Conservative Senators Love Mike Castle

Anyone who thinks Mike Castle would be some kind of moderate thorn in the side of the conservative GOP Senate minority leadership is fooling themselves.

Among those senators who reported giving to Castle in October were Thad Cochran (Miss.), whose Senate Victory Fund PAC gave $10,000; Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), whose OrrinPAC donated $5,000; Pat Roberts (Kan.), whose Preserving America’s Traditions PAC gave $5,000; and Mike Johanns (Neb.), whose Prairieland PAC donated $2,000.

Link: CQ

Cochran is what passes for a “moderate” in Mississippi, which means just like Castle, he voted with Bush almost all of the time except on Stem Cells. Cochran and Roberts are two of only nine Senators to vote against prohibiting torture at Guantanamo. Roberts spent his time as Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman busily covering up the Bush Administration’s malfeasance. Orrin hatch recently declared “holy war” over health card reform, but joins Castle and Cochran in the Stem Cell Club (health research is fine as long as no one can afford to benefit from it). Johanns, the newcomer of the group, wrote the unconstitutional Bill of Attainder against ACORN, but voted against the Franken amendment that would withhold funding from defense contractors who try to prevent sexually assaulted employees from going to court (In the case of Jamie Leigh Jones, KBR locked her in a shipping container without food or water).

Just as banking and health insurer money bought Castle’s votes on bankruptcy and health care, so too will these Senators buy Castle votes on civil liberties and the reactionary social agenda (now you know why Castle voted for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, AKA denying coverage for emergency contraception).