GOP Senators Kill Federal Minimum Wage Hike: Senators Who Vote Themselves Pay Raise Every Year

[Ed. note: Just five GOPers had the cojones enough for the American worker to defy their Republican kin and vote FOR the minimum wage raise; these include Norm Coleman (don't like but I applaud this move anyway), Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Arlen Specter, and John Warner. BTW, did you notice that Specter and Warner, seated together for the SoTU last night, often had their heads together conferring and were NOT engaging in anywhere near the level of thunderous applause/standing ovations as the other Republicans - and too many (even one would be too many) of the Dems)?]

For the same 10 years that the federal minimum wage has stayed at the same level, the U.S. Senate has voted themselves a very healthy wage hike every single year (of course, they don't get minimum wage with no benefits). As Bob Geiger points out, Republican senators were behind the killing today, and many of them come up for re-election soon (hint hint).

From Bob, here's a bastard list:

A total of 43 Republicans voted today to deny the first minimum wage increase in a decade -- and 18 of those are up for reelection in 2008:

• Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
• Wayne Allard (R-CO)
• Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
• Thad Cochran (R-MS)
• John Cornyn (R-TX)
• Larry Craig (R-ID)
• Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
• Pete Domenici (R-NM)
• Michael Enzi (R-WY)
• Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
• Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
• James Inhofe (R-OK)
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Pat Roberts (R-KS)
• Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
• Gordon Smith (R-OR)
• Ted Stevens (R-AK)
• John Sununu (R-NH)

I expect this crap from the privileged, self-important (but you the voter are NOT) likes of Alexander (isn't he dead yet?), Allard, Chambliss, Cochran, Cornyn, Craig, Dole, Domenici, Inhofe, McConnell, Roberts, Sessions, Stevens and Sununu.

Lindsey Graham actually manages occasionally to slither out from behind his rock.

But I did expect slightly more from Hagel and recently, from Gordon Smith. ::sigh::