Senate votes…electioneering….is there a difference?

The 5 largest oil companies reported $36 billion in profits in just 3 short months. In response, Senate Democrats attempted to impose an excess profits tax on them. This attempt was killed by a Republican-led filibuster this week.

As this is election season, it is interesting to see where everyone came down on this issue. Only one Democrat opposed the tax, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, a state with a large oil industry. Technically, Sen. Harry Reid also voted no, but this was after he knew the vote would fail, leaving him the ability to raise the issue later.

On the Republican side, Norm Coleman of MN, Susan Collins of ME and Gordon Smith of OR all voted with the Democrats. Coincidentally, they are all up for re-election…hmmmmm.

They were also joined by Republicans Chuck Grassley of IA and John Warner of VA, who are not running for re-election.

Now the race is on….which Republican raised the most money for Big Oil?