These 12 Democrats Want Credit for Opposing the NDAA, But They Helped It Get to a Vote

On Tuesday, I wrote about how the Senate Democrats had threatened to filibuster the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) because the GOP was allowing the Pentagon to evade sequestration caps---and then only 13 actually followed through.

Yesterday, the Senate took its vote on the final passage of the FY 2016 NDAA, and the final vote was 71 to 25.

The 2 Republicans who voted against cloture--Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY)--also voted against final passage. (Although, Rand voted for a second cloture motion yesterday.)

Of the 23 members of the Democratic caucus, 12 are stalwarts who voted against both of the previous cloture votes for the NDAA:

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Pat Leahy (D-VT)
Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Ed Markey (D-MA)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Bob Casey (D-PA) voted against both cloture motions, but voted for the final bill.
And then 12 Democrats who had voted for cloture (twice in all cases but Mikulski's since she was absent for the first vote) voted against final passage:

Bob Casey (D-PA)
Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Ben Cardin (D-MD)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

In other words, they want credit for having opposed the bill, even though they helped make sure it passed. This reminds me of the CRomnibus last year, where many Democrats voted for cloture before voting against the final bill--helping it pass but keeping their hands "clean."