security and bemoaned repeated attempts over the years by opponents using the filibuster to kill drilling proposals.

Democrats, conversely, accused Stevens of holding hostage a military spending bill that includes money to support troops in Iraq and $29 billion for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"Our military is being held hostage by this issue, Arctic drilling," fumed Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic leader. The Nevada Democrat said the Senate could move quickly to pass the defense bill once the refuge issue was resolved.

The bill should now be withdrawn and reworded, hopefully with fewer Stevens edits this time around. Senator Stevens won't be denied on this issue, but hopefully the string of losses the Alaskan senator has been racking up will cause others to hesitate before jumping on his bandwagon - He is the Pork Master, but Maria Cantwell et all have been his foils recently. Brace yourself for more of his spitefull attacks on the Sound, coming soon.