ANWR Drilling Defeated, DeWine Sides With Democrats

Sen. Ted Stevens' (R-AK) amendment to add the allowance of drilling in the Artcitc National Wildlife Refuges (ANWR) to a defense appropriation bill for ongoing operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere was defeated. Senate Democrats denounced Stevens' tactics, citing Senatorial courtesy and tradition that controversial amendmends are not added to defense appropriation bills. But Stevens was handing down all Senators an ultimatum on the issue and seeking out the passage of the bill as amended as a personal favor to the powerful Chairman of the Senate Appropiations Committee. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) joined 4 other GOP Senators in siding with the Democrats and voting against the amendment.
From the article, "Five Republicans defected on the deficit-cutting votes, including Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Gordon Smith of Oregon and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Snowe, Chafee and DeWine face re-election next year. Also in opposition were all 44 Democrats and Sen. James Jeffords, the Vermont independent."