49-51

I was sorry to see that Senator Cantwell's Amendment No. 168 to Resolution No. 18 (which is the current appropriations resolution) was rejected yesterday. The amendment was "to strike section 201(a)(4) relative to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Simply put, it would have taken drilling in ANWR off the table while leaving the rest of the bill intact. I was quite pleased, however, to see my own Republican senator was one of only seven to break with his party and vote sensibly on this issue. I still don't have the same respect for Norm Collman that I do for Arizona's John McCain or Maine's Olympia J. Snowe, two of the other Republican Senators who voted 'yea,' but I like Stormin' Norm more than I did a week ago. And I think its safe to say I like him way more than Mike Crapo of Idaho, who voted against the amendment. But what else can you expect from a guy named Mike Crapo?