Congress passed a resolution Friday authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force to protect the United States and enforce U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The vote was 77-23 in the Senate and 196-133 in the House. Minnesota Sens. Mark Dayton and Paul Wellstone, both Democrats, voted against the resolution, as did Democratic Reps. Martin Sabo, Betty McCollum and Jim Oberstar. The three Minnesota Republican representatives – Gil Gutknect, Mark Kennedy and Jim Ramstad – voted for the resolution, along with Democratic Reps. Collin Peterson and Bill Luther. In other words, the Minnesota delegation split down the middle: Half voted for the resolution, half voted against it. That split epitomizes the nature of the debate on Iraq.
