The Senate Pro-Lynching Caucus [UPDATED]

Last night, to great fanfare, the Senate approved by voice vote an apology for ignoring lynching throughout the history of the 19th and 20th centuries. The House has passed anti-lynching legislation three times over the years, but the Senate never followed through (it was often stopped by the filibuster of Southern Democrats). Now, passing a resolution offered by Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, the Senate apologized.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a vote. AMERICAblog reported that the Senate had decided to go with a voice vote rather than a roll call vote because a handful of senators didn’t want to go on the record one way or the other.

Narrowing down the identification of these senators is ongoing. The Congressional Website includes 78 cosponsors with Landrieu, so that leaves 21 candidates who wanted to avoid an up-or-down vote. Quoted in The Washington Post, John Kerry said, "I am personally struck, even at this significant moment, by the undeniable and inescapable reality that there aren't 100 senators and co-sponsors. Maybe by the end of the evening there will be, but as we stand here with this resolution now passed by voice vote, there aren't." It should be pointed out that a senator’s neglecting (or refusal) to sign on as cosponsor doesn’t necessarily indicate opposition, but in the absence of a roll call vote, it’s the only indication we’ve got, and it’s not hard for a senator to get on the record by cosponsoring.

A lot of contradictory information is floating around at the moment. LeftIndependent has posted a list of supporters of the resolution obtained from Mary Landrieu’s office, which ups the number to 84 (a supporter is not necessarily a cosponsor). That leaves 16 who haven’t officially signed on:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)
George Voinovich (R-OH)

All but one are Republicans, and five come from Southern states. As John at AMERICAblog points out, it’s possible to become a cosponsor of a bill after the fact, so it’s not too late for any of these senators to make the plunge. Going on the record for regretting that the Senate did nothing to prevent lynching seems a fairly easy call. What’s taking them so long?

UPDATE: Daily Kos is reporting that Kent Conrad, the only Democrat on the list, has joined the ranks of cosponsors.

UPDATE 2: I've updated this list in a new post above, taking out the names of Lisa Murkowski and George Voinovich, who've since signed on as cosponsors. I wanted to cross their names out here, as well, though, so anyone stumbling on this list will have accurate information. On that updated list, I've also added the names of Kay Bailey Hutchison, Jon Kyl, and Gordon Smith, who were identified as supporters on Tuesday but, as of Wednesday morning, are not official cosponsors.

UPDATE 3: Chuck Grassley and Michael Crapo signed on as cosponsors on Wednesday.

UPDATE 4: Orrin Hatch cosponsored on Thursday.