Obama voted against bankruptcy reform on cloture, which passed 69-31 (see http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00029) and he voted against passage of the bill when it passed 74-25-1. Clinton voted against cloture but did not vote on final passage. (see http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00044).
Obama did vote for the bill to restrict interstate class actions in state district courts, which passed 72-26 with 2 not voting. Clinton voted against that bill. (See http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00009.) Obama was quoted as saying that he was among 18 Dems who voted for the bill even though he is "a strong believer" in class-action lawsuits. "When multimillion-dollar settlements are handed down and all the victims get are coupons for a free product, justice is not being served," he said. "And when cases are tried in counties only because it's known that those judges will award big payoffs, you get quick settlements without ever finding out who's right and who's wrong." (http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/tortsprof/2007/03/torts_president.html)
I do think Obama cast a bad vote on the class-action bill, but it does allow class actions to proceed in federal courts. (The argument is that they are less likely to advance in crowded federal court dockets.)
-- Jim Cullen
>On Feb 2, 2008, at 6:08 AM, Michael Pollak wrote:
>
>> Ford said that Obama not only voted for the draconian bankruptcy
>> bill (a
>> marker of being conservative/corporate even for a Democrat), but
>> also for
>> tort reform (which almost no Democrats supported).
>>
>> But in this week's Nation Magazine, the cover-story article by
>> Christopher
>> Hayes on how Obama's the one says he voted against it.
>
>And that's not the only source that says that (and I'm too lazy to
>look up the vote on Thomas). But I've got an email into Glen to explain.
>
>Doug
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